By Martha Forlines and Thad Green
BSI Experts Lambast Traditional Employee Engagement Solutions
There is a lot going wrong in the world of employee engagement these days. Problem is, leaders usually find out too late. Here’s what’s happening, along with suggestions for protection.
What’s Going Wrong
Employee Engagement SURVEYS
Engagement surveys are nothing more than employee opinion surveys by another name, this even though the Gallup organization points out a pressing need, reporting that only 29% of employees are truly engaged at work, costing U.S. employers $350b per year.
If you want to count the ways the surveys are the same, look here:
- Survey items are around the same old employee satisfaction stuff;
- Engagement surveys are completed anonymously too;
- Data continue to be aggregated for reporting;
- Survey results continue to show problems that are too pervasive, too elusive, too demanding, too costly, and too easy to let slide; and
- Good intentions to take action (based on results) lose momentum like usual.
Perhaps the biggest issue, aside from the surveys themselves, is this—if managers haven’t been held accountable to lead effectively in the past, who is going to hold them accountable now?
So what are you to do, if you want to crank up employee engagement a notch or two on your team?
Look for engagement surveys that have proven to work for teams and larger organizations.
|
|
Martha Forlines and Thad Green are excited to announce the launch of their new book, Inspiring Women: BECOMING Courageous, Wise Leaders!
The book has been written for the busy business person... we call it a "laser" book. You can read it in the time it takes to fly from Atlanta to New York City.
While it offers lessons in leadership and includes facts and data, the use of storytelling, prose, poetry and art keep your creative, right brain engaged and provokes your thinking. Listen to what these readers had to say...
"I found the book very different from other business books. The mix of prose with poetry, inspiration with cold facts was refreshing and engaging."
Patty Tucker, Deputy General Manager, EVP COrporate, Edelman Agency.
"The book includes stories of people I know with many diverse backgrounds, woven in amongst great writing with nuggets of wisdom and is thought provoking.”
Rachel Russell, VP Wholesale Customer Service, AT&T
20% OFF For a Limited Time!
Pre-order your paperback copy below or click here to instantly purchase your eBook.
|
|
Dr. Thad B. Green
The unwillingness to accept responsibility is one of the biggest problems in America today.
This is not one person's opinion. Ask any manager. Ask any teacher. Ask most parents. Look around you. Listen. When is the last time you heard this unwillingness? It comes in many forms.
"It's not my fault."
"I couldn't help it."
"Nobody would help me."
"How was I supposed to know?"
A lot of people are concerned about the unwillingness to accept responsibility. We're starting to see just how many.
|
|
Dr. Thad B. Green
Everyone has experienced the frustration of not getting what they deserve. Work hard and perform well and nothing good happens. Likewise, take it easy and perform poorly and nothing bad happens.
In many organizations, what people get simply is not tied to their performance. Good performance goes unnoticed. Poor performance is overlooked. Promises are made and not kept. Managers do not have the authority to do what is right. Organizations do not believe in taking care of their people.
Whatever the reason, employees often question whether or not what they get is based on how well they perform. Consequently, when employees are asked to work harder, their reaction is, "Why should I?" When this occurs, employee motivation suffers, and so does effort and performance.
|
|
Dr. Thad B. Green
Everyone experiences the uncomfortable feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence at one time or another. Sometimes people find themselves in jobs they simply can not handle. Almost everyone experiences situations where they do not have all of the skills they need.
This is particularly true when a wide variety of tasks is involved, when people are promoted and transferred, when jobs are undergoing change, and when employees are asked to do something different than usual or to do things in a different way.
There are many occasions for people to question their ability to get the job done. Nobody is good at everything, and everybody is asked, at one time or another, to do something they are not good at. When this happens, people often conclude, "I can't do it." What is the result of this? Motivation suffers, and so does effort and performance.
|
|
|
|
|
Brand new book by Martha Forlines & Thad Green! 
