I think most employers feel like they treat their employees well (e.g., “We pay them well and provide them with benefits.").
Most companies also believe they have a good corporate culture and that their team members are aligned around common goals. They believe that their team members, for the most part, like their jobs and have no intention of leaving.
But the very sad fact is, they’re probably wrong!
According to a recent study by Gallup, only one-third of all employees are engaged at work. This data suggests that only one out of every three employees truly cares about where they work, are passionate about what they do, are loyal to who they work with and work for. Two out of every three employees are at least thinking about working somewhere else, if not actively looking for another job.
There’s more disengagement out there than we care to admit, but on the other side of the coin, the benefits of engagement are significant.
According to a study by the Hay Group, engaged employees are:
–31% more productive
–70% stronger on customer service
–Generating 37% higher sales
–Displaying three times more creativity
–Five times more likely to recommend their company
This study’s bottom line suggests that companies with engaged employees outperform those without engaged employees by 202% — scary!
So, what do we do about it? Where do we start to engage our employees?
The first step is to talk to your employees ... all of them.
A great way to improve engagement is to sit down with every single employee in your entire company for a one-on-one. Ask them the same types of questions you’d ask them in an exit interview, but do it before they actually leave. Here’s a couple of sample questions we ask our team members at Olympus:
–What do you like most about your job?
–What do you enjoy least about your job?
–If you could make one change to your job, what would it be?
–If you ran the company, what’s one thing you would do differently?
–Do we have any dumb rules?
–Did you like any aspects of a previous job better than your current job?
–Under what circumstances would you leave the company?
–If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Imagine the insight you’d have on your team members if you knew everyone’s responses to these questions. It would allow you to build a more engaging corporate culture. You will have given your team members a voice and can address some of the concerns and issues they have.
This is just one step in improving engagement where you work and the best part is, it doesn’t cost a dime!
Check out more employee engagement tips.
Brian Adam will also take an in-depth look at employee engagement at the PRINTING United Apparel Decorators Luncheon (Thursday, October 24, 12:00 PM), which can be added to PRINTING United registration.