Engaging Employees Isn’t Difficult. Replacing Them Is.
Every industry has employee engagement issues. However, two industries consistently rate in the top five as most disengaged: retail and hospitality (restaurants, hotels). So although it did not surprise me when a hotel recently told me their turnover among maids is 96%, it did sadden me.
I meet with leaders every day who tell me employee engagement is difficult and that could not be further from the truth. Re-engaging employees is not difficult, but do you know what is? Having to replace people who resign because they don’t trust your leaders, allowing people to stay in your organization who have a toxic attitude or who are incompetent, or going out of business because customers are not satisfied and revenue is down.
How do you re-engage workers? Meet or exceed their basic human needs. I don’t know a single person in this world who does not want:
- To work for a company whose values align with their individual values;
- To have a job that has meaning and adds value;
- To have a voice and know it’s being heard;
- To feel acknowledged and appreciated for their contributions.
If you create a culture strategy that focuses on these four areas, increased levels of employee engagement are assured, as well as increased productivity, retention, customer satisfaction, and profitable revenue growth. Why? Because there is a correlation between employee engagement and profitable revenue growth. If you are an organization that is not-for profit, therefore you are thinking that profitability doesn’t master, I respectfully disagree. You may not be for profit, but if you are smart you are also not for loss.
BE AWESOME! Pull out your organization’s employee engagement strategy and check to see if it focuses on the four areas mentioned above, which are proven to drive trust in senior leaders and an emotional connection to your company (the definition of engagement). If not, you have some tweaking to do. Need help? I’m a phone call away and would love to partner with you to create an effective strategy that yields measurable results. That’s how you are going to create a new reality for yourself and your organization.
Jill Christensen is an employee engagement expert, best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. She was recently named a Top 100 Global Employee Engagement Influencer, authored the best-selling book, If Not You, Who? Cracking the Code of Employee Disengagement, and works with the best and brightest global leaders to improve productivity and retention, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth. Jill can be reached at +1.303.999.9224 or jill@jillchristensenintl.com.