Employee Engagement is often a new age phrase that is bandied about. Are your people Engaged? How can you get better Employee Engagement? But does it really make a difference to your bottom line? Many feel it may be new-age snowflake pandering? I’ve heard it said, “Back in my day there was none of this. A man got an honest wage, for an honest day’s work! And he was glad to have a job”. Now that’s far too overt for most people to agree publically with, but there may be more than a hint of truth in it for many. But what if it’s actually costing us?
The 3 levels of Employee Engagement.
In its simplest guise, Engagement comes in 3 forms. Engaged, Dis-engaged & Somewhat Engaged. Those who are Engaged are a pleasure to work with. But today, I want to focus on the other 2 areas, the Somewhat Engaged and the Dis-engaged. The Somewhat Engaged are usually only heading one direction unless the Leadership has noticed and is willing to address it. The 1st thing we notice tends to be the symptoms. Those actions, or lack thereof, that I’ve mentioned already. But good Leadership, possibly with the help of a good Leadership & Teams Coach (I know a good one 😉 will look deeper to ascertain the root cause. Then by addressing the root cause you will be confident that you can avoid these symptoms showing up again. The Dis-engaged are simply further away from Engaged than the Somewhat Engaged but the action to be taken are the very same. Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting that it’s always the Employer who is responsible, it may well be the Employee him/herself. But without knowing for sure it may remain undetected to spoil things again at a future date.
How might poor employee engagement impact your business?
Employees who are disengaged can affect your bottom line in a number of ways. Some of them are obvious and can be seen instantly. Not turning up for work, turning up late, an increase in sick days, not executing primary tasks properly, showing disgruntlement around change, and being unhappy generally. But others can be a lot more subtle. Not volunteering or stepping up, staying silent at meetings, reducing their contribution, slower to process, reduced communication or awareness around areas of underperformance, and a lack of curiosity around the business’s progress in relation to its Objectives & Key Results.
Generally, there are one of two scenarios. We either notice the impact and address the issues, or it goes under the radar and we absorb the under-performance. Even when addressing the issue, Leaders sometimes focus on the symptoms rather than the cause. This results in people leaving, or you asking them to leave, and getting someone else in to fill their role. If we ignore the cause, the pattern tends to repeat. So let’s take a look at how engagement shows up.
How might poor employee engagement impact your employees?
For the individuals themselves, it can be a debilitating disease. If not addressed it becomes a downward spiral where employees lose the motivation or interest in the business, their colleagues, and the daily tasks. They become bored and disinterested. The best thing that can happen is that they “Quit and Go”. The worst thing that can happen is that they “Quit & Stay”. Let that land for a moment. Do you know anyone who is doing the latter? It’s no good for anybody. They are unhappy, their colleagues who are having to carry their load are unhappy and the business is unhappy. In addition, it’s a very contagious disease. So what should you do?
How should you look to address weak Employee Engagement?
Increase your awareness and your management’s awareness around what a lack of engagement looks like the symptoms and its effects on the business. Model, Connect & Involve your people. Model the behavior you want to see (eg Communicate, Appreciate, Respect, etc), Connect with the people you want to lead (eg Engage in Smalltalk, hold social events, share the big Vision, etc), and Involve them in the journey (eg ask for their opinions and input, keep them up to speed on progress or lack thereof, share market insights and innovations).
There is no magic pixie dust to ensuring good Employee Engagement, but its effects on your business should not be left to chance. Speak to your employees and management or have them complete an engagement survey. It doesn’t need to be formal, you are just looking to assess how engaged people are feeling. If you need help there are plenty of Employee Engagement Surveys out there or ask a professional to help you design your own. Then you need to sit down as a management team, with or without outside help, and decide how you will look to improve it. It can be costly to ignore and the risk of contagion is real, so don’t leave it to chance. Don’t do the Ostrich and leave yourself and your business at risk of getting the proverbial “Kick in the A^$£”.
