Engaging the Disengaged

Have you ever wondered why there are people in your business whom you know could do so much more than they are currently doing, but just don’t? In a UK Populus survey in 2012, 64% of employees said they have more to offer than they are currently demonstrating or being asked to demonstrate at work. That’s basically two thirds of the employee population in your business admitting to under performing, and therefore only a third of your business is realising its true potential! Have you ever wondered what a 64% increase in profitability looks like?

Generally, in most businesses you can categorise employees into one of the following types:

The Disengaged
The 'disengaged' don’t feel inspired or motivated by the organisational strategy, deeming the success of their role as unrelated to the success of the organisation. Their performance is either poor, or at the very least, sporadic and they can be negative, passive and/or stubborn when it comes to decision making and idea generation.

Remedial action - If their performance cannot be improved through a dedicated period of training, coaching and mentoring then they should ultimately exit the business, which will benefit both them as individuals and the business itself.

The Disillusioned
The 'disillusioned' feel undervalued by the business and often under utilised. Whilst good billers, they can become 'internal terrorists' in a business, acting selfishly to their own personal agendas, often to the detriment of others around them. They will always be actively seeking 'better' opportunities with other organisations.

Remedial action - Identify their personal key motivators and get them involved by  creating career 'journeys' for them that align their motivations and skills to the organisational objectives.

The Satisfied
The 'satisfied' are keen, eager and very involved in everything the business is doing.  Their performance is below what is required/expected of them, but they don’t see that for themselves, presuming that the other non-core activities they do are as valuable.

Remedial action - Map out the key expectations of their roles and prioritise those based on personal performance first. Ask them to agree minimum standards of activity and performance and clarify the implications of non achievement of each of those standards.  Make them feel comfortable being uncomfortable.

The Engaged
The 'engaged' exceed their targets regularly and do so as much for themselves as they do for the good of the business. They enjoy being involved in everything, though will always put the achievement of their personal targets first. They are reliable when it comes to flying the flag of the organisational strategy in front of those less engaged.

Remedial action - Spend quality time with them. Listen to their ideas, create new career “journeys” for them and continue to praise their efforts publicly. The key here is to not lose the Level 4 types, so ensure that their personal objectives remain aligned to the organisational goals and performance.

According to recent research by Aon Hewitt, organisations with high engagement levels outperformed the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns that were higher than average – they are the organisations with far more level 4 employees in place than any others.