First of all I have to say I love the name of the site: SNOBS – Social Network for Opportunistic Businesswomen. There doesn’t seem to be any doubt what it’s about.
It also looks like they have some excellent information on it. Including this post about engaging your workforce.
The author, Karen Schmidt, comments on how 89% of workers are disengaged in some fashion. That was from a CLC study in 2004. A 2008 study by BlessingWhite shows that North America has 71% [tag]disengaged workers[/tag] to some degree (almost 1-in-5 completely disengaged). In either case, having fewer than 1-in-3 of your employees [tag]fully engaged[/tag] in your business is costing you money.
Ms. Schmidt cuts to the chase with three recommendations on dealing with this disengagement:
- Clear Out (the disengaged)
- Own Up (to reasons that cause disengagement)
- Move On (add in new ideas, new people and build a new culture)
(read the full post, “Re-engage Your Team and Watch Your Organisation Grow“)
From my experience in corporate human resources, I support Ms. Schmidt’s recommendations, and add a critical point of my own.
Building a [tag]culture of engagement[/tag] (where employees willing give extra effort) isn’t something that happens by chance. It isn’t something that just evolves. It needs to be something that you plan for, that you design, and that you work on.
Your culture has to integrate tightly with your [tag]business objectives[/tag]. It’s not just about hiring a quick decision-maker because you want a fast-paced environment
Rather it’s about wanting a fast-paced environment because your business requires it, and so you look for people who can work and thrive in that kind of environment.
It’s not just about hiring someone who was an excellent customer service agent at one of your competitors because you need to have excellent customer service.
Rather it’s about wanting to build a brand on customer service because your business requires referral marketing and you want premium pricing, so you look for someone who will be the best customer service agent in your business, not just your competitors.
Understanding this critical point of where to start building [tag]employee engagement[/tag] is the key to a [tag]great workplace[/tag]. Leave this out, and you will forever be “clearing out” people whom you thought would, but just don’t “fit.”
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