The term employee engagement sounds like one of those HR buzz words which fade in and out of popularity over time. However, the concept behind it is not a new one, and the impact a disengaged employee can have on an organisations’ bottom line results in terms of profitably, efficiency and revenue generation should not be underestimated. To put it simply, engagement refers to the extent to which an employee is willing to go above and beyond, commit that extra bit and throw all of their energy and efforts into working, improving efficiencies, creating new ideas and achieving goals for the organisation. It doesn’t mean that an employee works extra hours all the time, or that they do a role which is twice their level of responsibility for half the price.
So why does employee engagement matter? Simple:
Studies have shown an engaged workforce can have a positive impact on bottom line performance by increasing organisational revenue by up to 19.2 % (Schmidt 2009). Conversely, a disengaged workforce can decrease efficiency resulting in a reduction in income of up to 32.7% (Schmidt 2009). Above all else, one of the most outstanding statistics is the impact that one disengaged worker can have on the rest of the team — studies show it takes four fully engaged workers to counteract the impact of just one disengaged worker (Schmidt 2009). So how do you know of you have a disengaged employee, or in fact a disengaged team of employees? Here are my top tips to identifying the warning signs:
- Someone used to get to work 10 minutes before they were due to start now arrives right on time, or a few minutes late regularly.
- Lunch breaks have started getting longer.
- More time is being spent on personal calls, checking text messages, checking Facebook, surfing the net or on YouTube.
- Deadlines aren’t met as often.
- Their demeanour has changed – they aren’t as interested in their work, don’t ask as many questions, make as many suggestions or respond to as many requests for assistance.
All of these can be very subtle, but identifying them early can assist in being able to potentially re engage them into the organisation. There is no one sure way to reengage a disengaged worker, but opening the lines of communication quickly so you can find out what the issue is, and work on a resolution, is critical.
