"According to the U.S. Department of Labor, disengaged workers cost the U.S. economy more than $300 billion annually." And according to Gallup, only 29% of employees actually feel engaged, so what if the remaining 71% of your workforce would really care about the success of your company, how much better would your financial results be if everyone were engaged? The task of re-engaging those who "quit and stay" falls on the shoulders of the leadership and management team. While many managers know the importance of engaging this talent, the "how" is often left up to chance.
Coaching for engagement and retention reduces the risk and empowers leaders in any organization to tap into their employees' discretionary effort and bring that energy into the workplace. When the coaching relationship is directed at these issues, it helps managers find simple, yet meaningful, ways to engage this talent beyond everyday distractions.
A skilled engagement coach must begin by understanding the unique employee engagement and retention challenges of each manager." The above is quoted from an article in Business Coaching Worldwide ezine.
Finding out what motivates workers through a simple assessment will give you information (as a manager or coach) on WHAT each worker looks for from the workplace. Beyond monetary gains, we are all looking for slightly different things to feel engaged and motivated where we work. This can vary from being sent to a conference and learn about the new trends in the industry to matching volunteer hours or the possibility of bringing volunteering right into the organization or business. And then there are bonuses. However simply handing out bonuses may not be the ultimate reason for people to be motivated. In fact, hiring a coach to address this very issue could go to the core of it. What is the drive of each and every worker on your team or your business?
Dan Pink in his newly published book DRIVE argues that for simple tasks the carrot and stick approach may work, however for the more complex tasks that your workers are performing, .."that enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on the project, is the strongest and most pervasive driver." Also compared to being in the flow.
Can YOU remember back to a moment when 'you were in the flow'? It is simply impossible to be in the flow and to be disengaged at the same time. So how do we coach people around being disengaged: Work with them, so they end up in the zone or the flow; fully engaged and full of intrinsic motivation!
