Imagine All the People
Imagine All the People
The study showed that for Canada only 23% of employees consider themselves fully engaged in their work. Now if you are a pessimist this may sound awful but on the other hand optimists will see opportunity to convert the remaining 76% to become engaged.
There is good reason to act on this opportunity because the study makes a correlation between high or low engagement and financial results. The organizations that had the highest percentage of employee engagement increased operating income by 19 per cent and earning per share by 28 per cent year to year.
Contrast that with the declines at the companies with the lowest percentage of engaged employees – 33 per cent in operating income and 11 per cent in earnings per share.
So what is required to act on this opportunity and have more of our employees become engaged and highly productive? Before coming up with solutions to problems it is recommended to begin by understanding the cause. According to Kevin Aselstine of Towers Perrin, “…only leadership can build engagement”.
What do leaders need to do to seize this opportunity to build an engaged workforce and improve financial results?
To answer this I will provide information from another study this time done by Gallup, who in the 90’s did a massive study to find out what contributed to the retention of top performers and to employee engagement. They narrowed the list down to 12 keys things that top leaders do well and often.
The 12 Workplace Issues That Matter (according to the employees surveyed):
1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission/purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates (fellow employees) are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Even though this study was done in the 90’s little has changed today and the list is more relevant than ever. Why? Because people’s needs have not changed.
Of course you need to begin by first building the right team and that means hiring and or promoting the right person for the job.
What is very interesting is that the above list does not cost any money. It only requires good leaders who are doing their job properly. If only 23% of the Canadian workforce are engaged the conclusion must be that leaders are not doing their jobs well or do not know how to do the things in the above list. This means that leadership development is a growing need that, if neglected, will cost companies huge amounts in lost opportunities.
Stephen Goldberg
Imagine All the People - To learn more about this author, visit Stephen Goldberg's Website.
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“Imagine all the people living life in peace” sang John Lennon in the 70’s and it’s still being played today. Well, imagine employees working everyday in harmony and peace and happily contributing to a healthy and highly profitable organization. Sounds like wishful idealistic thinking from the 70’s, right? But recent studies show that this is possible. The global consulting group Towers Perrin has published their annual global study of employee engagement, which shows just how motivated people are to perform at their best.
The study showed that for Canada only 23% of employees consider themselves fully engaged in their work. Now if you are a pessimist this may sound awful but on the other hand optimists will see opportunity to convert the remaining 76% to become engaged.
There is good reason to act on this opportunity because the study makes a correlation between high or low engagement and financial results. The organizations that had the highest percentage of employee engagement increased operating income by 19 per cent and earning per share by 28 per cent year to year.
Contrast that with the declines at the companies with the lowest percentage of engaged employees – 33 per cent in operating income and 11 per cent in earnings per share.
So what is required to act on this opportunity and have more of our employees become engaged and highly productive? Before coming up with solutions to problems it is recommended to begin by understanding the cause. According to Kevin Aselstine of Towers Perrin, “…only leadership can build engagement”.
What do leaders need to do to seize this opportunity to build an engaged workforce and improve financial results?
To answer this I will provide information from another study this time done by Gallup, who in the 90’s did a massive study to find out what contributed to the retention of top performers and to employee engagement. They narrowed the list down to 12 keys things that top leaders do well and often.
The 12 Workplace Issues That Matter (according to the employees surveyed):
1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission/purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates (fellow employees) are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Even though this study was done in the 90’s little has changed today and the list is more relevant than ever. Why? Because people’s needs have not changed.
Of course you need to begin by first building the right team and that means hiring and or promoting the right person for the job.
What is very interesting is that the above list does not cost any money. It only requires good leaders who are doing their job properly. If only 23% of the Canadian workforce are engaged the conclusion must be that leaders are not doing their jobs well or do not know how to do the things in the above list. This means that leadership development is a growing need that, if neglected, will cost companies huge amounts in lost opportunities.
Stephen Goldberg
Imagine All the People - To learn more about this author, visit Stephen Goldberg's Website.
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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