Employee engagement, disengagement and profit

Good to see you again this Friday. How was your week? Trust it was as good as mine? I’m going to leave you guessing how good mine was. Before I forget we are having one of our TTBI talks tomorrow, Saturday 18th at 1:00pm WAT. This is going to be about finances and wealth. Plan to join us. I am going to be interviewing the head of private banking for sterling bank. Zoom meeting ID 7956281472 and password lolvic.

How committed are your employees to the business? How ready are they to go over and beyond the call of duty? Showing up at work (or at your computer at home) is not enough especially in these COVID-19 times. Basically, engagement is really the above, employees being ready, not just to show up at work but also to be so committed that they are ready to go over and beyond the call of duty.

It is not just interaction at work but also full commitment that brings in the worthwhile bottom line that all organisations want. Over the last many years, the percentage of employees disengaged at work has averaged 70 percent When employees are disengaged there is an 18 percent reduction in productivity with profitability being 15 percent lower according to gallop polls. An actively disengaged employee costs their organisation 34 percent of their salary. This has not taken into consideration losses on the job for the organisation.

An engaged employee is one who commits to the organisation and gives of him or herself freely to the success of the company. What causes employees to be engaged varies from person to person and from organisation to organisation. A very structured and formal organisation brings commitment that is different from a casual organisation. People must fit into each organisation that suits them. This is why doing personality profiles is so important. This not only talks about fit for the job but also fit for the organisation.

Organisations feel harnessing their employees to their work roles is enough. However, when it comes to engagement, employees express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally in the performance of the roles. Even if they are fit for the organisation.

There are psychological conditions that allow engagement to exist. Meaningfulness! is the job meaningful enough to engage the employee fully? Safety! is the work environment safe enough both physically and in terms of criticism so the employee can engage without fear of criticism and accidents? Finally, availability! is the employee mentally and physically able to express their full self in the work environment?

If an employee is fully engaged with the organisation, they will take ownership of their work and will be loyal without any pressure from the organisation. Is there somebody you are always cajoling to pay attention and put their all into the organisation? The chances are high that they are not engaged. For some of the above reasons.

Engagement may however not be constant because the environment may change from safe to unsafe and back again depending on what is going on in the work place, organisation at large and even the location of the organisation.

Employees want to feel that investment from their organisation. This does not mean a massive thing, but they want to feel commitment is a two-way street. People are looking for that partnership that says I am here to serve you, and you are here to serve me, how are we going to meet in the middle?

In order to do things properly we need to understand what can cause disengagement. The key indicator of disengagement is apathy. if there is a lack of autonomy, communication, flexibility, development, trust, personal or workplace challenges, there is a real possibility that the employee will be disengaged.

Some of the reasons for disengagement are not easily managed or overcome for example a lack of personal challenge. If the employee is having issues at home, it may present itself as a lack of interest at work. This may not easy for the organisation to help.

Let us look at some factors and how the organisation can help. With the case of a problem at home, HR can help with some welfare or a wellness benefit like counselling. Employees should not be left to deal with issues themselves as it may overwhelm them. This brings up the question, who should first show commitment the employee or the organisation?

If the problem is a lack of autonomy in the workplace, we must realise that autonomy is often the result of trust. Leaders who trust their employees allow them to be more autonomous. However, trust goes both ways from a disengagement standpoint. The employee who feels they’re not trusted by leadership at any level will be less likely to give of themselves. Trust within this context can also mean the employee does not feel the company has his or her best interest at heart. They may feel they are seen as nothing more than just a suit or just a number. On the other hand, the organisation may also feel they are seen as just a meal ticket where good work is done or not.

Communication as a tool of engagement or disengagement again goes both ways. When the organisation communicates with the employee or vice versa, the tone and wording has to be clear devoid of ambiguity so that the message will not be taken negatively. When the employee communicates with the organisation, likewise the communication has to be well understood so that the reaction to the employee is the right reaction. For example, communication should be kept confidential if it is of a sensitive nature. If employee communication is properly handled, it usually amounts to engagement.

Flexibility presents unique challenges as it is often related to scheduling and the working environment. Can an employee work different hour to complete the job at the same productivity level as all the members of the team? Flexibility is critical in today’s environment especially when considering work-life balance.

Finally, development. The challenge with development is often in meeting people where they are but also with what they desire. There is also a challenge in making sure that learning presents a return on investment for the organisation at the end of the day. In these times with so much free on-line education, sometimes there is the question, in whose court is the ball. The debate can be long.

Employee engagement continues to be one of the most important metrics an organisation can track. It requires constant and consistent attention or else HRM runs the risk of seeing gaps in engagement leading to an increase in disengagement and an eventual reduction of the bottom line.

Employees are no longer simply looking for a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday job. They want to be involved, committed and enthusiastic. An organisation that creates the right atmosphere can continuously feed these employee needs. In return the organisation sees continued growth and success with-in their industry.

Have a good weekend, be engaged and join us at TTBI tomorrow.