According to Gallup, as much as 67% of employees are disengaged in their workplace. Taking this a step further, more than half of disengaged employees don't plan to be with the same employer one year from now, meaning a significant number of your core staff members could be considering leaving. How do you make sure this doesn't become the reality for your team? How do you keep your team engaged? Oh, and by the way, what is engagement? We understand this is a relatively new term, beginning in the 1990s. TalentCulture defines it well:
“When employees are engaged, they adopt the vision, values, and purpose of the organization they work for. They become passionate contributors, innovating problem solvers, and stunning colleagues.”
Doesn’t that sound like the dream? Well, we can get there by recognizing disengagement in its micro form, and addressing it swiftly. Look for perceived laziness, apathy, dissonance, absenteeism, low energy, and bad attitudes. Forbes suggests that when we [your team] become invisible at work, feelings of inadequateness loom large. Similarly, when they lack self-worth in their roles, emptiness is imminent. Are they able to create value? Do they feel valued? If you don’t know, ask!
Leaders that ask the right questions and foster open communication on their team create engaging environments. 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week. When you value open communication and feedback, disengagement issues and frustrations quickly surface. This provides an opportunity for trust to be formed between employees and managers, and many times the problems can be solved together.
You can start today by stepping away from your desk, and bravely asking some questions.
Until next time, lead on.
The Leadr Team