Question submitted by Anthony, Operations Director, Chandler, AZ
The idea of getting other people excited about work might not be one that is on your radar.
Any employer who wants to run a successful business should be trying to engage and excite their workers; and it is a lot like putting together a puzzle.
Employee engagement in the U.S. is plummeting. People are searching for ways to balance work and family in a world where businesses ask more of their employees each and every day; often without additional compensation or incentives. Disengaged workers hurt their company’s bottom line; costing millions of dollars overall, every single year.
Employees are more distracted than ever. With Facebook updates, Tweets, Snaps, text messages, personal email on their work phone (yes! it is there too) coming at them every couple of minutes we can quickly find ourselves in a tough situation.
Managers and leaders find themselves competing with this constant barrage of disengagement opportunities.
The Gallup Corporation recently reported that only 13% of U.S. workers are actively engaged. This means that 67% of the people that work with or (scarier) for you are just showing up. Many employees are doing just what they need to get by unnoticed. But the biggest surprise, even for me, an HR professional who sees the wide range of engagement, and the organizational effects daily: a whopping 24% of employees are “actively disengaged” meaning they are trying to NOT work!?! How did this happen? Yikes.
Let’s not dwell on stats any longer.
— Read on for my Top 4 Ways to Energize Your Employees —
Stop saying “hi” and really get to know your employees. An employee’s relationship with their manager impacts their commitment and their success at work. Have you ever heard the saying: employees don’t quit their job, really they quit their manager.
This one is pretty simple: we work harder for people that we like. We go the extra mile for people we enjoy working with. We make time for those that make time for us… Spend no less than 30 dedicated minutes weekly with every one of your direct reports.
Give clear direction. People feel excited about their job when they understand what needs to be done (and what will make their boss happy). Give employees information and direction – and let them get to work!
Provide feedback often. Contrary to popular belief, employees genuinely want your feedback and your observations.
You might be shaking your head “no” right now. I promise. They do! As long as you deliver constructive feedback effectively, your employees will begin to seek it out from you because they trust that you’ll be honest, fair and solution-focused. When providing feedback, provide an idea of what you would like your employee to do (versus what you do not like about their work) and offer to assist as needed to help them improve. (More on providing tactful feedback in an upcoming post). I recently attended a webinar (presented by SkillPath) that reported that 75% of employees wanted formal feedback from their boss. Only 1% said they didn’t!
Providing regular feedback will transform your relationship with your employees.
Get their feedback. Employees whose ideas are valued and implemented feel like their employer really cares about and listens to them. Employees who feel that they are valued work harder! Simple, right?
Ways to collect employee’s ideas:
- free online surveys (like SurveyMonkey)
- written/hard-copy surveys
- focus groups with employees
- employee retreat – time together, away from your normal work environment (you can even do a retreat at a park or public library!)
If you want results from your employees, you have to do your part to engage and empower them. Putting together the pieces that result in an engaged, energized team are powerful. Figure out what means the most to your employees, and how they fit into your organization.
Engaged employees are productive employees. Engaged employees positively impact bottom-line results. This needs to be on your to-do list, today and every day. Not sure where to start? We love this stuff. Let’s get together and get some ideas on the table … and just go from there!
Contact me today for a one-on-one conversation about programs that we can help you design and implement that will energize and engage your employees!
There are tons of ideas out there to help get moving in the right direction with this! Click over to this great article via Forbes that shares another 11 Simple Ways to Show Your Employees You Care.
About the author: Niki Ramirez is a seasoned professional consultant and coach with a knack for engaging business leaders. She has a successful track record partnering with a wide variety of organizations to analyze current human resources and business operations with the objective of designing cost-effective HR, training, and employee relations programs that help every organizations exceed their goals.
Maybe most importantly, Niki is the proud momma to three strikingly intelligent, gorgeous, funny kids. She loves to horseback ride and get outside to hike and explore the world every spare minute that she has.
