Worldwide only 15% of employees are engaged in their job. An astonishing two-thirds are not engaged, and 18% are actively disengaged. These numbers should be a talking point in every board room, because employee engagement directly impacts organizational outcomes.
Identifying the right solutions for your staff isn't easy, and in fact is the wrong approach. Top-down driven campaigns to motivate your workforce rarely work. For the greatest chance of success, enable your teams to find the right solutions themselves, with appropriate governance and guidance.
To do this, it's imperative to develop a system for teams to self-identify problems, introduce changes, adopt new ways and innovate.
Celebrate Ideas
As one Team Leader said: 'It's always good to be heard and what you say is welcomed as well.' Submitting an idea is different to being heard. Forget the suggestion box in the lunchroom – enable people to offer ideas in the moment, wherever they are. Make it simple and fast – online systems using tablets are ideal for this.
An idea that is raised by the frontline, linked to a business goal and validated by leadership will secure team buy-in by the time they're asked to implement it.
Consistent Feedback
Annual or quarterly performance reviews weren't designed for frontline employees. A good system will take care of the preparation, enabling leadership to instantly retrieve results at the team and individual level. Leaders should be looking to give feedback in the moment.
Let the Communication Flow
By far the biggest contributing factor to a disengaged workforce is the invisible barriers of communication flow. Escalating issues can be life and death matters. Tiered meetings, or huddles, are effective. Information is power, and team empowerment equals engagement.
Develop Your People
Provide your teams visibility of the 'What' – using IoT, big data – and ensure the system assists them with the next steps (the 'So what'). Develop their problem-solving skills, actively encourage collaboration, and take action on the insights.
You have a team culture, whether you consciously build it or not. Embedding a system ensures you set the direction, provides a consistent approach and develops self-sustaining teams.
A Continuous Improvement Framework
To provide individuals and teams with a purpose larger than themselves, they need a communication process that connects them to the big picture. Furthermore, a continuous improvement mindset comes from providing autonomy through systems that support decision making at every level.
TeamAssurance is an Operational Excellence Management System designed on principles that build a healthy and resilient team culture. Contact us to learn more.
