Southfield, Michigan — Steve Gravenkemper, partner-in-charge of Plante Moran’s talent and organizational development practice, offers practical tips for increasing employee involvement in a book published by the American Psychological Association.
Gravenkemper cites eight organizations — including Plante Moran — as case studies in his chapter, “The Psychologically Healthy Workplace: Building a Win-Win Environment for Organizations and Employees.” He examines how these organizations leverage employee involvement initiatives to achieve desired business results and organizational outcomes.
Gravenkemper says several factors facilitate employee involvement, including:
- Senior leadership and organizational culture — in other words, management who “walks the talk”
- Creating a clear vision for how employee involvement relates to the achievement of organizational objectives
- Establishing specific employee involvement initiatives and ground rules for participation
- Providing training for problem-solving methodologies
- Making resources available that ensure the success of employee involvement initiatives
- Providing timely and specific feedback and celebrating successes
In using Plante Moran as an example of an organization that gets employee involvement initiatives right, Gravenkemper points to its strong culture and “We care” philosophy, which influences decision making and how staff treat one another and clients. He also notes that Plante Moran’s senior leadership and associates work together to solve problems and make decisions, which can take longer but increases buy-in from staff.
Before launching employee involvement initiatives, Gravenkemper encourages organizations to consider what their objectives are and whether such initiatives will be viewed as helpful in addressing key organizational challenges. He also cautions that creating a culture that embraces employee involvement initiatives takes time and commitment and that there’s no quick fix — or magic bullet — to solving a multitude of organizational problems. He suggests setting very modest expectations and working toward a phased-in approach that first emphasizes activities that are relatively easy to implement.
“The Psychologically Healthy Workplace,” which serves as a valuable resource for those working to increase employee involvement within their organization, can be purchased by visiting http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318134.aspx.
Plante Moran’s talent and organizational development practice helps clients to be more strategic in attracting, selecting, training, developing, retaining, promoting and moving employees through their organization. The practice recently launched a new service that helps companies analyze and improve their organizational culture. For more information, visit talent.plantemoran.com.
About Plante Moran
Plante Moran is among the nation's largest accounting, tax and consulting firms and provides a full line of services to organizations in the following industries: manufacturing and distribution, financial institutions, service, health care, private equity, public sector and real estate and construction. Plante Moran has a staff of more than 2,000 professionals in 23 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mumbai, India. Plante Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country's best places to work.
