Majority of American Workers Not Engaged in Their Jobs

According to a recent Gallup poll - Seventy-one percent of American workers are "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work, meaning they are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and are less likely to be productive. That leaves nearly one-third of American workers who are "engaged," or involved in and enthusiastic about their work and contributing to their organizations in a positive manner. This trend remained relatively stable throughout 2011.

These findings are from a special Gallup Daily tracking series conducted on an ongoing basis since the fourth quarter of 2010 to explore American workers' engagement levels. Gallup's employee engagement index is based on worker responses to 12 actionable workplace elements with proven linkages to performance outcomes, including productivity, customer service, quality, retention, safety, and profit. Further research shows significant linkages between engagement at work and health and wellbeing outcomes.
Americans' levels of engagement at work are generally consistent with Gallup's trends on workplace engagement from various studies since 2000. The current percentage of engaged employees is similar to the historical high of 30% in 2001 to 2002 and 2006 to 2007. The percentage who are actively disengaged is near the high of 20% recorded in 2007 and 2008.
Article date October 28, 2011

Communicate - Train - Build

As economic conditions slowly improve, organizations all over the world are beginning to focus on growth. But, as global organizations prepare to move forward, many say one particular challenge stands in their way: retaining top talent.

A Towers Watson survey of more than 700 global companies revealed 51 percent view the loss of key talent as the biggest obstacle to growth. An additional 38 percent cited concerns about attracting the right talent to fit their needs.

What can be done to keep top performers on board? How can your organization bring new talent to the table? In a time when salaries are frozen and budgets are tight, consider these:

• Consistent Communication – Discuss goals and expectations with employees. Recognize effort, provide constructive feedback and reward results. When workers feel their employer is vested in their career development, loyalty is the result.
• Training – Arm employees with the knowledge and support needed to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
• Team Building – A well-planned team building workshop or program can build trust, improve morale and bolster culture.

O.C. Tanner has the tools to help you attract, develop and retain top talent. We would like to explore whether we can help to develop solution that matches your unique culture and goals with some of our best practices, maximizing results for you.

Team Assists

To stay on the theme of TEAMWORK, here is a great story:

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden had an interesting rule for his teams. Whenever a player scored, he was to acknowledge the person on the team who had assisted. When he was coaching high school, one of his players asked, “Coach, won’t that take up too much time?” Wooden replied, “I’m not asking you to run over there and give him a big hug. A nod will do.”
To achieve victory on the basketball court, Wooden saw the importance of teaching his players that they were a team—not “just a bunch of independent operators.” Each person contributed to the success of everyone else.

From The Orange Revolution - 101 Ways to Bring your Team Together
page 178 - Create a softball, volleyball, or bowling league made up of teams from work. Friendly competition between departments pulls people together in a very positive way.

Have you given a nod to a team member today?

The Orange Revolution - How One Great TEAM can transform an Entire Organization

Are you ready to start your own Orange Revolution?

Log in to http://carrots.com/orange and receive free white papers, videos and other cool tools that will help you and your team excel. Plus, get exclusive insights from some of the most revolutionary “Orange Teams” in the world.

What our research clearly reveals is that within the most productive teams, employees feel a heightened sense of camaraderie, considering at least one of their co-workers a close friend. They also feel their manager cares about their well-being, a dramatically human emotion. For those who prefer numbers, 63 percent of workers found office productivity to be positively affected when co-workers are friends outside of work.
All these indicators clearly point to camaraderie, or even love if you choose to call it that, as a major driver of esprit de corps, which in turn drives productivity and achievement. page 12 - The Orange Revolution

INSPIRE GROWTH

Appreciation does more than keep people happy. It inspires them to do more. To go further. It transforms managers into leaders and employees into champions. By appreciating people who embrace and move your vision forward, you also strengthen your organizations brand and mission.

What’s important to your organization? Sales? Mission? Safety? The bottom line?

Appreciating those who get it done can deliver powerful results. To turn potential into performance you have to inspire people to see possibilities, connect with your mission and embrace your vision.

Think engaged employees – what are the possibilities?



Studies prove it. Experience confirms it. And the most successful organizations can feel it. Appreciating great work creates a high performance culture where things like innovation, extra effort, and more effective leadership practices drive results.

Appreciate INSPIRE

What is YOUR praise to criticism ratio?

Over the past 30 years, renowned marriage counselor John Gottman has been able to predict with 90% accuracy which newlyweds he works with will stay married versus getting divorced after watching just 15 minutes of their interactions on videotape.

The key factor that Gottman looks for is the ratio of positive to negative reinforcement that couples give to each other. When the ratio is 5 to 1 positive, the couples report the overall relationship as positive. Anything less than 4 to 1 and the relationship is perceived as negative.

Why does it have to be slanted so heavily in the positive direction? The answer is emotion. The emotional response surrounding each praising or criticism amplifies its impact. For most people, criticism is stinging and leaves a far larger emotional footprint than positive praising.

Leaders can promote healthy relationships with the people who report to them by praising and reprimanding effectively. Here are three tips.

1.Be timely. Nobody likes to deliver negative feedback. But some managers have trouble delivering positive praising also. Uncomfortable with the whole situation, these managers believe that by not communicating, at least they are doing no harm. But the reality is that “not communicating” is sending a message. If your boss never communicated with you about your work, how would it make you feel? What message would it send to you? People want to matter and they want to be noticed. As a manager, it is your job to make sure that you are paying attention to your people.
2.Be specific. Feedback is best when it is specific. A general praising of, “You’re doing a great job!” is nice, but a more specific praising of, “The way you ran that meeting today was fantastic. You really did a good job of having all of the background information ready and also redirecting the discussion when it was getting off track,” is better. When it comes to negative feedback, it is even more important to be specific. Consider how damaging a comment like, “You really don’t seem to understand how we do things around here,” is. Instead be more specific. Say, “We have a very specific process for approving email that needs to be followed. Anytime something new is created, please make sure I see it first and have a chance to review it before sending it out.” This turns criticism into redirection—which is what you’re looking for. Even though it will still hurt, you want to keep the focus on the behavior that needs to change. If you don’t, the recipient will only remember how you made them feel and the necessary change will be an afterthought.
3.Be aware of your emotional impact. Remember that negative feedback is serious business and carries five times the emotional weight as positive feedback. Anytime that you find yourself having to deliver a reprimand, make sure that you follow it up with a reaffirmation of the person and their abilities. This doesn’t mean that you backtrack or soften the reality of what needs to change, it just means a reconfirmation of your faith in the direct report to do better and your belief that they can change.
By mastering the art of positive and negative feedback, managers can strengthen their relationships with direct reports. Keep in mind both the quantity and the quality of the messages you deliver. It’s an important skill that will keep people engaged and performing at their best.

Strategic Recognition

For companies looking to do more with less, this is where the strategic use of recognition comes in.

The way to expand the impact of your compensation effort, without increasing the costs, may lie in expanding the use of recognition. Dr. James Oakley from Purdue University examined the impact of compensation and the role it plays in fostering and sustaining culture in his study “The Road to An Engaged Workforce”, (www.performanceforum.org). In Oakley’s opinion, all forms of compensation must be leveraged to drive the culture that’s right for your business. He feels non-cash as a compensation lever is actually under-utilized in all business models.

Effective use of recognition, using non-cash rewards that are distinct from ongoing compensation, is a powerful tool for sustaining culture, driving innovation and rewarding the right behaviors across the corporation.



Ask us about your free thanks website to send e-cards and personalized certificates - be strategic and recognize someone today!