It may shock you to hear this but, your employees have lives outside of work. Gasp! I know, earth shattering.
Your employees have ambitions and goals that may not include the weekly analytics report or team meeting that is required of their work. And while some organizations accept and even embrace this notion, many employers fight it, figuring that a paycheck and the privilege of having a job is the ultimate motivating factor for good work and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, that is simply not true, in fact, the problem is larger than you probably think – research has shown that between 70-85% of people are disengaged from work. Think about that number for a second and let it sink in. Over 70% of your workforce is likely disengaged! My jaw actually dropped when I read that stat. Even if we could get that number as low as 25% I would still find that staggering. Think about the ramifications that level of disengagement has on business! And many don’t realize it because it’s so easy to believe that the status quo is more or less average. But consider for a moment what could happen to businesses if engagement levels increased by just 20%? Then think about if engagement were increased by 40% or 50% and we flip that 70% completely around to 70% engaged employees?
What your organization is doing right now could potentially, represent just 30% of your potential.
Being disengaged from work doesn’t just hurt a company, people who are disengaged and burned-out are at significantly greater risk for depression, cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, and even premature death. We spend nearly 40% of our waking adult hours at work. We should probably be engaged, bringing our whole-selves to work in a healthy work environment.
Conversely, people who are in situations where they feel driven/engaged receive higher performance ratings, serve customers better and yield greater financial returns for their companies.
Not to mention that millennials and younger generations have a firm belief that it’s essential to “do what you love.” People are less and less willing to take a job just for a paycheck – they want something they will enjoy, that will stimulate them that will let them play to their strengths. I’ve heard too many manager/director level leaders from older generations complain about the millennial workforce and dig their heels in refusing to change practices that might not be appealing to this new workforce. It’s a mistake to not develop a strong understanding of your employees psyche and be adaptable (within reason) to help make them feel more connected to their work.
But it’s not all gloom and doom, I’m just painting the picture that you may not realize exists. There are many ways to identify and address employee disengagement, it’s not an unfixable problem to simply live with.
One of my favorite tools to help address the problem of disengagement in the workplace is the DRiV Assessment.
The DRiV Assessment is a surveying and analytical tool that allows managers to bridge the gap between organizational expectations and the beliefs of the employees that work there. DRiV is a fully comprehensive and in-depth dive into what drives and drains people at work. It provides an unprecedented level of insight into not just what people do, but “why” they do what they do. Understanding the “why” behind what makes people do what they do allows managers to develop a nuanced level of self-awareness is critical for both driving engagement but also optimizing performance (specifically, by better leveraging strengths and mitigating blind spots and weaknesses).
In terms of how the DRiV powers leadership coaching/consulting, that self-insight can springboard in lots of different directions. For one, it can highlight areas where a faulty pattern of thinking is leading to unhelpful outcomes – it helps get everyone on the same page and staying focused on the overall mission. It can also highlight areas where strengths are not being realized by management and therefore skills need to be further developed – we want to build an environment where our employees constantly have the opportunity to grow in a direction that makes them comfortable.
A DRiV Assessment can highlight a potential disconnect between what people actually do and what they are driven to do (which may spark career transition or necessitate a change in role). So many times I’ve seen companies lose great employees because the trajectory of their career wasn’t going the way they envisioned. Your employees are thinking about their futures and just because things are going well now, doesn’t mean that the status quo is going to work for them in five years. Additionally, a DRiV Assessment can clarify and shed light on pain points between people on the same team (ultimately leading to more productive team environments). DRiV, team and individual coaching can make a difference. Communication becomes more open, honest and trusting. Better teams, better organizations.
The bottom-line is that the problem of disengaged employees is bigger than you think. Sometimes it can be solved with a simple conversation. However, sometimes what you need are analytical tools that will help you develop a deeper understanding and increase your insight into what’s driving your employees.
If you’d like to learn more about identifying employee engagement levels and building a more cohesive team please reach out to the Consult Train Coach team for a free consultation on the DRiV Assessment and other tools available to help you.
