For some time now, employees have been leaving their current organizations for greener pastures.
In a market that has allowed for easy movement, and a search for exactly what they were looking for. Meaning that the focus, for good employers, should continue to be ensuring they have the things in place that will make employees want to stay. Regardless of whether the economy may be shifting to slightly less employee-friendly. There are some fundamental practices needed to engage employees, and create a great culture: 🚩Recognition, transparent communication, and development opportunities, as well as caring leaders. 🚩Ensuring the right people are in the right jobs, and meaningful work. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙮, 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩-𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨. Even though they will not, by themselves, engage employees and make them want to stay. Nonetheless, they cannot be overlooked. 💠 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙮, 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩. If that's in place, it’s a strong starting point. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺. 💠 𝘼𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡. One employee may need medical benefits, while another does not. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. Such as a cafeteria plan, which would offer more flexibility than a traditional insurance plan. Showing you care enough to provide options, based on their own personal needs. 💠 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚. It’s true that having the ability to set their own hours or work from home can be a major plus for most employees. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺; 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴. Bottom line, leaders need to take the time to find out what motivates each individual. Get these baseline requirements in place, and employees will be less likely to leave. 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮. And will become your organizational ambassadors, talking about what a great place you are to work, attracting top talent.
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Have you ever started a job, and not one person appeared to be expecting you that day?
Except for perhaps the hiring manager, who offered you the job, but you're not sure, since they're nowhere to be seen. You showed-up early, but it wouldn’t have mattered if you were late, since no-one knew you were coming. ❌ You were escorted to a random, empty desk, and were told that it was 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 ok for you to sit there. ❌ After an hour or two sitting there, you may have been handed a laptop, that hadn’t been set-up for you yet. ❌ Eventually, your new boss ran out of a meeting, and showed you to the right desk. ❌ Maybe even hastily introduced you to your new co-workers. ❌ Before running off again, having thrown the employee handbook at you, and told you to read it for the morning. ❌ Interrupted at some point by someone (you have no idea who), giving you some new hire forms to complete. ❌ Lunchtime came but you had no idea where to go, or even if this was the regular lunch time at this organization. And on and on… 💠 Welcome to your new job! Fortunately, this type of experience was more common in the past. And today, thankfully, many companies now do a much better job of welcoming new hires. Still, according to HBR, 22% of companies have no formal onboarding program at all, while 49% have only a partially successful process. Yet it’s critical, since the first few hours and days set the tone for them. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙮. Better yet, think beyond a few days. ✅ And instead, provide a robust onboarding experience, over a minimum of 90 days, or, even better, six+ months. ✅ As opposed to just a paperwork-focused orientation. ✅ Even better, the best organizations begin their onboarding before the new hire’s first day. 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚: Onboarding is a critical practice to ensure new hires feel welcome and fully integrated into their new roles and organizations. If not in place, they will be less productive, more stressed, and feel disconnected from their teams. Making them more likely to quickly look for work elsewhere. Employee engagement, by one definition, has been described as the emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals.
This emotional commitment shows-up as the discretionary effort that employees are willing to give. That is, the above-and-beyond that they’re willing to go, above what’s minimally required. It is determined by the level of trust employees have in leadership. And it is critical. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. There are any number of pointers for leaders on how to build trust, such as: 💠 Being engaged themselves - model the behaviors they want to see 💠 Showing employees that 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 trust 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 💠 Being transparent and communicating frequently 💠 Inviting employee feedback 💠 Keeping their word 💠 Always having their employees’ backs 💠 Creating an environment where employees can do great work And, according to Warren Buffett, per the linked article, "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦." In other words, leaders can gain trust by being open about even minor mistake or imperfections. Because doing so invites reciprocity, and this two-way street is essential when building trust and forging good rapport. Building an environment where people feel safe to make mistakes, take risks and speak up. Critical for any organization that wants to be innovative and successful. 🚩 We are all humans, and pretending to be perfect damages authenticity, because not one of us is. Being real, someone who makes mistakes and has shortcomings, makes a leader seem human and approachable. 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨. The article makes the point to start with trivial details, especially at the beginning. Perhaps saying you didn’t sleep well the night before, or forget a prior conversation, as you’ve been so buried in another project. This sets the stage for open communication, that's rooted in authenticity. And a positive, successful culture, led by a real human, not someone pretending to be perfect. To be successful in today's business environment, companies cannot afford to focus only on the bottom line, to the exclusion of all else.
