AGL 032: The Engagement Epidemic

I recently gave a talk on Employee Engagement for millennials.  Here are my thoughts on the subject: Engagement Stats https://www.themuse.com/advice/10-shocking-stats-about-employee-engagement 70% of employees not engaged at work 89% of companies think employees leave for more $$$ but only 12% actually do 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least 1 time per week but only 13% of disengaged employees receive weekly feedback 75% of people voluntarily leaving their job, don’t quit their job, they quit their bosses. Why people quit their job They hate their boss Their work doesn’t matter Adding Purpose Add purpose doesn’t always have to be the big “P” Purpose, like saving the rainforest. It could just be the little “p” purpose, like why we do what we do.  This is another example of how Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” is so important in leadership. Ignoring Boss If a boss ignores an employee… they are 40% more likely to “actively disengage” from work and their company.  To “actively disengage” you aren’t just not engaged… you are actively  looking for non-work related things to do.  Like gossip, blogging, searching for other jobs, etc.  These activities are not only be bad for the employee performance, but also the performance and attitudes of those around this employee. Critical Boss A Critical boss causes 22% increase in actively disengagement… that means, being critical is better than ignoring. At least critical bosses are paying attention, right? A Praising Boss  A Boss that praises 1 out of 10 successes usually has less than 1% of employees will actively disengage. So this means you only have to recognize and compliment 1 out of 10 great things your team members do… its not that hard. Motivation and Management Management is old school.  Management was creating in the 1850’s as a way of gaining compliance in the workforce.  It works great for compliance, not so great for engagement.  If we want engagement, we need Leadership, not Management.  If/Then doesn’t work 4 reason if then don’t work Engagement is intrinsic and IF/THEN is 100% extrinsic It puts individuals against one another in a competition, instead of working as a team It causes some folks to rationalize their ethics, leading to cheating and cutting corners It lacks emotional growth FACT – Money is a motivator Pay people fairly and enough to take Money off the table. Happiness is far more important than small raises. Dan Pink described motivation the best I’ve heard it in his book Drive. Autonomy Freedom in your job.  Maybe its where you work, how you work, what you work on, or who you work with. Mastery Getting better at things that matter. This could be training, personal growth, business growth, learning something important.  Getting a certification, or going or speaking at a conference. Also empowering (i hate that term) employees to do more, to stretch their role. Purpose Working on something that matters.  Making sure their job matters in the big picture. To hear more about purpose, check out my TedX Talk. (must listen to get the real value out of this episode) I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!