Course Outcomes 

This course for government employees will:

  • Introduce the concept of employee engagement in the public sector.
  • Provide participants with an opportunity to assess their team members’ engagement levels.
  • Offer solutions for motivating and inspiring a sense of ownership in government workers.
  • Suggest several tips for getting the most from engagement surveys.

Course Overview

Anyone who has worked in the public sector knows that it substantially differs from the private workplace. In many cases, the workforce is aging, funding is frozen, and employees are asked to do more with less each year. From hiring great people who are excited about the organization’s mission to rewarding good work when monetary rewards are not an option, this course provides solutions specific to the challenge of engaging public sector employees. 

Program Objectives 

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Explain employee engagement and its value in the public sector.
  • Assess their team’s level of engagement.
  • Describe levels of engagement and challenges that present at each stage.
  • Identify actions and activities that encourage engagement.
  • Use multiple tactics to recognize and reward positive behaviors.
  • Get the most from engagement surveys.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s). 

Workshop Outline 

Joining the Game: Understanding the Value of Engagement

This program opens with a discussion about the importance of engagement and how an engaged workforce can accomplish significantly more than one made up of people who are marking their days until retirement. During this part of the workshop, participants will also learn about levels of engagement and identify where they and their staffs are on an engagement scale.  

Stacking the Deck: Adopting Inspiring Behaviors

It has been said many times that people don’t work for organizations, they work for people.  In this portion of the seminar, we will explore the characteristics effective leaders share and the behaviors they routinely exhibit. During this part of the program, participants will learn how their actions ultimately impact the performance and engagement of those they manage.

Putting Your Cards on the Table: Identifying Challenges

In this seminar segment, the group will explore different levels of engagement and internal and external factors that can cause someone to move from one level to another. Next, participants will pinpoint areas where they can, directly and indirectly, influence employee buy-in and ownership.

Surveying the Players: Getting the Most from Questionnaires

Too often employees cringe at the idea of having to fill out yet another survey, but how on earth can this be when the survey represents someone’s desire to know exactly what is going well and what isn’t?  Who would turn down the opportunity to share? As it turns out, a lot of people.  If they don’t feel their answers are valued or acted upon in a positive way, respondents begin to suffer survey fatigue.  This portion of the course dives into the ins and outs of getting the most from responses to questionnaires.  The segment pays particular attention to communication and its importance in keeping employees informed and aware of the process.

Finding More Chips: Moving Beyond Monetary Recognitions

Money isn’t everything.  In fact, money as a reward has limited lasting effects.  This part of the workshop examines motivation, alternatives to financial rewards, and approaches managers can use to recognize good performance and influence future behaviors.

At the program’s conclusion, participants will have a vocabulary to talk about employee engagement, an understanding of engagement levels, and knowledge of the specific actions they can take to connect and reconnect government employees to the work they perform.