How engaged are your employees in the aims and values of your business? Let’s put it another way; do your employees really understand what you are trying do and how you are planning to get there. More importantly, are they prepared to put everything into helping you to achieve the aims and values and goals of the organisation?
Despite the emphasis which has been placed on employee engagement over the last few years there is still a worryingly low engagement level in many organisations. Partly that may have come about thanks to the fallout from the recession but to continue to blame such historic events for current failure is to abdicate responsibility for current management practices. The fact is that there is a new imperative in business and that is shaping employee/employer relations and having a profound effect on engagement levels.
That imperative is the growing realisation on the part of employees that the strict hierarchies and top-down leadership style practiced for generations has no place in modern businesses. In a nutshell, employees no longer want to be told what to do, they want to be empowered to act.
This places an obligation on the leadership team to stop instructing and to start collaborating. And that collaboration extends even into the way in which employee engagement is perceived. Leaders can no longer, if they ever could, gather employees in a room, share the values and aims of the organisation and expect employees to become engaged. When we are looking to trust people, to empower them, and to see them as the guardians of the business culture, then engagement moves from being a top down activity to one which is led by employees.
Self managed engagement plans are one of the surest ways to show employees not only how much you value them but also how you value their contribution to business success. Either working on their own or in teams, employees can set, manage and monitor their own engagement levels and progress. If they need training they should be empowered to arrange it. If they need help with gaining skills such as collaboration and communication then the way should be open for them to acquire the help they need.
Make no mistake, leaders still have a huge role to play in setting the aims, values, skills and competencies for the business and its employees. But the greatest role which leaders have to play is in learning to trust the abilities and judgement of their employees. Business is no longer about profit before all, nor is it solely concerned with extracting the greatest value for shareholders. Rather, the successful business is one which looks to the long-term and to creating exceptional levels of service for its customers and exceptional job experiences for its employees.
If you would like to explore online self-managed engagement tools or general employee engagement issues further feel free to email Derek at derek.bishop@cultureconsultancy.com or visit www.cultureconsultancy.com
