How Can I Boost Employee Engagement When Distractions Are Everywhere?

Hi all,

Here in my office, people are not completely engaged with their work, and I often see them spending time here and there. I want to act against this. Please suggest how to tackle this issue. 💡

Hello,

Has the process of Performance Appraisal stabilized in your company? If not, then it is not advisable to go ahead with the 360-degree method so soon. Even the normal performance appraisal process, if applied earnestly, reaps rich dividends. I suggest you go ahead with the normal PA and then the 360-degree.

Thanks, Dinesh V Divekar Soft Skill Trainer and HR Consultant

Hello Veerendra,

You will need to give me some context. What is your role in your organization, and how do employees display a lack of engagement? What has been done so far to improve it?

The following organizations have done a lot of research into employee engagement. You might want to look them up on the web. Some of their research is in the public domain:
- Hewitt
- Towers Perrin
- BlessingWhite
- Seek
- Gallup
- Corporate Leadership Council
- Vicki Heath
- Human Resources Software and Resources
- http://www.businessperform.com

Please feel free to reach out if you need more information or assistance.

Hi Dinesh,

Our company already has a 360-degree Appraisal System in place, but we are still finding people disengaged. The entire setup has people filled with the attitude that they can retire while being in this company. I want to start an Employee Satisfaction Survey to measure the satisfaction levels and then proceed further towards action.

Hi Vicki,

I am working as an HR Assistant, wherein only two of us handle the entire gamut of HR functions. Recently, while I was talking to one of the employees, I came to know about this, and after that, I started to go around the factory thrice a day. I too found a similar thing to what was told to me. We have roles and responsibilities well defined for each one, but still, we see a lack of interest in work.

Vicki, kindly suggest some sound ways to tackle it and also some workshops so that I can motivate the employees in such a way that they keep themselves engaged in the work.

Hello,

Policing around may not help. What you need to do is to ensure the following:

a) Are the employees given an adequate amount of work? Do you give a copy of the Job Description on day one?

b) Has the procedure of KRA been started?

c) Has performance been linked to the annual increment?

d) Employees may be given training on Time Management also.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar
Soft Skill Trainer & HR Consultant

Hi Veerendra,

Thank you for the inputs. In my organization, supervisors and their counterparts have been given a good amount of work, but there still exists disengagement among them. We have Gallup surveys being conducted, a proper appraisal cycle in place, and everything necessary, yet there is room for disengagement.

Vicki, could you suggest a proper way to start my work so that, after several trial and error methods, I can achieve beautiful results?

Best regards,
Veerendra

Hi Vicki,

Thank you for the suggestions. Vicki, I want to start a Desk Audit and the Survey on my own. Kindly suggest the path I can take to develop the questionnaire, checklist, grid, etc. Please provide me with a brief overview of how I can begin.

Veerendra

Veerendra, you could look for employee engagement/satisfaction surveys that are in the public domain by searching Google. Or you could create your own by looking at the engagement factors identified by Towers Perrin, BlessingWhite, etc. – companies that I had mentioned earlier. The same goes for the Desk Audit.

Vicki Heath
Human Resources Software and Resources
http://www.businessperform.com

Hi Vicki,

I will take on the task and whenever and wherever I encounter a problem, I will reach out to you for clarification and suggestions on the proper course of action.

Interesting dilemma, Veerendra.

I like the response from "bus2perf."

However, someone needs to take responsibility for saying that there is a concern with the lack of productivity. Ideally, this would come from a manager. Unless the concern is expressed openly (and this doesn't mean targeting particular individuals), there will continue to be no motivation to change, no matter how many programs you put in place.

I would be inclined to at least consider addressing staff at a staff meeting and saying something like "I've often noticed that there is a high level of conversation in the office, and I'm not sure how much of this is work-related. I've also noticed visitors to our area paying attention to this and wonder what kind of impression it creates."

Even if staff are not prepared to acknowledge the problem, at least it is in the open, and you can follow up by dropping into non-work-related activities to observe what is going on. Even if you say nothing further, many will get the message.

Who knows, it might even be a problem for other staff who feel they just have to put up with it. I know that I often feel a bit cross when others interrupt my day with very long chats about their personal lives or other non-work-related matters.

Good luck with it, but as "bus2perf" writes, think about whose responsibility this is and how you engage them in a change process. It is about workplace culture, and that cannot be effectively changed with a heavy hand.

Progress Enterprise

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