Can you afford to lose up to 19% of your productivity while sending millions of dollars out the door? Not very likely!
That's what can happen if you do not address an endemic problem in corporations today: the potential cost of actively disengaged workers. According to a recent Gallup survey, "This term describes people who not only fail to be enthralled by their work but are fundamentally disconnected from it.
Actively disengaged workers tend to be less productive and report being less loyal to their companies, more stressed and less secure in their work. They miss more days and are less satisfied with their personal lives." They may not only find every possible way to misuse time, they may actively cause conflict, delay deadlines, reduce productivity, progress and profit.
The Gallup survey found that 19% of workers, 18 or older are ‘actively disengaged' at work. Couple that horrendous figure with another finding: 55% of workers are ‘disengaged'. These are the folks who are simply putting in a day's work with no commitment, no creativity, no focus on mission, no ‘big picture' thinking, and, no compelling sense of purpose. Sound familiar? Just listen to any corporate conversation. Are the folks looking for what will work or decrying what won't? Are they looking for solutions or focused on problems? Are they motivated to excel or dragging their feet? It's not rocket science. The Gallup survey shows that only 26% of the people in your company are engaged!
This is dangerously reminiscent of the old 80/20 rule. Twenty-six per cent of the people accomplish 80% of the progress. Twenty-six per cent of the people produce 80% of the profits. Twenty-six per cent of the people are making your company work! What if you could increase this number by even 5%? That would be a significant improvement.
Look at these numbers. The partners in the PurposeMatrix™ Corporation extrapolated this data to better understand the economic impact. They found that in a company of 3,000, using the figure of $13,300 per year per actively disengaged worker derived from the Gallup data, the loss over one year would be over 7 ½ million dollars. Staggering! Increase your engaged workforce by 5% in that scenario and you would save almost 2 million dollars. That's worth doing right away.
How are your absenteeism statistics? Disengaged workers miss more days of work, experience more stress and less satisfaction. Beyond that, think of the effect they can have on others in the workplace. Their lethargy, lack of commitment and overt negativity can create considerable friction in daily interactions. They would rather fight than switch!
Reclaim engagement. That is the most efficient and effective answer. You keep the people who have the experience and expertise for which you chose them AND up their level of engagement. Everybody wins!
One direct way to begin this process is to ‘engage' employees in productive training and dialogue carefully designed to re-engage and re-animate employees through experiential learning. Alignment between personal and corporate mission can be derived and used as continuous motivation. Supporting the insights, information and motivation arising from the effective training through short, weekly, purpose-focused coaching ensures the alignment required to change the engagement statistics. The PurposeMatrix™ (
www.PurposeMatrix.com) is a standards-based training and tri-level coaching program that strengthens commitment for maximum results. Your productivity and profitability will immediately rise as your organization becomes a holographic, purpose-driven enterprise.
Turn this corner quickly and announce your engagement!
Dr. Rhoberta Shaler solves 'people problems' by making it easier to talk about difficult things. Dr. Shaler speaks to, trains and coaches executives and entrepreneurs worldwide in the communication skills essential to creating powerful conversations that reduce conflict & anger, build trust, and streamline negotiation. She is the President & CEO of the Optimize! Institute in Escondido, CA and author of Wrestling Rhinos: Conquering Conflict in the Wilds of Work. www.OptimizeInstitute.com for further information and monthly newsletter.