Engaging Government Employees: Motivate and Inspire Your People to Achieve Superior Performance

Abstract

Engaging Government Employees: Motivate and Inspire Your People to Achieve Superior Performance Robert J. Lavigna AMACOM (2013) 288 pages, hardback, $18.05In the last few decades, being employed in the public sector has transformed from a noble calling to a workplace with tough budget environment and persistent attacks on government for inefficiencies and the lack of effort. Faced by a unique set of challenges that include declining resources, frequent political changes, aging employee base, complicated rules and regulations, and multiple external stakeholders, public sector managers and employees are increasingly being asked to do more with less. It is in these tough times that the public sector leaders are called on to motivate their employees to put forth their best effort. Based on extensive and compelling empirical research and his three decades of human resource experience, author Robert Lavigna offers government leaders his thoughtful guidance and effective action steps in achieving employee engagement in the public sector.This book makes a strong case for employee engagement in government organizations because such organizations perform dramatically better than organizations whose employees are not engaged. However, there is no one-size-fits-all business approach. Instead, Robert Lavigna acknowledges challenges and opportunities of the public sector and calls on managers of the America's largest employer to improve the workplace by 1) analyzing specific areas for improvement, 2) setting priorities for action, 3) improving communication at every level, 4) motivating employees to deliver above-minimum effort, 5) recognizing outstanding employee contribution in meaningful ways; 6) promoting employee growth; and 7) achieving more positive and rewarding work environment, which will lead to better morale and relationship with the public that these organizations serve. The book asserts that public sector management poses its own unique challenges and requires leaders to utilize a different set of skills and tactics to engage their employees.Lavigna educates his readers on the concept of employee engagement, which if successful, results in a heightened employee connection to work, the organization, the mission, and coworkers. Engaged employees, argues Lavigna, find personal meaning and pride in their work, and they believe that their organizations value them. In such environment, employees strive to perform at the above-minimum levels. The author bases his arguments on a wealth of research on positive effects of this engagement. He provides specific examples of organizations and what they have done to improve employee engagement. Finally, he offers practical strategies on how to achieve this outcome.Particularly strong aspects of the book are the practical step-by-step strategies on how to improve public employee engagement. Although the author concedes that some of the problems or peculiarities of government decision making cannot be changed (for instance, complicated rule-bound and often politically-based decision making), many of these issues can be thoughtfully addressed. For example, to deal with a problem of negative public attitude on government employment, the author suggests creating positive, responsive experiences in public interactions with government employees. Such experiences then translate into more positive feelings about government in general. In addition, frequent political changes that result in short- term perspectives may be combatted by developing public-sector succession planning that are designed as leadership development programs and serve as a motivation mechanism for younger employees. This engagement of the rank and file is critically important to maintaining smooth and effective operations during the periods of transition to new policies or new leadership.Especially interesting and troubling are the statistics on the current levels of engagement in various public services, which appear to be quite low by historical standards. …