Customer Reviews

Re-Engage: How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

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Have you ever wondered what employees think about their companies when they really want to work there vs. when they really do not want to work there? If you could unzip the minds of thousands of employees and understand how they see their companies, think what you could learn about your own organization.

"Re-Engage" gives you a front row seat to millions of interviews by employees of 10,000 companies as they completed the "Best Place to Work" survey. Leigh and Mark have analyzed the entire range of survey responses and have found key insights that differentiate the best places to work from all the rest. Put these insights to work in your organization.

Here are a few of key drivers of employee engagement highlighted in the book:
- Trust level in senior leadership
- Coaching and feedback provided by managers
- Being recognized and valued for one's contributions
- Having opportunities to learn and grow on the job

"Re-engage" presents a model of six universal drivers of employee engagement that come directly from the survey data. But more importantly, each driver is illustrated by many verbatim quotes and comments as well as the highest scoring company for each driver - who the company is, what they do and how they have optimized employee engagement.

There are many leading practices, approaches and methods described throughout that offer tremendous potential if they were to be leveraged in your company. If you want to reduce the number of habitual underperformers, chronic complainers or professional victims, and increase the percentage of high performers, you will want to take advantage of Leigh's and Mark's recommendations.

I think one of the most critical chapters is the one on building effective teams. Since so much of our work today is done by multi-function or multi-geographic teams, companies can no longer afford to have teams who do not execute well. Customer satisfaction, productivity and quality depend on what these teams deliver. This chapter describes how to set up the conditions for effective teamwork and can provide a road map for you to use in your own organization.

Companies all over the world are faced with unprecedented levels of change in today's business environment. The demand for leaders at all levels who can guide engaged teams to meet their marketplace challenges far outstrips the supply. "Re-Engage" provides new insights and real world guidelines that can help you meet your organization's challenges today.

The great recession will be over soon, and we'll once again confront the reality of competing - both within the U.S. and overseas - to bring the best and brightest people onto our teams. Today's most talented individuals, whether they are Boomers or Millennials, actively seek out workplaces where their contributions are valued, they are part of the team, and they are treated with respect and consideration. Employees and team members who are not "engaged" do not stay long, and take valuable brainpower and skills out the door when they leave. People have been sitting tight for 3-4 years, and when the upturn comes, those who are restless will be on the move. The cost of losing dissatisfied people is more than simply monetary, it affects those who remain behind and can even impact the firm's brand in the marketplace. How can you take action now to retain your strongest employees and attract the talent you need to get a head start on the economic recovery?
Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld explain in detail why and how your workplace can create a culture that consistently values every employee. Containing both provocative questions and practical tools, this book gives leaders exactly what they need to turn their firms into engaged workplaces that attract and retain the best talent available. This is not a quick patch-up: Branham and Hirschfield have created a robust outline that takes time and dedication to implement, and that will produce dynamic results. Their comprehensive program ties in to business strategy, brand identity, development of current and future leaders, and firm culture from top to bottom.
The real life stories alone are of great value to every leader, manager, and human resources director. These case studies show real people solving real problems for their companies, and many of the solutions and ideas can be used by any firm. This book is stuffed with top-notch research, and compelling quotes from people who have disengaged - and then reengaged - with the workplace. The authors have issued a wake-up call to managers and leaders across the board. I recommend they read this book, pay attention and take action.

Written by a pair of business consultants, the principal message of "Re-Engage" is both simple and entirely consistent with the human relations school of managerial thought: treat adults like adults, and they will work like responsible, motivated employees. The authors' views were informed by a great deal of quantitative and qualitative data. Collected by Quantum Workplace on an annual basis since 2004, the research portion of this project consisted of some 2.1 million surveys with more than one million qualitative responses. Employee engagement seems to be defined as a heightened sense of commitment felt by an employee for a particular company, job, or manager and that produces desirable outcomes such as greater levels of effort or longer employment tenures.

Statistical analyses pinpointed several actions taken by leading companies in order to inspire higher levels of engagement. These include nurturing trust, aligning employee efforts with organizational objectives, encouraging professional and personal growth, and recognizing/rewarding positive performance, among others. Throughout the book, the authors refer to what they dubbed three "crosswind factors." These are variables, including generational diversity, diseconomies of scale, and difficult economic conditions, that greatly influence the enactment of various engagement principles. In other words, context matters!