Regardless of the fact that, for many years, this mindset has been prevalent at a large number of organizations. 𝙉𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡. In addition to a set of fundamental practices that actually engage employees and improve cultures. (As opposed to quick fix, surface-level changes that don’t work). All of which ensure organizations are set-up to be as profitable as possible, while also being great places to work. ✅ A win-win for both employers and employees. However, if those fundamentals are not in place, employees will not be engaged. And, according to Gallup, disengaged employees cost the US economy $450B-$550B per year. 𝘼 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨. 💠 However, consider that in September 2022 almost 159M people were employed in the US, according to the BLS. 💠 And that Gallup’s most recent figures show that 68% of US employees are disengaged. 💠 The cost, therefore, per disengaged employee, is approximately $4,629 per year. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱: 𝘈𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 100 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 $460,000/𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳. No organization can, therefore, afford to 𝙣𝙤𝙩 focus on engaging employees and cultivating caring cultures. Or the problems associated with disengaged employees and bad cultures will prevail, such as: 🚩 Increased absenteeism 🚩 High numbers of safety incidents 🚩 Low customer service scores. 🚩 High turnover 🚩 Inability to attract top talent All of which are costly, and directly, negatively impact the bottom line. Therefore, a solid business strategy that includes ensuring that employees are engaged, which leads to caring cultures, is a must. To ensure a healthy bottom line. Managers are obviously a part of an organization’s leadership team.
💠 And part of that job is to represent that team to the manager’s direct reports. Even when the manager does not necessarily agree with its decisions. This does not mean that the manager must woodenly nod along, then repeat a rehearsed party line. Nor should the manager clearly state that they completely disagree with the decision, but that their hands are tied. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩. And, to the extent possible, help the team understand the reasoning for them. Even if they don’t agree with the decision, and perhaps fought hard against it, behind closed doors. ✅ Because a manager representing the leadership team above them as inept or weak, undermines them. ✅ Plus, if discovered, destroys the trust that a manager’s boss has in them. ✅ As well as causing direct reports to become cynical of the manager, and, likewise, to distrust him or her. ✅ In the long run, impacting his or her effectiveness. Bottom line, a strong manager will not cultivate an “us vs. them” mentality between their teams and leadership. And will, instead, effectively communicate difficult decisions, in a measured, considerate manner. Notwithstanding the various nuances at play, depending on what decision is under discussion, at any given time. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. One where, managers are provided with solid people management training and coaching. Including the importance of presenting a united front. 🚩And one where, hopefully, open discussion is possible, without fear of reprisal, before decisions are finalized. Where managers feel they are genuinely heard, and the impact of any specific message can be discussed in advance. Meaning that even if the manager’s preference is not what is finally decided, he or she is ok with delivering the news. On the other hand, if healthy disagreement is not permitted, then it points to a toxic culture. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙, 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚. But in a healthy culture, the manager must be strong enough to deliver unpopular decisions in a calm and matter-of-fact manner. Anything else reflects poorly on the manager. When it comes engaging employees and shifting culture, there are a number of core practices that must be in place.
All of which are critical. However, all too often, some fundamentals are overlooked. Including the following, which are among the top three mistakes made, when it comes to engaging employees: ❌ 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚. Engaging employees and shifting culture is not a short-lived initiative or program with no CEO involvement. Yet, so often, it is viewed as an HR initiative, a communications department project, or a Culture Committee assignment. As opposed to a shift in thinking and being, essentially a new way of doing business, going forward. Involving the CEO’s complete buy-in and deep involvement. ❌ 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. Having the right person in every single seat is critical to having engaged employees. Meaning that anyone who is not a good fit, no matter who they are, or what their job is, should not be there. Period. It doesn’t matter why they're still there: 💠 Apathy. 💠 There since the company started. 💠 They're someone’s best friend. The result is the same: Disengaged employees. After all, why should someone put in the effort and care enough to go above and beyond when they see someone else who’s not pulling their weight be allowed to stay? ❌ 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙙-𝘼𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. Lastly, a very common mistake is to implement ‘band-aid solutions’, i.e. nice-to-haves, but not things that will engage employees. Things like meal deliveries to employees working from home, subsidized or free workout classes, happy hours or surprise days off. Yes, employees will like having these things, but, alone, they won’t solve the costly business problems associated with disengaged employees. Because they are not going to make a difference in the emotional commitment that employees feel towards their company and its goals. The very definition of employee engagement. 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜. And employees will continue to leave, and organizations will find it difficult to recruit top talent. |
AuthorNia is passionate about engaging employees and cultivating compassionate cultures, a win-win for both employers and employees. Archives
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