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When Gallup first began measuring and tracking employee engagement levels in 2000, they found that only 26% of the U.S. workforce was truly engaged: motivated to show up and psychologically invested in the work they were doing. Moreover, a disturbing 18% of employees were “actively disengaged.” They were going through the motions, but psychologically they had checked out.
At the start of a new decade, Gallup reports that we have made considerable progress in the last twenty years. Employee engagement has now reached 35%. Those who are actively disengaged have dropped to 13% of the workforce.
While those numbers are an encouraging sign, that still means that over half of U.S. employees fall in the “not engaged” category. They fulfill their responsibilities competently, but without passion or energy. In a nation with vast resources, and in an economy that depends on innovation and adaptability, those numbers are unacceptable. We must and can do better.
If we want to build on the modest progress that has been made, business leaders must be crystal clear on what is working and why it is working. Gallup identifies four factors driving improved employee engagement. All four reflect an organizational commitment to developing employees—to creating what the report calls a “high-development culture.”
Organizational purpose starts at the top
The foundation of a high-development culture is a clear brand vision, one which articulates a compelling purpose and mission for the company. The job of leadership is to convey to employees how their work connects to that mission. Only when employees feel that connection does organizational purpose become relevant to everyday work, and not just an abstract concept.
The vision of the company’s purpose starts with the CEO and the board and ripples throughout the organization. In particular, business leaders must include and engage middle management in this process: those responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the majority of employees. As Gallup has reported in the past, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. If managers themselves are not energized and inspired to motivate others, employee engagement efforts are sure to falter.
Shift from a boss mindset to a coach mindset
In the old command-and-control model of management, supervisors were unquestioned authority figures. They told employees precisely what to do and how to do it, and then evaluated them based on of how well they followed those instructions.
As the Harvard Business Review and others have observed, that model is increasingly outdated. To succeed in today’s economy, employees and teams must be empowered to think on their feet and creatively solve problems on their own. That kind of empowerment requires an entirely different management model, one focused on developing employees’ strengths. In short, leaders and supervisors need to think of themselves more as coaches than as bosses.
As an executive coach myself, this approach rings true. I believe the best way to lead people is to help them unlock their full potential. When leaders embrace employee development as one of their top priorities, the entire organization benefits. This coaching model requires more time than the traditional management model, but that investment is worth it in the long run.
Cultivate a culture of communication
It should go without saying that a thriving organizational culture depends on effective communication. In particular, Gallup finds, high-development cultures create systems that allow managers to share best practices around creating highly engaged teams.
Although everyone acknowledges that human capital is an organization’s most valuable asset, research finds that, in practice, HR is often ranked well below other functions in a company. If people are your most prized asset, then people management must be elevated as a top strategic priority.
Hold managers accountable
If managers are the missing link in many employee engagement initiatives, business leaders must invest more energy in developing exceptional managers—which means high expectations and high levels of accountability.
Too often, middle management positions are seen as a stepping-stone to further advancement. The job of unlocking the potential of employees is a worthy mission in and of itself. High-development cultures acknowledge the value of those with a calling to develop others—but in turn, hold those managers accountable for their results. “The best companies have consequences for ongoing patterns of team disengagement,” the Gallup report asserts.
The improvements that Gallup cites are promising, but we can and must do better. No company would find it acceptable if half of its physical or technological capital were under-utilized. Similarly, we should not settle for over half of the U.S. workforce being less than fully engaged. If employees are our most valuable resource, we must prioritize the practices and procedures that lead to higher engagement, and value the work of managers who create such engagement.
