Surveys and studies indicate global job dissatisfaction is at a two-decade high. Disengaged employees account for nearly 70 percent of the workforce, which significantly affects the bottom line, according to data from Towers Watson. They cause corporate income, earnings, and profits to suffer by as much as $500 billion each year.
Comparative surveys also show that leaders believe engagement is higher than it actually is. Appearances never tell the full story, contributing to this disconnect in perspective. Busy people are not necessarily engaged but may be overworked. Leaders struggling in a dysfunctional culture may not discern low-performance levels.
When leaders focus more on managing tasks than on people, the disconnect widens. Staff attitudes and performance trend downward. Disengaged leaders beget indifferent employees. When an organization’s culture fosters disengagement, it’s ultimately up to leaders to take corrective action.
The Basic Engagement Mindset
Leaders must focus on people, understand what they need, and motivate them to enhance engagement and productivity, notes leadership consultant Clint Swindall in Engaged Leadership: Building a Culture to Overcome Employee Disengagement (Wiley, 2011).
Many leaders fail to understand disengagement’s impact. They may not associate staff disengagement with overall inefficiencies, low productivity, or reduced profits. Studies show these factors have a greater influence on corporate performance than the economy, market trends, or competitive forces. In other words, an organization’s strengths and weaknesses hinge more on internal than external issues, most importantly the staff’s emotional health.
Dissatisfied workers simply don’t care as much as their satisfied colleagues. Their performance, efforts, and concerns about company or customer well-being are marginal. When too many employees fall into the “disengaged” category, the outcomes are predictable.
Many leaders believe transferring or dismissing troublesome employees is the most effective way to conquer disengagement. They see this as the simplest, quickest way of eliminating the problem. While this may occasionally hold true, it should never be the default approach. A culture known for high turnover will never inspire morale.
Strong relationships are key to overall organizational wellness and employee satisfaction. Enhancing relationships—not cutting them out—is the answer, and it takes hard work. Leaders must start by adjusting their mindset and focusing on two main engagement ingredients: caring about others and knowing how to reach them.
Engagement Through the Organization
Leaders who recognize engagement’s importance have a greater advantage. Enthusiasm skyrockets when they create a positive environment, promote helpfulness, value their staff, and provide the resources necessary for success.
Adopting a people-first philosophy strengthens engagement, provided it’s backed by actions. Your people need to see signs that you value them. Convey this by giving them the tools they need to do their best work. Do they need additional manpower or funding? Are better supplies or equipment required?
Do your people have the direction and plans they need to ensure projects are completed successfully? Are procedures and policies thoroughly communicated, and is training adequate? Do people know exactly what to do—and why they’re doing it? Without these baseline provisions, people feel lost, frustration builds, and disengagement flourishes.
Frustration leads to resentment and low morale when leaders fail to implement solutions. Never forget that people need adequate skills to accomplish the tasks you’ve assigned. Only then can they be confident in their abilities and enjoy success.
A culture that fosters empowerment and accountability motivates people to find their own solutions and make a difference. Enhance this by giving people as much authority as their abilities allow. Let them suggest improvements to their processes and authorize them to implement as many as feasible. This gives your people a greater sense of ownership—one of the greatest professional motivators.
Engagement Through Partnering
Nothing extinguishes engagement more than feeling controlled, used, or disrespected. When leaders treat their employees as a lower class or as props for personal gain, resentment and disillusionment set in.
Leaders who create a culture of unity, where everyone is on the same team and equally important, inspire the highest levels of engagement. If employees are regarded as partners rather than subjects, they have the highest sense of value. Their performance matches their engagement, and they can accomplish amazing feats.
True partners are included in all decisions, plans, and discussions. They are stakeholders and will more readily buy in when there’s a personal investment. They should be familiar with the organization’s vision, mission, and strategy. Inclusion is a great motivator.
Many employees lack access to company business plans—sometimes inadvertently, often intentionally. Inform people about situations related to their specific roles and duties. Open communication on matters big and small promotes inclusion and value. Share important decisions with them, and explain the reasons or rationale.
With any decision or change, allow people to understand how they’re affected—collectively and individually. Leaders should set the example of embracing the progressive aspects of new policies or practices.
Engagement Through Personal Connection
While providing resources and information enhances relationships, it takes more to strengthen them: a personal connection with people and an investment in their lives. The most successful leaders demonstrate genuine caring. Employee engagement reaches only moderate levels without it.
As Swindall states, both leaders and employees contribute to workplace disengagement. Employees generally start their jobs with enthusiasm but lose it over time after chalking up negative experiences. Employees cannot be expected to make the initial efforts to correct problems. Leaders must initiate improvements and oversee organizational health.
Relationships drive engagement, which, in turn, drives productivity and success. Leaders must therefore be the relationship initiators and encouragers. If you care about people, your natural inclination will be relationship-driven.
Connecting with employees and getting to know them have powerful benefits, conveying value and appreciation. Your staff senses your support and understanding as the relationship grows. They respond with trust, loyalty, and effort. The employee gets to know your character, forging a tighter bond.
A leader conveys caring by being interested in an employee’s life, family, and aspirations. Strong relationships permit the frank sharing of concerns and ideas, leading to joint ownership. Greater accountability and transparency lead to higher engagement for both parties and a greater sense of unity.
Effective leaders don’t show bias or partiality among employees. All people should be treated equally, under the same set of rules, with equal considerations, consequences, and rewards. Favoritism destroys unity, while fairness is a great trust-builder.
Conclusion
The leadership mindset needed to build employee engagement involves a number of natural steps, all of which can be learned and executed. The basic premise is to make underperforming employees better and good employees great, building on who they are and what they’re truly capable of doing. Start with those who will best spread their positive attitudes to their coworkers, assisting your efforts to raise the bar. The goal is to bring out the best in everyone.
