Firstly, why is employee engagement important?
Engaged Employees are generally positive, committed, focused and motivated to achieve successful outcomes in each specific engagement opportunity. The overriding sentiment is “for the good of the company, with pride”. The “we” mentality.
Neutral Employees are mostly neutral, passive, freewheeling and happy to achieve ordinary outcomes in each specific engagement opportunity. The overriding sentiment is “for the good of me, with tolerance for the company”. The “I” mentality.
Disengaged Employees are inclined to be negative, dissident, distracted and apathetic in each specific engagement opportunity. The overriding sentiment is “I wish I were somewhere else, I dislike the company”. The “they” mentality.
Organisational rewards to be had by cultivating a workforce that is highly energised and engaged are immense and numerous:-
- Better employee engagement means better productivity! They work harder, smarter, are absent less often and less involved in accidents, incidents or activities causing timeout.
- Engaged employees are less wasteful! They are more conscious of wasting resources and less likely to make mistakes that cause unnecessary costs.
- Engaged employees mean more profit! Increased productivity + decreased wastage = increased profit!
- Engaged employees are less likely to resign! They will work for your company for much longer than disengaged ones increasing return on investment in training, increased experience and accordingly better productivity.
- Engaged employees are positive promoters! They are less likely to have negative things to say about the business. They are brand ambassadors.
- Engaged employees are happy in their work! They tend to be cheerful and promote good vibes within the company creating a contagious positive knock-on effect to co-workers and customers alike.
- Engaged employees communicate well! They are better at communicating with their peers, leaders and customers. They are generally adept at breaking down silos and creating mutual cooperation between the various functions in the business.
- Engaged employees are more innovative! They outclass their disengaged counterparts when it comes to bringing valuable ideas to the business.
- Sustainable competitive advantage! Engagement is a difficult, slow, cultural transformation and, if achieved, by default renders sustainable competitive advantage. It will be hard for competitors to achieve overnight.
Why has engagement improved through lockdown?
The most obvious reason is job security! Lockdown has caused or threatened the loss of many jobs, which has no doubt increased a sense of importance of focusing on work to retain this privilege.
But there are other reasons.
Lockdown has come with its negatives, but it also provides an upside to many employees.
Employees have experienced working from home or remotely for the first time. It has improved flexibility, productivity, cost reductions, increased creativity as well as an improved sense of trust and accountability with their managers as a consequence of being forced to work remotely.
Materially, many consumers have experienced tremendous savings in money usually spent on transport. Added to this, they now find themselves working in a comfortable, personalised work environment. They have reduced stress, improved health and more time for personal family matters because of working remotely.
It’s not all upside however, a fair amount, almost half, of survey respondents, reported the problem of work-life spilling over into home life, particularly where balancing working with homeschooling and other activities. Technology troubles also affect many and lack of physical contact with other staff members as well as distractions from people at home
What does it feel like to be an engaged employee?
Engaged employees are driven by the emotions of motivation, happiness, pride, inspiration, energy, commitment, excitement, joy and focus. What a way to wake up in the morning!
Employees who sit on the fence of neutrality find themselves driven by emotions such as feeling challenged, hopeful, thankful and content. Fence sitting, however, also provokes the negative sentiments of worry, reluctance, nervousness, anxiety and unease. In their hearts, neutral employees are subconsciously aware of their vulnerability. Neutral employees spend their weekdays looking over their shoulders!
Disengaged employees live a life driven by anger, frustration, stress, lack of inspiration, lack of motivation, unhappiness, tiredness, stagnancy and boredom. What a way to spend weekdays!
Can you spot engagement in the workplace?
Engaged employees are the ones who go the extra mile, listen actively with an open mind, are not afraid to embrace new experiences, often suggest new ways to improve things, love to share their knowledge with their co-workers, are considerate and take an interest in other people, take responsibility for their actions without blaming others, speak positively about the company, show a keen sense of purpose in work and generally have a positive outlook on both life and work. They tend to project a feeling of energy.
It’s easy to spot disengaged employees! They are the ones who constantly waste effort on irrelevant matters, fail to display curiosity and ask questions, love procrastinating, avoid participating in critical debate, tend to complain, often make sarcastic and destructive comments and are usually not very interesting to talk to. In addition, disengaged employees will often be found discussing corporate politics and gossiping. They tend to avoid greeting co-workers and hold grudges.
Does a personality drive engagement?
Confidence, energy, dynamism, cheerfulness, innovativeness, self-motivation, proactivity, being organised and structured, as well as being focused and ambitious as key personality traits are associated with an engaged employee.
You would think that helpfulness, generosity, kindness, being considerate, friendly and polite, sympathetic and charming would be good engagement personality traits. But not so. They are merely hygiene factors expected of humanity.
Additionally, qualities of being analytical, tech-savvy, observant, independent, open-minded and adventurous are also personality traits revealed to be not associated with highly engaged employees.
What can managers do to improve engagement?
Managers that give clear direction, provide strong mentorship, communicate clearly, give recognition and show appreciation, are open and transparent, trusting and in turn reliable and trustworthy themselves, stand a good chance of positively affecting engagement in their departments. Leading by example, inspiring confidence and creating a sense of team co-operation adds to this engagement. Paying attention to the personal needs of team members is also highly important for engagement.
Managers that fail to define desired outcomes clearly, who micromanage their teams, practice a ‘closed-door’ policy, fail to give feedback and discuss performance openly and who lack decisiveness are creating a breeding ground for disengagement.
Does culture drive engagement?
Without a doubt, corporate culture and policy are the underbelly of employee engagement!
Survey results highlight the most important driver of employee engagement to be a sense of feeling valued and that the company cares for employees.
Trust in good leaders who are modest and respectful, coupled with a sense of collaborative teamwork underscore this sense of power and energy.
Openness, transparency and a sense of equal opportunity are paramount for a culture of engagement.
Clear opportunity for personal career growth is a critical ingredient.
To summarise, employee engagement is a critical factor of business success. Creating a culture of engaged staff is not just ‘fluffy’ but has positive business benefits and affects the bottom line
