What are leaders and managers to do when they see low levels of engagement among employees?
Imagine with me for a moment that you have hired what you believe to be a “rock-star-potential” employee for your business. He brings incredible talent to your team: experience, transformational ideas, a stellar track record, and contagious enthusiasm.
Six months into his employment, however, you sense that he isn’t fully showing up to work every day. He often appears distracted, brings very little energy to his role, and rarely (if ever) engages in debate around the opportunities and challenges your company faces. In addition, it seems as though he uses every excuse imaginable to miss work.
When the company faces a unique and unexpected challenge, not only does this employee not step in to assist, but he actually declines when asked to cover something that’s outside his specific role.
In purely monetary terms, you begin to think you are spending $100 to get $50 of value in return.
Consider an illustration from the world of professional baseball (while I am not a baseball nerd, I do confess to being a marginal fan of the Boston Red Sox).
In recent news, the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers, one of their star players, to the San Francisco Giants. The Red Sox had a 10-year, $313 million contract with Devers, and I had expected him to be around as a key offensive player for many years. In exchange, they received three pitchers and an outfielder — a total of four players.
Why did they make the trade?
It was not because Devers wasn’t performing as a star hitter (he currently ranks in the top 10 in the American League). The Red Sox had a moment of team crisis several months ago when their first baseman experienced a season-ending injury. Devers was asked to step in to cover first base, but he declined to do so. Many saw this as a move that demonstrated a level of disengagement — refusing to cover a critical spot for the greater good of the team even though he seemed the teammate best suited for this role.
This had a significant impact on team morale, and Alex Cora, the manager, decided Devers had to go. For the culture and health of the team, it was likely the right move.
What are leaders and managers to do when they see low levels of engagement among employees?
Start by recognizing that it is a widespread problem. Various recent studies show a range from 69 percent to as high as 85 percent of employees are not actively engaged in their workplace. Invariably this has a significant impact on the cultural health of the team and also on the profitability of the company — but just letting them all go and starting over is not typically a viable option.
Here are seven areas of consideration to strengthen employee engagement.
- Assure that work is tied to purpose.
Make sure it’s tied to both the company’s purpose and that of the individual employees. Employees who experience their work as purposeless activity soon disengage mentally and emotionally from their work and workplace. Countering this requires the company to be exceedingly clear on what its overarching purpose is and then demonstrate how that purpose fuels the activities of the business.
In the hiring process, potential employees need to be carefully vetted to ensure that this purpose resonates with them and that their personal sense of purpose fits within the company’s purpose. The bigger challenge is for leaders and managers to communicate this regularly, model it consistently, and help coach and guide employees into alignment with this purpose. - Invest in real relationships.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone at work needs to be the best of buddies; however, it requires relationships in the workplace to be open and honest.
Leaders and managers must be skilled at truly listening to each other and their direct reports. Employees need to feel that they and their perspectives are understood and that everyone around them cares about their growth, well-being, and success.
This interest extends to people’s lives outside of the workplace. Let’s be honest, we bring our whole selves to work, including what’s happening at home and on the weekends. - Get crystal clear on roles, responsibilities, and metrics.
When expectations aren’t clear, there is a lot of confusion, frustration, and generally a lack of effectiveness.
At times this takes more than just the leadership or management describing these expectations, though that is frequently the method used. Clarifying expectations sometimes involves conversations to arrive at and establish mutual agreement.
When expectations are not shared and clearly communicated, there will inevitably be resentment, frustration, and disengagement. - Maximize autonomy and personal ownership.
While the degree of autonomy given to people can vary significantly, it should be offered to the greatest degree possible. This strengthens the sense of ownership for the role filled and allows problem-solving to be addressed as closely as possible to the problem observed.
When people feel trapped in situations where they have no ability or freedom to solve problems, they quickly begin to disengage as a means of distancing themselves from the challenges rather than using their skills and insights to be a part of the solution. This means you should still work to define outcomes and provide a general process or roadmap for achieving them but allow a lot of space for individual personalities and skills to be fully utilized. - Regularly invest in the growth and mastery of all employees.
That means all employees, not just the leaders and managers.
When employees begin to experience the workplace as stagnant and stale, they will disengage quickly and seek growth opportunities in other places. Some employers have questioned the wisdom of providing training and growth for their employees. Won’t they just outgrow the positions assigned to them and become discontent?
The answer to that concern is that it may well be the case. However, do you really want an entire team that isn’t growing? - Create a healthy team culture.
Healthy teams are open and honest. They care about each other and hold each other accountable for desired results. They are marked by kindness, mutual respect, and significant transparency that results in a high-trust culture.
It is worth investing in creating and maintaining such a culture. - Remove obstacles to engagement.
When staying engaged consumes too much energy, or when the bureaucratic layers are too thick to easily solve problems and address employee concerns, employees will disengage rather than keep fighting the system.
Be sure to evaluate potential obstacles — not only the ones you as a leader identify but also the ones your valued team members observe. Obstacle discussions are important times to listen first and listen well to be sure you fully understand the concerns.
Make certain everyone has the tools and resources for success, ensure they have adequate support, and regularly address any chronic energy-drainers. This allows all the members of your team to utilize their energy in driving toward the shared vision of the organization.
It’s worth doing the hard work of building a team with full engagement, even if it means letting a star player go. In nearly all situations, healthy teams win. One star player who disengages can undermine an otherwise healthy team.
Go Red Sox! Though I will miss seeing Raphael Devers hitting those balls out of the park.
