Your business needs
Getting the best performance and value out of your employees only happens if they feel fully engaged with their work and with the organisation as a whole. Employees who are happy, and who understand how their work is linked to the company’s mission and vision, will go the extra mile to exceed customer expectations.
But employee engagement doesn’t happen by itself. It’s a two-way street that depends on good leadership. Leadership that all-too-often is missing, with employees not being sure what is expected of them and not having the confidence to speak up about that.
This lack of clarity and/or dysfunctional behaviour often stems from the following root causes:
No clear mission and vision – why are we here?
Sometimes neither employees nor leaders are actually clear as to who their clients are, and/or why processes are the way they are. What’s more they don’t know whether or not they have a say in the organisation’s direction or how activities are handled.
Outdated habits – failure to modernise appropriately
Organisations which have been around a long time often cling on to long-standing processes and habits, even when these are no longer appropriate to present day needs. If efforts to address these happen behind closed doors, without involving the employees concerned, there is a high risk of alienating them.
No direction – lack of clarity and energy
Sometimes an organisation can be brimming with energy and potential, but unable to use it because everyone is waiting for management to make decisions. If the decision-making process is so slow that nothing appears to be happening, that energy is stifled and employees become very demoralised. Engagement plummets and productivity suffers.
When clarity, involvement and direction are lacking, it’s up to leaders to step up. But sometimes leaders fail to bridge the gap between the problem and displaying the positive behaviour which influences workforce morale.
