What do you think your people would say if they were each anonymously asked, “What is your worst job?” How many of your people would say their current job is their worst job? The answer might surprise you.Nobody sets out to create the circumstances necessary to turn any job into someone’s living nightmare. However, creating these circumstances happens all too often in today’s hyper-paced, ultra-competitive business environment. Don’t believe me? Have you checked out the latest statistics on employee disengagement?
Every year Gallup conducts a survey to measure the engagement level of workers from around the globe. Every year, I read their survey with bated breath, hoping the numbers would change from the previous year, and year I am disappointed to find we still haven’t moved the needle. Between 2000 and 20012, the number of engaged employees, meaning those employees willing to give all they have to offer to help the organization thrive, has hovered at 28-30% of the American workforce. Conversely, the number of employees who consider themselves actively disengaged has hovered between 15-20% of the American workforce.
It is these disengaged employees that may potentially consider their current as their worst job ever. Sometimes they are easy to spot. Granted, they can be the ones sullen, angry, and leading a workforce rebellion. But more often than not, they camouflage themselves into the fabric of your organization, hiding behind a friendly persona and “meets expectations” annual personnel reviews. They might not be sabotaging your organization’s performance; they just might not be doing anything to help promote your organization’s performance. Many of your actively disengaged employees come to work every day, do the absolute minimum to keep them under the radar, and spend their time thinking of how great it will be to “finally quit this job.”
What happened to make them care so little?
In their groundbreaking book “First Break All the Rules”, Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton famously revealed, “People leave managers, not companies.” The definitively showed through analyzing feedback from almost 2 million managers and employees that an employee’s relationship with his or her direct supervisor is the single largest determinant of whether or not someone leaves a job or a company.
Think back to your memories of your worst job. Chances are great that what made your experience so dreadful weren’t the working conditions or the job itself. After all, very few people take a job doing work they know they will hate, or in a condition they can’t stand. I am betting that what defined your worse experience had something to do with your relationship with your boss.
For five years I have been studying the research on employee engagement, fulfillment, and organizational success to find what it takes to full unleash the full potential of employees to drive the success of the organization. I have found one factor that keeps revealing itself time and time again in organizations across all industries, cultures, and demographics. The organizations most successful at engaging their employees to work towards their success are the ones that consistently align what they believe, with what they expect and how they behave. These organizations tend to outperform the competitors, produce a higher return for their investors, and set themselves up for long-term success. Let me say that again –
“The most successful organizations are the ones that consistently align what they believe, with what they expect and how they behave.”
In essence, what this means is that the best organizations are the ones that not only know what they stand for and why they do what they do, but they are also the ones who can clearly articulate their purpose in such a consistent and convincing manner that nobody questions their authenticity. These organizations articulate their purpose not just through their words, but through the systems they utilize, the artifacts they embrace, the language they use, and the behaviors they exude. Everything they do, every decision they make, every relationship they cultivate, is based on the premise of an authentic existence.By so thoroughly aligning their business practices, expectations, and behaviors with their purpose, they leave no doubt with customers, stakeholders, vendors, or employees as to what to expect from the organization. By removing doubt, each of these vital groups is more likely to be populated with people who share similar values, visions, and purposes. They remove the risk from relationships because stakeholders know exactly what to expect in every possible situation. They can proceed with the confidence of knowing that what they think will happen, will actually happen.
This alignment has been paramount to the survival of all tribes for millions of years. Humankind has always banded together with other like-minded individuals to stave off the dangers of the outside world and ensure their tribe’s health and longevity. We have thrived for millions of years on the premise that safety ensures survival, prosperity, and growth.
Unfortunately, I have found this alignment is fleeting in today’s organizations. It is far more likely for an organization to lose sight of who they are in times of crisis, than it is for them to apply their purpose as a barometer for making difficult decisions. This is why employee turnover tends to spike and customer loyalty tends to diminish during times of extreme change. It is far too common for organization’s today to “eat their own” in an effort to protect themselves, rather than rallying around each other to protect the many.
This misalignment leaves employees constantly watching their backs because they don’t feel like anyone has their backs. They are constantly scanning the workplace for threats, keeping an exit strategy in full view, and defending their turf against all invaders. Can you imagine how poorly of an evolution strategy it would have been for our ancestors to not have a clan or tribe to band together with in an effort to survive and thrive? We don’t know the decedents of those tribes that didn’t protect their own because they died out long ago. Misalignment is the surest way to thwart organizational evolution and risk becoming extinct.
Today’s business world is fraught with a pace and magnitude of change never experienced in our history. The marketplace is now truly a global minefield where somebody is going to copy what you do, reverse engineer your process, and find a way to do what you do better than you in a relatively short period of time. These are uncharted waters where there is no blueprint of what to do, leaving too many leaders and managers focused on individual survival rather than on the survival of the collective – the organization as a whole.
Success in today’s business environment hinges upon the relationships organizations establish and nurture with stakeholders, clients, and employees. Those companies that successfully foster meaningful relationships are the ones that will also foster high levels of employee engagement. A greater level of highly engaged employees translates into an organization’s ability to turn potential into performance by solving complex problems, and thriving in the face of chaos.
Our promise to you:
Over the coming weeks and months, I will delve into how to “advance workplace engagement”, how to transform organizational potential into organizational performance, and how to prepare your company for the future without sacrificing current performance.
I’m pretty confident that you don’t want your people to think of their time working for your organization as the worst job they ever had or their own little living hell. Let’s get to work learning how to improve the alignment of what you believe with what you expect and how you behave. Together, we can ebb the tide of employee disengagement, and prepare you to win your market.
Best regards,
Scott Brown
Chief Engagement Officer, The Hardie Consulting Group
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