What Turns People On...At Work?
What makes them want to go beyond what's expected of them, to give their all for themselves and their organization, to be FULLY ENGAGED?
In any economy, particularly a troubled one, fully engaged employees can make the difference between merely surviving – and thriving. In fact, organizations that have an engaged workforce are up to 20% more productive than those that are disengaged.
Yet, in a typical company, fewer than 1 in 3 employees are engaged, and 19% are actively disengaged. This has huge implications for productivity and retention, and the distractions of the current economy are making the situation worse.
What do you think gets people turned on at work?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What turns people on?
ReplyDeleteThe job - Of the jobs I've held, and the job descriptions I've written, they've never been 100% the "dream job", nor have I seen a candidate that fits it 100% like a glove. Optimally, everyone in an organization would be doing exactly what they love to do, want to do, in their own space, and compensated nicely for executing it perfectly. If coordainted well this would increase engagement, whereby ultimately adding value to the company bottom line. But business is not an exact science, so cookie cutter talent doesn't work. On the contrary, the flexibility of talent is what allows a company to survie and prosper, particularly in troubled times. But how does flexibility work for the talent individually.
Fit - Some talent does what it does, and can only do what it does, and anything outside of that, engagement will suffer. Some talent loves challenges, the unknown, going to work every day with a big question mark of what their day will be like - an adventure! Talent will be attracted to companies that value the style of work that fits them best.
The dissociation of Family from Work I believe has great implications for engagement as well. Family, by whatever definition that may mean (partners, spouses, pets, parents, the gym, volunteering), if viewed as important or unimportant in a company's values will undoubtedly impact engagement as well. From spending time with "family", having a "family", vacationing with "family": if these are important to the company to protect for its employees, it will be important for the employees to protect the company while at "work", rewarding it with higher discretionary effort made to its benefit.
Compensation, though only loosely correlated with engagement has got to be key...and I think erodes at the mutual commitment between employee and employer from the on-set. Employer: We want your talent for as little as we can pay you, not lose you to competitors, cognizant that the value you bring to the company far exceeds any amount of salary/bonus we would giving you, since that value is reserved for shareholders. From the employee perspective, I want you the company to pay me as much as (in)humanly possible, before considering some other talent that could perform this work, execute this role, or fill that job. So let's cloak and dagger it from the get go....I think it's hard to get to full engagement after this circus.
Finally, is it fun to go work? (Fun is individually defined as well - it may be learning, it may be being exposed to new ideas and new people, it may be the actual colleagues that you work with and the network afforded to accompany you to happy hour - who knows) Fun is an important element I think companies overlook -
I think those would turn me on....
I think that this is a particularly important topic in this economic climate and one that can easily be overlooked. If employees feel stuck in their current job because of the job market, how likely are they to stay once things improve, unless business leaders keep them engaged now?
ReplyDeleteI believe that there are factors that contribute toward engagement and ones that contribute to disengagement. Ultimately, we're looking for the net result, so we want to increase engagement and decrease disengagement.
Forces for engagement
- Using strengths. People feel good when using their strengths and tend to have better results. It can even lead to a sense of "flow" which can keep people coming back for more.
- Recognition. While great to have an internal sense of having done a great job, external recognition is important to most people.
- Being part of a team or community. If employees enjoy working with (not just having lunch with) the people they see every day, this can help engagement.
- A sense of mission. While some may find this more important than others, I think it adds leverage when people don't just enjoy their jobs, but feel it has a purpose.
Forces for disengagement
- The opposite of any of the above. Jobs that don't allow people to use and build on their strengths; Lack of recognition (including feeling like others are recognized); lack of community or poorly functioning teams; lack of mission, vision, or leadership (many people want not only to like the ship they are on, but to know where it is going and that the captain is in control).
- Important issues that no one is allowed to talk about officially. If there is an "elephant in the room" it will get talked about - just not in places where the issue might get resolved. Employees can become engaged around these topics, but this is not the sort of engagement companies are looking for.