Employee Engagement II

I ended my last blog by asking the following two questions "Are you actively engaged?" and "How much is employee disengagement costing our company?" Several of you actually responded back to my question, and I want you to know that I really appreciated your feedback. From the responses I received, I could tell that our company has many actively engaged employees, but that we still have room for improvement.

I recently watched an episode of "Undercover Boss." In this show, chief executives of large companies anonymously slip into the rank and file of their companies. While working alongside their employees, these executives see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad.

The runaway success of Undercover Boss leads me to believe that many Americans feel they can relate to the employees in this show. Many of this show's viewers are probably disengaged employees, and the truth is every company has some level of disengagement.

So, what does disengagement within a company look like? Let me know if the following description sounds familiar:

Managers and owners think employees just don't care. Employees think their manager and the owners don't care about them. Distrust develops and apathy develops amongst many team members. Feedback is lacking, and if it is present, it is typically negative. The company doesn't create value for its employees and this lack of disengagement leads to a lack of overall performance, and low value creation within the organization.

So, why does disengagement take place within a company?

Disengaged employees aren't born that way. They are usually created by ineffective, badly trained management. Many managers themselves do not know what it takes to succeed in a particular role nor do they have an incentive to care. More often than not, the focus and emphasis of managers and the the human resource department is on "putting out fires." Some managers feel as though the bulk of their workday is spent dealing with employees who are negative, completely disengaged and should be terminated because they shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

Do you want to work in an environment that is full of disengagement, or do you want something better? Can we as a team create an environment with a high level of employee engagement? Can we create an environment where feedback is received and appreciated, and where a high percentage of employees are focused on creating value for the company and the customer?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Email me at Tony@repowell.net

Tony Christensen
www.repowell.net