Move Them on Up!

by Lois Moncrief

In the last two issues, I have talked about the Gallup Management Journal Survey from October 12, 2006 ( http://gmj.gallup.com/content/24880/Gallup-Study-Engaged-Employees-Inspire-Company.aspx ).

The survey mentions 3 types of employees: engaged, not-engaged, and actively disengaged. I said I would take the next few weeks to discuss how to deal with each type of employee.

This week I want to talk about your non-engaged employees and how to motivate them to be more productive

The Gallup Management Journal Survey referenced above defines non-engaged employees as follows:

Non-Engaged Employees: employees are essentially "checked out". They're sleepwalking through their workday, putting time - but not energy or passion - into their work.

According to Gallup this is your "middle" group of employees comprising 56% of your workforce.

They are between your bottom group of actively disengaged employees (15% of your workforce ) and your top performers - your engaged employees (29% of your workforce).

Your top performers are already "self motivated" and already doing their best for you.

Your bottom performers are very difficult to change.

This middle group that comprises the majority of your employees has the most potential for change that will benefit your company.

So you need to find a way to wake up your "sleepwalkers" and "check them in" so they are not just "putting in time" but become excited and engaged in their work.

Concentrate Your Motivational Efforts on Your Non-Engaged Employees (Your "Checked Out", "Sleep Walkers")

In previous ezines I have sent you I have talked about:

• empowering employees
• encouraging ownership and pride in their work
• educating them to see the big picture
• helping them to understand their part of the operations
• holding regular meetings to keep them informed
• understanding that they need to feel valued, important, appreciated,
• that you need to say, "Thank You" when they do a good job
• almost all of your employees are coming from the position of "what's in it for me?". Answer that in a win-win solution and you have them!

All of those articles can help you understand ways you can motivate your employees.

I have also mentioned that you need to get to know and build a relationship with your employees and talk to them on a regular basis - individually. During these talks you may discover factors -external to work or at the worksite that may be a distraction from their work. This information will help you understand how to approach individual employees to get them more motivated. There is an old saying that "People don't care until they know how much you care." In other words, listening to individual employee problems and showing compassion in dealing with them will usually result in the employee appreciating your support and reciprocating by doing a better job for you.

In addition, there are awards, small gifts, recognition, incentives that can be used to motivate your employees. You can have contests, competitions, parties, etc.

Think of the impact you could have on your company by getting 56% of your employees (the non-engaged) to work just 10% harder during the day - that would be approximately 5% more effort overall - 5% more product or services that your company is selling and probably 5% more on your bottom line.

copyright (c) 2009 Lois Moncrief All Rights Reserved