There is plenty to like about this book. For one, it is teeming with rich, qualitative data. This allows the reader to see, in telling fashion, what the "good companies" do well and what the "bad companies" do poorly. The authors' grasp of reality is another noteworthy strength of Re-Engage. So often, human relations literature becomes somewhat aloof, almost acting as if "being nice," by itself, will drive employees to higher levels of productivity. One can sense that the authors of this book have a firmer understanding of what is and is not realistic.

Of course, Re-Engage also contains notable shortfalls. Consider the following:

~ Are these truly America's best places to work? Were all U.S.-based, Fortune 500 companies included in this research? Certainly it is not possible to involve every major American company, but neither should the authors/publisher use the title "America's best places to work" if several Fortune 500 companies did not participate. Also, the survey itself leaves something to be desired. A copy is not included in the book, but the reader can access it online at [...]
. One might reasonably question subjective survey items such as "My employer is family friendly" and "We have enough staff to get the work done right." Questions of validity and reliability are not answered. The book references several appendices that are supposed to be available at the book's website. If they exist, I could not locate them.

~ Re-Engage is no masterpiece in literary terms. While books such as Good to Great offer considerable insight through extensive commentary, this particular book relies most heavily on employee responses that are simply transcribed into book form. There is little weighty discussion. Indeed, some portions of Re-Engage look and feel more like a workbook than, say, something written by Drucker, Senge, or Collins. Do not be fooled by the page count. The book can be read rather quickly--comparatively speaking.

~ Probably due to confidentiality, the authors mention company names very sparingly. Indeed, most companies specifically mentioned by the authors are not Fortune 500 caliber. One fault that might be laid at the feet of the authors is an overreliance on certain companies. For instance, they use an interview with the management of Gaylord Palms Hotel and Resort in a few different chapters.

~ Thorough analysis is withheld at times. For instance, the authors, in the opinion of this reader, fail to sufficiently consider questions such as those that follow: Could these attempts to enhance employee engagement generate a higher sense of employee entitlement? Could it be that the best places to work are simply better hirers? Is it possible that the "best places to work" are better only in comparative terms, i.e., if the neighboring ship is skippered by the devil himself, then my ship, though it be commanded by Captain Bligh, appears to be the "best place to work." Furthermore, there is little acknowledgement of the fact that many employees surveyed probably had an "ax to grind."

If nothing else, Re-Engage is not boring. Indeed, the reader's mind should be stimulated by this book, and her preconceived notions should be challenged. Where it lacks scientific rigor, thorough analysis, and rich commentary, it compensates with penetrating questions, often implied, that test the reader's assumptions about employees and their engagement with the company. Re-Engage deserves a good rating, yet it falls well short of a business masterpiece.

A previous reviewer expresses disbelief that the companies Branham and Hirschfeld highlight in Re-Engage could possibly be "the best places to work in America". It's true that you may have never heard of some of the outstanding employers that the authors profile, but that's the point--any place can be a "best place" (no matter how big, or what industry) if they build a positive, healthy culture of engagement. The book makes clear early on that the featured employers were winners of the "best places to work" competitions sponsored by local business journals in 44 cities around the U.S. Their employees simply scored them higher on the engagement survey used by a third-part data collector--Quantum Workplace of Omaha, Nebraska. Much bigger and better known companies than Rackspace, Quality Living, Gaylord Hotels, Winchester Hospital, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Nalley Automotive, and Joie de Vivre Hospitality probably competed, but didn't win. Other better-known companies simply didn't enter the competitions. Maybe they will next year. In the meantime, we can learn a lot about creating a highly engaged workplace from these seven companies that scored in the top one percent of the 10,000 employers who have competed for the honor over the past six years. In fact, this may be the most representative book on the topic, not just because of the scope of the research--but because two-thirds of the employers represented are either small or medium-sized, unlike most engagement studies where the data comes mainly from large companies. For leaders and HR professionals who are serious about creating a better place to work, I highly recommend this important book.

This is one of those rare business books that offers truly valuable content and helpful guidance in every chapter. Branham & Hirschfeld draw on Quantum Workplace's extensive "Best Places to Work" research to identify six drivers of employee engagement. Each driver is thoroughly explained and illustrated with both executive interviews and "voice of the employee" comments.

As a specialist in engaging employees with internal marketing, I found Re-Engage particularly enlightening in its discussions and advice in dealing with today's challenges to workplace engagement: managing organizational growth, generational diversity in the workforce, and a unstable economy. The authors also devote a chapter to self-engagement, recognizing that employees have equal responsibility to being engaged at work.

