You cannot be the Employer of Choice if your employees aren’t engaged

According to Galop research in their most recent Workforce Studies, there are four primary benefits to having an engaged workforce.  They are

1. Increased Profits
2. Higher Productivity
3. Greater sense of Well-being
4. Improved Ability to Retain Good Workers

According to Quantumworkplace.com the definition of Engagement is:

Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward the work they do, their teams, and their organization.

A study by the Harvard Business Review in association with Quantum workplace found an interesting conundrum.

1. 81% of Business Leaders strongly felt that highly engaged employees are more productive and do better work
2. Over 65% of survey takers had revamped their approach to performance management
3. Only 37% say that employee engagement is a significant area of organizational focus
4. A silo approach may be at least partially to blame

Answer These Questions If You Will.

First, why do you think employee engagement increased during the pandemic?

Second, why do you think employee engagement declined as things returned to normal?

Here Are Some Probable Answers

1. During the height of the Pandemic employees felt Managers cared about their needs
2. As the Pandemic slowed, management attention focused on getting the business back to normal and not so much on employee relationships

So, What is the State of Employee Engagement Today?

1. 38% are actively engaged, in other words, these, with their outstanding performance, are the major drivers of customer satisfaction
2. 20% are making positive but not necessarily outstanding contributions
3. 26% are withholding judgement, but open to engagement probably doing the minimum just to get by
4. 16% are actively disengaged, possible even undermining their organizations

It Might Therefore Be Logical to Conclude:

1. 38 out of every 100 employees is worth more than they are being paid
2. 20 out of every 100 employees are worth their wage but thing they deserve more
3. 26 out of every 100 employees are willing to work harder and better under a leader who cares
4. 16 out of every 100 employees are not only not worth what they are being paid but with their bad attitudes are possibly sabotaging organizational efforts

What Happens When Employees Become Engaged?

1. Turnover drops by 43%
2. Accidents decrease by 64%%
3. Absenteeism reduces by 81%
4. Productivity increases b%
5. Sales grow by 18%
6. Profit goes up by 23%
7. A feeling of well-being, the belief that the organization is interested in their whole life, not just work life, rises by66%

What Drives Employee Engagement?  According to Galop,

These Five Elements are Essential:

1. Communication: That both Senior Leadership and Direct Supervisors provide a vision for the future supplemented by information that affects them
2. Leadership: Demonstrate sincere appreciation and provide trustworthy information
3. Growth Opportunities: Education, training for professional growth and opportunities for promotions
4. Employee Voice and Value: Employees need to feel valued and know their ideas and suggestions are appreciated and considered
5. Employee “Well-being: Include strategies for stress management, maintaining work-life balance, and feeling free to voice opinions

If you are committed to engaging with your staff, you are ready to complete construction on your Retention Environment.

Becoming the Employer of Choice with Engaged Employees

The Big Idea:  You Can and Should Be the Employer of Choice

If You Sincerely Commit To These Ideas and Principles You Will:

1. Appreciate the benefits of talent based recruitment
2. Know Key strategies for implementing a Culture of Mentoring
3. Understand the critical importance of ridding team culture of negative influences
4. Develop workable approaches to stress mitigation
5. Acquire convicted awareness of the leadership role in motivating and retaining good team members
6. Apply the principles of talent based recruitment and selection

Your Staff Needs Good Reasons to Show Up.

Those Reasons Begin with Fair and Adequate Compensation

But if Pay Raises and Sign on Bonuses Are Your Only Strategies, Your Problems Aren’t Solved.

Compensation Will Attract Them and Trap Them, Policy and Structure Will Guide Them, but if You Want to Keep Them Positive, Productive, and Willing to Stay, You Will also Need:

Empathetic and Authentic Supervisors Who Can Lead and mentor as Well as Manage

Meaningful Nurturing of New Hires

A Mentoring Culture Rewarding Staff for Supporting Development of Productive Teams

Incentives that Reward Goal Achievement, Productivity, and Teamwork

Stress Coping and Reduction Strategies that Might Even Be Fun

Scheduling that Meets Company Priorities While Respecting Personal Needs

Elimination of Toxic Practices and People in the Culture

An Inclusion Culture that Is not only Diverse, but Recognizes Each Staff Member As A Full Participant on the Team

Talent Based Recruitment and Selection Systems that Include Targeted Recruitment, Referrals from Top Staff, Team Interviews, Personal as Well as Professional Reference Checking, and Behavioral Interview Questions Using Realistic Scenarios Focusing on “What Did You Do?” vs. “What Would You Do?

Leadership Acceptance of and Active Support for the Concepts Listed Above