We Have An Engagement Crisis!

The way we’re working is not working.  Even if you are lucky enough to have a job, you’re probably not very excited to get to the office in the morning, you don’t feel much appreciated while you’re there, you find it difficult to get your most important work accomplished, amid all the distractions, and you don’t believe that what you’re doing make much of a difference anyway.  By the time you get home, you’re pretty much running on empty, and yet you’re still answering emails until you fall asleep.

Increasingly, this experience is more common than you think and it’s not just with middle mangers, but also to with top executives. There is a huge problem facing many organizations today.  That problem is the lack of engagement.

Just 30 percent of employees in America feel engaged at work, according to a 2103 Gallup report.  Around the world, across 142 countries, the proportion of employees who feel engaged at work is just 13 percent.  For most of us, in short, work is a depleting, dispiriting experience, and it’s getting worse.  Think about that! Organizations are spending huge amounts of money to support employees who are going through the motions or just want to quit. Lost productivity, lost revenue, lost opportunities, lost individuals.

Demand for our time is increasing exceeding our capacity – draining us of the energy we need to bring our skill and talents fully to life.  Increased competitiveness and a leaner, post-recession work force add to the pressures.  The rise of digital technology is perhaps the biggest influence, exposing us to an unprecedented flood of information and requests that we feel compelled to read and respond to at all hours of the day and night.  The problem also stems from managers who are diffused and have no idea on how to engage their teams, as well as top leadership who are consumed with quarterly returns and not the success and livelihood of their most valued asset their people.

These problems are not simple to solve.  I get that.  Let me offer some thoughts on ways to begin to move forward.  The CEO needs to become the Chief Engagement Officer daily, being authentic and true to their values, setting the vision and the culture that moves the company to an employee centric organization.  Middle managers need to be trained with new skill sets to assist this movement down into the company.  In fact, we all need to take responsibility to learn new skills and lead.

Here might be a another starting point and I offer the following.  In First Break All The Rules, business consultants Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman drew from Gallup Organization interviews with more than a million employees over a 25 year period to come up with 12 questions that  “measure the core elements needed to attract, focus and keep the most talented employees.” The questions are as follows:

1.      Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2.     Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

3.     At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

4.     In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5.     Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

6.    Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7.     At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8.    Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

9.    Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10.  Do I have a best friend at work?

11.    In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

12.   This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

By paying attention to questions such as these, astute managers and leaders can look through their performers’ window and better help them improve engagement and performance. As Buckingham and Coffman discovered, “those employees who responded more positively to the 12 questions also worked in business units with higher levels of productivity, profit, retention and customer satisfaction.”

What do you think of these questions?  What one step can you take or how would you begin to break through your behaviors to begin addressing your team and individuals with intention, purpose and determined emotion?  We would love to hear from you with questions or comments. Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core that includes their faith, fire and focus.