All this leadership and employee engagement stuff can seem complex or messy. We all have jobs to do, often too many to see the bottom of the to-do list! So how can you, as bosses and managers, be expected to do all this employee engagement stuff as well as everything the day job requires to keep the business running?
I make no apologies for saying this but engaging with your staff IS part of the day job and not a ‘nice to do’ when you have the time.
Most research on engagement points to the following statistics, which proves my point.
- Only about 31% of staff are actively engaged in any business. That is they come into work each day, want to do a good job and will do something about it;
- About 52% are not engaged. That is they come into work, just like the engaged folk, but that’s it. They go through the motions and do what they are asked. They won’t come up with ideas to make their job work better. They won’t put in the extra effort to help everybody.
- Finally, the remaining 17% are actively disengaged. That is they will turn up for work, though maybe with not the same time-keeping as the rest of the workforce. They may have higher levels of sick days. When they are at work, they will be moaning about the business, criticising managers and colleagues, cutting corners on their job, etc. You will have seen these folk. They would walk past a spillage on the shop-floor and either not report it or take action to tidy it up. They don’t care.
Disengaged staff cost the UK economy £billions each year. That waste isn’t always easy to directly pinpoint as a result of disengagement – it’s insidious. It presents itself as low morale, lack of communication, delayed work, slower deliveries, poorly maintained machines, wasted product or raw material etc.
So that’s why staff engagement is part of your day job. It immediately affects the bottom line! And that’s definitely your responsibility.
So the question is this. Do you want to engage with your staff more effectively? If the answer is yes but you’re not sure where to start, try downloading my free eBook on improving staff engagement and increasing your profits. They go hand-in-hand.