The impact of unengaged employees in your organization can be costly. According to Gallup’s most recent study of the American workplace, 52% of United States workers are unengaged and 18% are actively disengaged. What is the cost of a 70% unengaged workforce?
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Gallup estimates that unengaged workers cost the United States economy between $450 billion to $550 billion each year in lost productivity. The question leaders should be asking themselves today is, how are unengaged employees in my organization impacting the bottom line?
The Business Case
As you can see from the statistics above, there is a strong business case for addressing unengaged employees in your workplace. Gone are the days where an employee would remain at the same organization for their entire career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average American worker changes jobs every 4.4 years.
However, the workforce’s youngest employees average only 2 years. That means, your employees will have somewhere between 10-20 jobs in their adult life. Forget the cost of loss productivity, what is this costing your business in recruitment and selection? Then, once you get them in the door, what is the cost to onboard and train them?
From the Gallup study we can see the staggering cost of unengaged employees on the American workplace. Those figures, coupled with the BLS, make a convincing business case on the incredibly high cost of unengaged employees in today’s U.S. workplace. If you have not already done so, address employee engagement in your overall strategy for 2015.
The Leadership Case
In addition to a strong business case, there is an equally robust leadership case for addressing unengaged employees. According to best-selling author and leadership expert Stephen M.R. Covey, trust is the one thing that changes everything. This includes employee engagement. By establishing trust, you can begin building influence among your employees. Influence in turn, will be the key that opens many doors to employee engagement.
Time and time again, studies show us that employees are leaving their leaders and not their organizations. When leaders build trust and ultimately influence among their employees, the relationship between them becomes stronger and as a result, employees feel more of an obligation to perform for their leader. The result is increased organizational buy-in and engagement among employees.
Additionally, there is an element of reciprocity in employee engagement. As a leader, you cannot expect from others what you yourself are unwilling to give. I cannot count the number of times I have witnessed leaders walking through an office, head down, gazing at their phone. Are they really working or are they trying to avoid eye contact with employees? Perhaps they feel that by making eye contact, they will be obliged to hold conversations with these employees.
Herein lies the issue, as leaders we must model expected behaviors. So, the best way to get engagement is by giving engagement. Stopping to say hello while walking through the office or simply smiling and making eye contact can be a fantastic way to begin building trust among your organization. By making these connections with your employees, you will begin to improve engagement.
Making personal connections is an essential part of effectively leading others. If as a leader you are not connecting with your employees, it may be that you failed to make those personal connections. Stop, take some time, and make at least one personal connection with each one of your employees. Then, you can work towards building influence which will ultimately lead to increased employee engagement.
Consider the cost of unengaged employees in your organization and make an effort to reclaim those lost dollars. It could mean the difference between a good year and a great year.
Organizations cannot expect their employees to give their time to attend a training when the company has not taken the time to properly develop a learning and development strategy. Your people are your organization. Take care of them and they will take care of the organization.
Learn new L&D trends and techniques by joining Daniel Kurber at Workforce L&D, November 15-16, 2018. Kurber will be presenting the session: Learning Hubs: How to Choose the Right Blended Learning/Modality Framework to Deliver Formalized Learning Opportunities and Support Personal Learning Paths. Click here to learn more, or to reserve your spot today!
| Daniel Kurber, the director of HR and talent development for Duluth Trading Company, is a dynamic, engaging and innovative leadership & organizational development executive. He has honed his craft as a Master Facilitator and Certified Executive Coach while working for top Fortune companies such as Comcast Communications and U.S. Bank. Specializing in internal executive coaching, cross-functional leadership, organizational development, diversity & inclusion, employee resource groups, team optimization and innovative employee engagement techniques, Mr. Kurber has proven success in employee satisfaction, retention, and organizational loyalty. With his larger than life personality and thoroughly engaging facilitation style, he is able to lead audiences on an exciting journey of self-discovery and social awareness that will transform the way they grow, develop and lead others. Learn more at CoachingSherpa.com. |