Low Employee Engagement — A Modern Day Problem
Technology and the ability to get information quickly has changed our lives in ways that we could have never imagined. “Google” has become a word that you hear on a regular basis when searching out information. You no longer have to leave your house to get groceries, food, products in stores, go to the bank or post office, hang out with your friends, watch a movie, find a date or go to an office to work. You can order things and they are delivered right to your door. You can bank and pay your bills online. You can buy a movie or binge watch shows for hours on demand.
Look around at any place in public and you see people constantly looking at their phones. You can see this on an airplane, waiting in line at the store to check out (if you don’t have your food delivered to you!), at the doctor’s office or in their cars. Basically, all the time!
Although technology is great, it is causing us to no longer have to talk to each other. This is happening personally and professionally. People will send an instant message, text or email to communicate information even if the person is sitting 5 feet away. In a nutshell, technology has caused people to be less engaged with each other.
Engagement in the Workplace
Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work. Is this how you feel at your job? Unfortunately, according to Gallup, 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged. That is crazy that only 13% of the workforce globally is engaged!! What is driving this low engagement?
Think about that answer for yourself. The company vision, your direct manager and how you feel about your job are all key drivers to your engagement. If any one of these is lacking, it can have a big impact on your engagement and company productivity. Being disengaged is a major reason why people leave an organization because they feel no connection to it. It is also a big reason why a company can start to struggle or even fail.
Low Engagement is a Threat to Your Organization
Organizations face threats from their competitors and are constantly adjusting to address those risks. Employee engagement is an internal threat that must also have intentional focus. How many times have you been working with someone who is clearly unhappy in their role? They complain, they don’t get things done on time and they spread this negativity to others to form a group of disengaged employees. This results in more turnover, higher training costs and the loss of younger talent because they never connected with the company. It can spread like cancer across your organization, leading to serious problems and effects on your bottom line. Disengaged employees cost the US economy $350 billion dollars per year in lost productivity.
How can you find out how employee engagement is measuring up in your organization? Companies can measure employee engagement through surveys, focus groups or a combination of both. The goal is to get a baseline of where you are currently and then continue to measure against that baseline. Once you have the results, you need to take action to address the issues. Share the results and your action plans with the organization. Some things will need to be done at a senior leadership level while others could be addressed by groups in the company. Find ways to let the organization come together to focus on certain areas through task forces. Be open to their ideas and include the best options in the overall plan of action. They may come up with something that is going to be a real game changer.
What determines success is organization commitment, consistency, manager focus on the employees and communications that align with the actions. The worst thing that can happen is that you talk about what to do as a company, but then do nothing or very little to address the issues. This is not a short-term fix that can be solved in a few months. It is a focus area that must be reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis.
Don’t Forget Your Remote Employees
Do you have remote employees on your team? Finding ways to keep them engaged when you don’t see them every day can be a challenge. You may forget to include them in an impromptu meeting or share a decision that you made in the hallway. Imagine how they are feeling. They miss out on the day to day conversations, the politics going on in the office that they can’t see, being on conference calls or video conference all day long to stay connected. Both the manager and the employee have agreed that the remote situation is what they want, so now it is time to focus on ways to make it work.
Managers will need to be intentional with 1:1s, capturing decisions, sending off instant messages or emails as things happen and ensuring that when the person is in the office, that there is dedicated time to discuss things. Ensure that you know what the employee is doing and that you are sharing that with others in the office. Travel to see them so you can see how they are doing and where they may need your help. Remember to include them in meetings or at a minimum let them know what happened.
The remote employee will also need to find ways to set themselves up for success. You will feel isolated, so find ways to be connected and have 1:1s with people regularly so you can learn information. Share what you are doing each week so people know…even though they can’t see you. Try to come to the office at a minimum once a quarter if possible and be intentional while you are there. Set up meetings with your peers, clients and management while you are there in person. Plan group dinners or lunches so you can bond with the team.
More Ideas to Engage Your Employees
Are you looking for some new ideas on how to engage your employees? I found this Ultimate List of 49 Employee Engagement Ideas that has some great suggestions from a company called Axero. You will see that employee engagement is a process that starts from day one and continues as long as they are with the company.
If you aren’t engaging employees at the very beginning, then you risk losing them. Building those connections at the start is so important so they start to feel as if they belong with the company and the team. Find ways to be inclusive and help them build those connections with a mentor or buddy that can support them initially.
Once you get team members on-boarded then you need to continue this as a part of an on-going focus. Look through this list and see what ideas may apply the best in your team or company. How can you continue to shift your culture to be focused on employees first?
Susan M. Barber works with mid to senior level leaders on employee engagement, team development, executive presence and strategic planning. For more information on her coaching and consulting services, visit www.susanmbarber.com.
