People engagement – Your employees can make the difference

“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.”
Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup

When the economic crisis hit us some years ago, most of the companies decided the easiest way to cut some expenses will be to down size the work force. No more profits, no more solutions and those lazy employees, all they did was come to work, play solitaire and ask for the paychecks at the end of the month. So let’s get them out and restart fresh. Not many decided to get the employees involved, make them feel part of the business not just some unimportant appendix. But those who did, got through the hard times easier, were better prepared when the crisis was over and their employees felt important and worked harder.

            Most of the people I know, the ones that are employees, complain about their work place. The bosses are terrible, salaries are small, no benefits and long hours. But they are not so eager to leave that place. And they go to work with that bad attitude and their efficiency is accordingly. In time, their frustration will grow and their poor performance will affect also the performance of the company. At the end of the day, everybody loses and each side will blame the other. Maybe the solution was right under their noses. Better management and people engagement could have made that partnership work.

            People engagement is a concept born some 30 years ago in a Gallup survey, but it has evolved along with the needs of the employees and the company. It talks about the relationship between company and employers, seeing how the level of employee satisfaction is directly connected to their level of performance. Lately we have to look at the people engagement concept as a process not just an end of the year survey. It is one of the most important factors in personnel retention in the last years and more and more companies start using it. We need to look at every employee separately and identify distinctively what each one of the wants and needs. We are talking about personalized approach and motivation.

            Engaged employers are not easy to have, but the work is worth it. There are some things you have to follow daily but the end result is automatically transformed in profit and efficiency.

1. Connect. Employees want to feel a real and genuine connection between them and their leaders. If this connection is broken no added material benefits will fix it. Show people you care and they will answer in a similar manner.
2. Collaborate. Good team work, support from team members, increase performance, people feel they are part of something bigger than themselves.
3. Credibility. Employees expect that the company has a good reputation; they want good ethical principles and ask for promises made to be respected. This makes them proud of the organization they work for and will become ambassadors of that organization.
4.  Contribute. Your employees want to feel important; they want to know what impact the work they are doing has on the results of the company. Make it as transparent as possible to check this information and let them feel an important asset.
5. Congratulate. Every good job must be acknowledged. Employees complain about the fact that when they make a mistake, negative feedback is immediate. Give positive feedback, make the employees fell appreciated and you will see the result immediately.

People engagement directly affects some very important indicators. We are talking about turnover, profitability, productivity, quality or customer ratings. And the connection is proven, not a fairy tale. So why not invest in keeping your people motivated, engaged and happy.

In the end, statistics underline the importance of this concept. Engaged employees are more efficient, with a 43% increase in productivity. They are more loyal, with 87% less chances of leaving the company. They are also more dedicated to accomplishing the company’s objectives, having 20% better results. Overall a company concerned with the motivation of its employees will perform 200% better than companies not that interested in people engagement. “If you fulfill the wishes of your employees, the employees will fulfill your visions.” 
― Amit Kalantri.

There is a saying in the human resources world: “if you don’t know, I will teach you. If you can’t I will help you and if you don’t want to I will fire you”. My advice will be to try and motivate and get those who don’t want involved before taking drastic measures. Hiring a new employee can cause disturbance in logistics, finance and team work. Find out first what the upset employee needs and wants. Try and make him feel needed and important and only after that, if he doesn’t change, you can fire him.

Steve Jobs was one of the leaders that inspired others, loved by employees and partners regardless his many flaws. A great engagement strategy was what he told John Sculley when trying to hire him: “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water or do you want a chance to change the world?” When you know what they want and also have the chance to offer them that, they will come.