According to the Gallup Organization there are three types of employees: engaged, not engaged, actively disengaged (you can click here for a great background article at employee engagement). They define those categories in the following ways:
- Engaged—employees who work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company; they drive innovation and move an organization forward.
- Not engaged—employees who are essentially “checked out.” They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting time—but not energy or passion—into their work.
- Actively disengaged—employees aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness.
But let’s not look at the engagement index from the employee’s perspective. Let’s look at it from the boss’ perspective. If you manage people, how engaged are you with them? Here are a few questions to help you explore your engagement index as a boss:
(1) How well do you know your employees’ family?
Nothing shows you care about your employees more than showing you also care about their family. Or anything else that is important in their personal lives. Remember, your employees are first and foremost people. If you are connecting with them as individuals and people they are much more likely to connect with you and your organization. For example, a friend of mine (Kenny Kent) has his own advertising agency (Kent Design) in Austin, T X. When he hired a designer he told him, “If you come to work for me, I’ll be there for you. I’ll be at your wedding and I’ll be at the hospital when you have kids.” Kenny lets his people know they aren’t just working together—they are doing life together.
(2) How well do your employees see the connection between your vision and their job?
Your effectiveness as a leader is only as strong as your ability to get others to execute your vision. You can have all the vision in the world, but if people don’t follow you it doesn’t matter. If your employees don’t see your vision clearly, then they won’t be engaged with you. In Five Ways to Make Change Easier, Chip and Dan Heath note, “One of the main mistakes leaders make is that they articulate a new vision but don't translate it into terms that people on the frontlines can execute.”
(3) How well do you care for your staff as people and not just employees?
Okay, care and love don’t seem to equate to the bottom line of making money (which is the goal for most businesses). But loving and caring for your employees can directly and positively impact the bottom line. Why? Because the more you care and love them, the more likely they are to be engaged with your organization. And the more engaged your employees are the more productive they are. Do you communicate to them that they are more important than a project?
(4) How do you develop your employees?
Career development is extremely important to most employees, especially younger ones. You are not just a manager—you are a teacher. Are your employees better today than they were when you hired them? Do they know more? Is there skill stronger? The answers to those questions are your responsibility. Ways to develop your people include having them read business books, listen to audio learning, sending them to conferences, etc. You can also spend time in your full staff meetings giving your employees training.
(5) How do you spend time with your employees?
Is all your employee face time spent at the office? Those are all formal, but it’s just as important to have informal times with your people as well. For example, get a cup of coffee at Starbucks with them. Take them to lunch. There is something magical about having conversations with people—even those that work for you—over a meal. Some of your best developing time doesn’t have to be a formal job review.
So do you want your employees to be more engaged with your organization? Then try engaging them first with you.
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