INCREASING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to a Gallup survey a staggering 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged. Many companies are experiencing a crisis of engagement and aren’t aware of it.  Another Gallup Survey identified that only 2 out of 10 employees think they are managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.

Engaged employees are more productive, provide better service, and even stay in their jobs longer. The Gallup survey showed that companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share. 

Low employee engagement takes many forms from apathy to absenteeism. It’s a drain on productivity in the form of boredom and daydreaming. It can also manifest in more disruptive attitudes and behaviours.

Engaged employees:

• Are more productive.
• Have higher retention rates.
• Are more innovative.
• Offer better customer service.
• Are more profitable.
• Are more satisfied.

Most organisations informally assess their employees level of engagement. However, this gut perception is often not accurate simply because low engagement is expressed in so many differing but subtly destructive ways. As a result, engagement is not addressed until it has been identified as problematic. When this is the case, making improvement involves buy-in, trust, and commitment to the process from those that are already disengaged.

To assess the cause(s) and recommend interventions for increasing engagement, I use a 4-step process to increase employee engagement:

1. Discovery. Assessment methods are used to conduct an organisational needs assessment. Examples of the types of instruments and processes used include organisational climate surveys, personal interviews, and focus groups. This is like a doctor doing an x-ray to see what is cannot be seen in order to assess the most appropriate form of action.
2. Assessment. Findings from the Discovery inform a root cause analysis. This helps identify whether an active organisational crisis, chronic process obstacles, dysfunctional behaviours or, possibly other causes may be preventing desired outcomes. An agreed plan of action is created from here.
3. Execution. The execution can be in the form of workshops, training or 1:1 coaching in order to achieve trust, accountability, and commitment to the process which is required for any meaningful result.
4. Monitoring. Tools are used to provide ongoing monitoring of staff engagement so the organisation can maintain and build on the benefits of the work.