6 Ways To Ignite Employee Engagement In Your Team

I'm very honored to have this guest blog post written by #1 best selling author, Partner at Incrementa Consulting and Business Strategy Consultant Robert Murray. Below Robert shares a powerful guide to help boost employee engagement within your organization.

A 2015 Gallup poll on Employee Engagement found that only 32% of Americans feel engaged at work. Of the remaining 68%... 51% were found to be ‘disengaged’ while 17% ‘actively disengaged’ (Ouch!).

Similar results were seen across Europe and Canada. That means that only 3 out of 10 employees love their jobs… Which begs the question, what are the other 7 team members doing?!

Disengaged and toxic cultures continue to be the biggest disadvantage in our global economy that leaders HAVE to wrap their heads around if they want to be successful. When you have a team of individuals that are just ‘going through the motions’ at work, there are massive impacts on revenue, customer satisfaction and ultimately profit.

How then, do you get a disengaged team over to the “bright side of the road?”

Here is a simple guide that will help leaders emotionally engagement their team members:

1. It starts with trust. Often, disengaged team members feel a lack of appreciation, respect, or trust. To that I say… if the team member was thought of highly enough of to be hired in the first place, why is it that they are not trusted? If there is a true lack of trust, then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the position for the person in the company.
2. Values. Values have always been part of our family and social fabric. They are the guiding principles of individuals and organizations. Stated or not, leaders have always been under a microscope when it comes to ‘walking the talk.’ Now, employees (especially Millennials) are voting with their feet. And I can tell you, when a company’s leaders are morally bankrupt, in terms of living their values, the results are more than undesirable.
3. Purpose. Team members all have a personal purpose (beyond salary) as to why they work for you. It might be a lifestyle choice. Perhaps location. Maybe it is because they feel they can make a difference with the skills they have. Connect their personal purpose to that of the organization. If you as the leader, are not sure of the purpose of the company, that is a great starting point for you.
4. Simple Strategies – Simply Said. Overwhelming your team with too many complicated goals will yield confusion and disengagement. However, creating simple, clear strategies that involve all the team members will engage them to work together to accomplish the goal.
5. Keep a Scoreboard. Imagine if you went to the local bowling alley with your friends. And down at the end of the lane in front of the pins someone hung a sheet – completely covering the pins! You throw your ball down the lane and it disappears under the sheet. You hear the ball hit some pins but you have no idea what you hit or how many. Often, leaders do the same thing by not letting team members see how they are doing. Openly share the target and the score.
6. Talk. Team members in disengaged organizations will all say the same thing… They don’t know the strategy, their role, their responsibility or how they contribute to the success of the business. What?! Communication is the simplest, yet most critical step to building an engaged team. Get out there and talk to your people!

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, partner at Incrementa Consulting Inc., #1 Best Selling Author, and International Keynote Speaker. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.