Build Success Through Employee Engagement
Continuously improving processes is a must for modern businesses wanting to maintain or grow competitive advantage, or perhaps to stay in business.
One of the biggest downfalls of continuous improvement is the inability for organizations to sustain or control change. With supportive management and business groups who are willing to break down silos and effectively collaborate, sustainable business improvements can be achieved. Keep in mind, continuous improvement is an employee-driven methodology.
I don’t need to go into all of the statistics researched by Gallup (2016) to convince you that many of today’s employees are simply not motivated at work. Look at the person in the office or cube next to you and you will most likely see someone who is simply not inspired by their company’s management. Can you relate? Do you know of someone like this?
In 2016 Gallup research highlighted that only 13% of global employees were actively engaged in their job role; meaning that they were actively working towards the success of the organization. Fortunately in the USA, that statistic was 33%, somewhat higher. What’s concerning though is that 24% of global employees were actively disengaged.
Who are actively disengaged employees?
Actively disengaged employees are people who are unhappy and unproductive in their work. They tend to spread their negative view of their work situation throughout the work environment. The remainder of workers are simply disengaged, which means that they lack motivation and make little or no effort when it comes to achieving organizational goals.
I can certainly say that I experienced each of these states throughout my career. I’m not referring to the ups and downs of everyday work, but the situations that affect you. In a good state, you feel euphoric because you found a challenging, skill-developing job that enriches you as a person. Conversely, there exist those jobs that make you feel as though you do not want to get out of bed and suffer through another day in your workplace.
Why can’t each job provide skill advancement or developmental opportunities that engage you in your job?
There are roadblocks to employee engagement and, interestingly enough, they are not dissimilar to those felt in personal relationships.
People
- feel taken for granted,
- fear failure,
- are provided with a better offer,
- do not feel as though they receive what they expect,
- change their priorities,
- feel as though there is all talk and no action,
- determine that values and interests have changed, and/or
- experience a change in the dynamic of trust and power.
Employee Engagement is influenced by emotion.
Many of the issues surrounding engagement of employees relate to emotional and cognitive aspects of an individual’s psychology. Employee engagement is significantly influenced by how an employee feels about their work experience and how they are treated in the organization. Sahoo and Mishra (2012) highlighted that employee engagement is driven by emotion, which is fundamentally related to and drives bottom line success within an organization. In a similar vein to intimate relationships, the underlying emotional and psychological foundation to employee engagement is that employees want to commit to a company as it fulfills a basic relational need where the employee receives gratification and feels they belong to something bigger than themselves.
To create a healthy engaging environment, you have to start by understanding yourself. Know your own motivations, drivers, strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and limitations. Understanding yourself will allow you to know what factors create engagement and disengagement for you. It provides you with a genuine awareness as to what you are willing to accept or not in a work context.
Our Solution
Using the personal development learning experience of Everything DiSC®, Engagement Academy Partners measures employee preferences and tendencies. This allows participants to receive personalized insights that deepen their understanding of themself and others, which makes workplace interactions more enjoyable and effective. Contact Engagement Academy Partners and learn how you can engage your employees and experience continuous improvement.
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