Employee engagement continues to be a hot topic. And engagement scores continue to drop.
Why is it that with so much focus on the issue, the results are so disappointing? One reason: many employees feel ignored.
This point is made in an interview appearing in the online Gallup Management Journal (titled “It’s Always About the Boss”) with Gallup Consultant Marco Nink, who discusses his take on a Gallup study of German workers. Apparently even the famously industrious Germans have issues when it comes to employee engagement. Nink states,
Quitting is almost always a statement against the immediate superior. It is a deadening process: Many employees are highly motivated when joining a company but then become increasingly disillusioned. And when continuously neglected, they will switch off at some point. They will resign inwardly, so to speak. This doesn’t happen overnight, but occurs rather as a process, due to experiences during the routine workday.
While some people thrive in a self-directed work environment, many need ongoing guidance. When that guidance is missing, some employees struggle. If these employees receive little or no coaching or feedback for long periods of time, and then get hit with bad news at the annual performance review, resentment can set in. The result: disengagement.
Companies who are serious about employee engagement need to understand this fundamental dynamic. Here are some things senior managers can do to help:
- Ask their managers to identify concerns they have about staff engagement—and use the information to provide concrete solutions
- Train managers on ways to engage and develop their people, making sure that the training aligns with corporate values and strategies
- Encourage managers to recognize and reward employees for desirable behaviors and results
- Reward managers for developing high-performing, loyal employees
- Model desired management practices by spending adequate time with the managers who report to them
Employees look to their managers for a wide range of support. And every employee is different. That puts a pretty heavy burden on the manager. The question managers have to ask themselves is: Do I accept that burden?
If they want to drive engagement within their organizations, they must answer affirmatively.
