Engaging employees, is it worth it?
If you manage people do you consider your interaction with them as satisfying or an annoying distraction?
How you think about your employees influences how you feel about them. My personal belief is that people do the best they can with the resources available to them. I also take it as a given that we all want to work in or manage organisations where employees are performing at a high level and are happy and engaged. This is my belief; it’s neither right nor wrong, however I believe it is a manager’s responsibility to strive to create an engaged workforce. It’s important to recognise that the beliefs we hold about employees will influence our attitude and behaviour towards them.
A high performing organisation tends to have staff engagement. A recent Gallup survey revealed companies with highly engaged workforce’s outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share. They also revealed that 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged at work.
Motivating your team need not be costly; but not motivating them can come at a hefty price!
Managers – Tips for a meaningful discussion:
Many managers want to have meaningful conversations with their employees but some simply don’t know how to start the dialogue or what to say once it’s started. For those people here are some tips.
- Set a positive tone for the conversation, create rapport and be relaxed.
- Talk about the importance of the employee’s job and how it fits with the organisations larger goals.
- Discuss your employee’s top priorities. Many managers aren’t fully aware of this which can have a negative impact on engagement.
- Ask “What support do you need from me?” and “What kind of feedback is most useful to you?”
- Talk about ways to use the employee’s talents (the ones that the person enjoys using).
- Ask about job conditions — what gets in the way of great accomplishments? What gets in the way of a great day at work?
- Discuss how you work together. It’s not enough to agree you should meet “regularly.” Clarify what that term means to you both.
- Agree to meet again. You can’t have one discussion and check off the box that you’ve addressed your employee’s engagement successfully.
This conversation lays a foundation for specific discussions about performance, development, or career management. It also establishes a forum you can use to check-in quickly – and regularly – about engagement issues.
People want to know their managers care about them and their career aspirations. Spending time with your employees is a great way to deliver on this. Given that engaged employees add more to the bottom line, if you are a manager, it makes sense to spend time to demonstrate you truly value your employees.
Written by June Parker, Director Selection Partners
June is Co-Founder of Selection Partners, President of EEON and an Executive and Career Coach. June has strong business acumen with the ability to quickly grasp the needs of her clients. She has proven experience in the application of critical leadership coaching methodologies and tools. June’s sense of humour combined with her direct yet supportive style enables her clients to feel safe whilst stretching themselves to develop and progress. She quickly develops trust and is known for her common sense practical approach. June is ICF & CDAA qualified.
