Robert Hicks
3 min read
Sometimes, in business, it feels as though your staff aren’t really in sync with you. You get the feeling that perhaps not all of them care as much as you’d like them to. The data from your exit interviews and employee surveys shows that they’re not engaged as before. And you need a plan to fix this.
But before you can set up and execute your plan, you need to know why this is the case. So, why might your employees not care about the business?
1. Communication is not fast, flowing or honest
Your information flows may not be reaching all your employees. Are they stuck with middle managers? Do you announce important news via an intranet that no one uses? Do you send out long, all-staff emails that no one reads?
The solution: Create a multi-layered communication approach that allows you to communicate with different employees in different ways, ideally with a central hub that can act as an anchor for all information flows.
2. Engagement is seen as a nice-to-have, and initiatives never seem to last
Do your engagement-boosting initiatives have a big bang and a fast fizzle? It’s hard to make staff care when your efforts to build culture and commitment aren’t long-lasting.
The solution: Ensure that your initiatives fit and enhance the culture you’re trying to foster. Make sure they can be repeated, have clear ownership and have the ability to change while staying relevant.
3. Engagement isn't appropriately resourced
Does engagement sit with a single overworked person? Does it have sufficient funding for the plan to last all year? Do you have local champions in place to enable you to gather feedback locally and to adjust to meet the business’s changing needs?
The solution: Work out your plan, resource it (people, funds, support) appropriately, and always give yourself some wiggle room to address any issues that may come up. When your staff know that you’re dealing with key concerns, they’ll be more engaged.
4. Your cultural values are aligned
Do your values reflect those that the company started out with? Are they relevant to the company today? Were they designed by the staff? A company whose cultural values support and champion staff will create a sense of shared purpose, meaning a more innovative and dedicated workforce.
The solution: Do a work-through of your company cultural values. Make sure they’re championed by the CEO or Senior Director, but also that the staff agree with them so that can everyone can work together more effectively.
5. You haven't taken cultural fit into consideration when hiring
Are you basing your recruitment decisions solely on the skills someone has, or are you assessing whether candidates would fit into the team, department and business?
The solution: Make sure you include cultural fit as a key component of your assessment mix. Use some personality profiling to understand what motivates your candidate and how they like to work. Test and challenge this at interview level to ensure that everyone you hire will enjoy working with your business.
Learn more about how to engage your staff through The Engagement Bridge™: our 10-step model on how to increase employee engagement. Here's an overview of The Bridge, below: