A Psychology of Engagement
We believe human beings are the heart & soul of every business
The Buzz Model of Employee Experience
In every business there are Monday people who love their job and Friday people who can’t wait for the weekend. Monday people are happy, engaged and productive - Friday people lack motivation and commitment and may struggle to perform. A decade ago we began a research journey to really appreciate the difference between Monday and Friday employees - their psychological experience of work. (Read the Research Paper).
Following 100′s of interviews and research surveys across many different organisations the research team identified seven psychosocial factors that drive workplace engagement, positive wellbeing and superior performance at work. These are represented in the Buzz Model.
7-Drivers of Employee Experience
The Science of Employee Experience
Human beings are primarily social beings with a profound and ancient need to be connected to each other. Isolation can be painful* and being a valued member of a tribe, a community, a team have always been critical for survival.
Our primitive social drive is ‘safety in numbers’, and as a consequence our ancestors evolved specific ‘social circuits’** in the brain designed to keep them bonded and connected to each other – a form of 'social intelligence'
In modern workplaces our social brain circuits manifest themselves in a handful of personal needs, drivers and behaviours:
Driver #1 - Voice - Need for Acceptance/Sense of Inclusion
People need to feel valued and included in the group, it makes them safe and protected. They need to know that their opinions are valued and acted upon, that others listen to and respect what they have to say.
Driver #2 – Togetherness - Need for Affiliation/Sense of Belonging
People need to feel safe and secure through relationships that offer trust, support and co-operation with a minimum of unhealthy conflict and competition. ’Can I count on you, have you got my back?’
Driver #3 - Challenge - Need for Achievement/Sense of Pride
People are diverse because they have different talents, passions and experiences. People need opportunities to express their special talents, to make a contribution to the wider group, and to experience regular feelings of accomplishment and pride.
Driver #4 - Freedom - Need for Independence/Sense of Freedom
People need autonomy, to feel in control, use their initiative, and be trusted with the responsibility to make decisions and choose how best to do their work. This is also expressed in a desire for flexibility and work-life balance.
Driver #5 - Clarity - Need for Security/Sense of Anxiety
Ambiguity raises concerns and anxieties, and certainty is safety. To feel safe and secure, people need to understand more clearly what is expected of them and others, how things fit together, the purpose of their work, and the difference it makes.
Driver #6 - Recognition - Need for Positive Image/Sense of Self-Worth
Gestures of appreciation, praise and recognition pay directly into our emotional bank account and boost feelings of confidence and optimism and self-belief. Recognition of achievements and efforts also binds individuals to their group.
Driver #7 - Growth - Need for Actualisation/Sense of Growth
To increase their value and contribution, people need to continuously learn and improve their talent and capability. To move forwards people need to learn new things, gain new experiences and self-develop.
Our research studies consistently demonstrate that when these critical drivers and needs are satisfied the result is engaged, happy, committed employees who are high performers and behave more positively around the organisation.
* Naomi Eisenberger. Social Pain and the Brain: Controversies, Questions, and Where to Go from Here? Annual Review of Psychology. Vol. 66:601-629. January 2015.
**2 Daniel Goleman & Richard E. Boyatzis. Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership. Harvard Business Review, September 2008.