Today employees are leaving and switching more often than ever.
Do you think it is true that employees do not leave companies but are just bad managers? Are employees not loyal anymore? Does loyalty mean anything to a corporate? Are employees greedy, switching for better salaries/positions or Are employees only a staff number for an organisation? Are those your biggest asset or liability?
Answers to the above depend upon whom you ask, however, most agree – The ability to engage and retain talented employees is critical for any organisation’s success.
Happy & Engaged employees are:
- 200% more productive
- 300% times more creative
Organisations with highly engaged employees enjoy:
- 50% fewer product defects
- 150% higher earning per share (EPS)
- 50% more operating profit
Engaged employees are highly enthusiastic about their work and workplace. They drive performance and innovation and move the organisation forward. So it is evident that we should keep our employees engaged, involved and happy, they will,
The organisation is at its best, when people/employees/staff feels great about it, feel privileged to be part of it.
On the other hand, disengagement drives more and more employees away than any other singular reason. Many factors contribute to an employee’s decision to leave an organisation. Once disengaged, employees just float around and not really contributing to the productivity or the success of the organisation. These disengaged employees are psychologically not attached to both work and the organisation, they put their time but not energy or passion into their work. Gallup research suggests that “actively disengaged” employees cost between USD $450 to USD 550 billion per year in the USA alone; this figure doesn’t even consider the “not engaged” employees.
The top 4 reason for employee voluntary resignation contributes about 90% of the voluntary resignation reasons:
- Lack of career advancement and promotion opportunities
- Unattractive Pay/Salary/Package/Benefits and rewards & recognition
- Management, work environment and immediate manager
- Lack of Job fit and autonomy
Here are some tips for improving employee engagement:
- Employee recognition is essential, no matter how big or small.
- Almost 88% of the employees consider work-life balance is essential for the job
- Focus on employee strength, and build new ones
- Focus on engagement and take actions than putting too much emphasis on measuring & thus falling into the survey trap
Gallup research shows that managers who focus on utilising their employees’ strengths can double engagement. In reality, much of how an employee feels is treated and valued depends directly on the manager(s). It is the single direct influencer for employee retention.
Employees need to believe in the organisation’s future, and they should be able to see themselves participating in it, They want to be in a place that resonates deep within them.
The most volatile and valuable assets are your employees & customers.
In words of Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, which controls more than 400 companies – “if the person who works at your company is 100% proud of the job they’re doing, if you give them the tools to do a good job, they’re proud of the brand, if they were looked after, if they’re treated well, then they’re gonna be smiling, they’re going to be happy, and therefore the customer will have a nice experience. If the person who’s working for your company is not given the right tools, is not looked after, is not appreciated, they’re not going to do things with a smile, and therefore the customer will be treated in a way … if you can put staff first, your customer second and shareholders third, effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and yourself are happy.” (Schurenberg, 2018)
Employees need to be equipped to perform and then positioned for individual and team success.
Do more than just a SURVEY
For many leaders and managers, creating a culture of high performance is a steadfast goal but one that remains elusive because too many organisations focus primarily on measuring engagement rather than on taking the actions needed to engage employees. When an organisation puts too much emphasis on measuring performance than improving engagement – they are stuck in “the Survey Trap.”
References:
Wigert, B. (n.d.). Talent Walks: Why Your Best Employees Are Leaving. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231641/talent-walks-why-best-employees-leaving.aspx
Ryan, L. (n.d.). The Real Reason Good Employees Quit. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/03/31/the-real-reason-good-employees-quit/#66aa1c4b4b4e
Efron, L. (n.d.). Six Reasons Your Best Employees Quit You. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2013/06/24/six-reasons-your-best-employees-quit-you/#4d7a594773ae
Bradberry, T. (n.d.). 9 Things That Make Good Employees Quit - TalentSmart. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from http://www.talentsmart.com/articles/9-Things-That-Make-Good-Employees-Quit-172420765-p-1.html
Ayu, A. (n.d.). The Enormous Cost of Unhappy Employees | Inc.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/ariana-ayu/the-enormous-cost-of-unhappy-employees.html
Schurenberg, E. (n.d.). Richard Branson: Why Customers Come Second at Virgin | Inc.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/eric-schurenberg/sir-richard-branson-put-your-staff-first-customers-second-and-shareholders-third.html
Guthrie, C. (n.d.). This is Why People Leave Your Company. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from http://firstround.com/review/This-is-Why-People-Leave-Your-Company/