Re-Engage is rich in insight and guidance, and I recommend it highly.

Despite the fact that I have been in the field of Human Resources for many years now, I rarely find "management" books that compel me to read them cover-to-cover. RE-ENGAGE: How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times is one book that engaged me from start to finish. The topic is timely, the research is compelling, and the model of engagement is persuasive.

While employee retention may not be the most pressing issue right now, engaging and inspiring employees is always important and will become more critical again as the economy continues to recover. RE-ENGAGE provides the right information and tools so that organizations can become more strategic about talent management now.

The authors do an effective job of drawing upon data from Best Places to Work Surveys that span diverse organizations and industries. They cite specific comments from employees in highly engaged workplaces and contrast them with comments from less engaged workplaces. Although these comments clearly illustrate key differentiators that most firms aspire to, they are not presented as prescriptive. Rather,the authors - Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld - recognize that not all organizations have the same resources and capabilities.

Their engagement model and its "Six Universal Engagement Drivers" is very persuasive and practical. Each chapter highlights one of the drivers and provides examples from firms that exemplify this is a "Signature Driver". The authors also do a nice job of linking these signature drivers and associated practices to actual business strategies.

My only request is that the chapter on "Self Engagement" become the beginning of another book on "The Employee Side of the Equation". RE-ENGAGE is the rare type of book that is quite comprehensive AND leads one to want even more.

I highly recommend this book for anyone in a leadership or management role who wants to make a difference in their organization's culture, management practices, and/or overall level of engagement. RE-ENGAGE builds a compelling case for the business need to be better at employee engagement and doesn't leave you wondering how to go about it.

In an incredibly insightful book by Leigh Branham, SPHR, and Mark Hirschfeld, Re-Engage: How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times, companies who understand how to engage their employees were profiled. "When the going gets tough, the economy gets shaky - the tough (employees) work harder to maintain a great place to work. They don't set aside core principles in turbulent times - they don't drop the aircraft in order to fly the microphone." The secret is the employee engagement comes from both the employee and the employer. In fact, it is created and sustained by both - a genuine two-way street. The acts of hiring, nurturing, training, evaluating, coaching, etc., are all activities that impact both the employee and the employer. Both parties can lose, and both can win - depending on how both react, behave, and interact. The result is either an engaged workplace, or a toxic area full of landmines. After you dedicate yourself to creating an engaged workforce, you'll want to read and re-read this book.

"Best places to work" lists might seem like vestiges of another, more prosperous age. Do employers still have to worry about employee satisfaction in hard economic times? Yes, they do, say human resources experts Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld. They argue that, since the economic meltdown of 2008, keeping your employees engaged is more important than ever. Using vivid real-world examples, employees' comments and compelling data, Branham and Hirschfeld demonstrate how your company can join the list of elite employers. In fact, they may provide a bit too much information; their book features so many lists of possible tactics that readers may feel overwhelmed at times. Still, getAbstract is confident that the book provides solid information for senior managers and HR professionals. In short, Branham and Hirschfeld ably demonstrate how, when times get tough, the best keep going.

Excellent book. Recommend it for any new or seasoned manager / leader.

Arrived in excellent condition. Fast delivery.

I'm a 55-year old 'baby booming' academic. After 7 years as a Head of Department (Dean in the USA), I have recently been seconded into what faculty may say is the 'dark side' - the administrative side of the University I work at.
My role is to help prepare the University for an Audit. Not of the financials but to validate that what the Uni says it's doing is actually being done through evidence sucha s policies, processes and activities. Another project I have just been handed - and one I am pleased to take on - is a Staff Re-engagement project. After years of poor (change) leadership (being upfront I know!), many staff at our university have disengaged. The challenge for our HR Division and the leadership/management of the university is to how to re-engage the disengaged.
Doing the academic thing, I did a literature review. To my surprise, little has been done in staff re-engagement, particularly as it applies to the higher education sector.
Leigh Branham's website: [...] and this book have been the cornerstones of my literature review. Succinct, based on research, and well constructed, the book has become my bible. It's structural flow as a book and logically-presented chapters make for easy reading as a whole or as a quick-reference on a particular aspect of staff engagement. I particularly like the case studies, lists and tables that highlight the key points surrounding the Six Universal Engagement Drivers. Having recently written my own book (The Masters Athlete), I can appreciate the work Leigh and Mark have put in to creating this authorative text.
Take a bow guys and know you will be making a difference to our organisation!