THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: Managing a Productive Workforce in Times of Apathy

During more than one educational session at the SITE International Conference in Toronto, presenters focused on the harsh reality that employees today are overwhelmingly DISENGAGED. Just the sound of the word --- disengaged --- sends a message of negativity and demoralization.

Here are some shocking statistics from an international Gallup study:

• The average 32-year-old has already had nine jobs and will have 20 in his/her career.
• Ninety percent of voluntary resignations are due to employees feeling that they are under-appreciated by management.
• Nineteen percent of employees are seriously disengaged and negative about their work.
• Fifty-five percent are completely apathetic.
• That leaves only 26% of the work force that has a positive attitude about their work. (Remember, that is an international average; some countries ranked much lower.)

Other statistics point to the fact that customer relations, customer retention, and profits are all directly linked to employee attitude. Disengaged or negative employees are not only a source of bad morale in the office but have a direct effect on profitability. Companies listed on Fortune magazine’s list of The 100 Best Places to Work collectively beat the broader market in profitability by more than 300%.

What can an employer do to deal with this problem?

• Create a positive recognition program that focuses on day-to-day staff activities.
• Involve the entire team in goal-setting for the company.
• Create a forum for employees to express problems/concerns and critique of company management --- and act on their feedback.
• Develop motivation/recognition programs that create buy-in to company goals --- both financial and intangible goals such as customer feedback, safety, etc.

We now have a unique opportunity for incentive planners to use this data to underscore this frequently ignored management problem. Encourage your clients to consider the degree of their employee engagement (or lack thereof). They can create an employee focus group to consider ways to reverse apathy even if it means changing the structure of the company or making drastic shifts in management philosophy. Motivationally rewarding incentive programs can go a long way toward re-engaging and revitalizing employees in their work.

Nurturing human capital will be rewarded with superior performance.

fourCE.org develops strategies for companies to reap maximum benefits from incentive marketing programs. We work with both users and suppliers of incentive programs to enhance their success through implementation of customized management and marketing solutions.