Employee Enggagement - Why is it so low?A recent Gallup Management Journal article cited the results of a survey on employee engagement. The findings: Actively Engaged with their work: 30% The results were virtually unchanged from 2008 (1%). So you can’t blame the economy. 70% of workers NOT engaged with their work! This is a troubling number. Look at how much you are getting done with only 30% of your employees actively engaged. How much more you could you accomplish if you raise that number to 50% or 70%? There is an enormous pool of untapped potential in that 70% of your workforce that is not giving their all. The question is how you get them engaged. There are a number of factors involved. People either need to be good at what they do or consider it to be a growth and development opportunity. They need to be doing the work in an environment that allows them to do it well. They need to feel that their work is important, that it makes a valuable contribution to at least the department. They become more engaged if they understand that that work adds value to the company. They need to work with and for people who appreciate their contribution. For some people the work needs to be challenging. Other people prefer the work to be consistent so that they can master it and reliably deliver quality output. there are a large number of possibilities. The trick is that you need to know, what makes each of your employees tick. Then you must build those components into their job. If your employees are not engaged, then the management approach to the work and to the employees needs to be changed as well. Management may need to do a better job at explaining the value that their work adds to the department and the company. Management needs to do a better job of identifying the good things that the people do and recognizing them for it. Once this organizational transformation is accomplished, the productivity, quality and energy of the organization all increases. The company benefits and the people benefit. It is usually more enjoyable to lead an engaged workforce than it is to manage a disengaged workforce. When the workers are engaged, everybody wins!
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