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The Power of a Willing Mind

Guest post by: John Grubbs

Article Overview: According to the Gallup organization, only 30% of employees are fully engaged in their work. That means 70% are merely earning a paycheck. What does this untapped opportunity cost an organization? And, why are so many companies oblivious to this loss? Are they blind to the unrealized opportunity that is left on the table daily? What would this extra potential do for us as individuals, organizations and even countries? Imagine the impact of fully engaged workforce on the economy. Consider the productivity and profit that is simply there for the willing organization to take.

The Power of a Willing Mind

According to the Gallup organization, only 30% of employees are fully engaged in their work. That means 70% are merely earning a paycheck. What does this untapped opportunity cost an organization? And, why are so many companies oblivious to this loss? Are they blind to the unrealized opportunity that is left on the table daily? What would this extra potential do for us as individuals, organizations and even countries? Imagine the impact of fully engaged workforce on the economy. Consider the productivity and profit that is simply there for the willing organization to take.

I recently checked-in at a hotel that I frequent on a Sunday night for a one-night stay. The parking lot and hotel were virtually empty as is typical for this day of the week. I have earned a "platinum" status with this hotel from the amount of business we have done in recent years. At check-in, I asked the young lady if she had my frequent status in the reservation. She stated no and looked me up. Upon discovering my status, she thanked me for my loyalty. I then asked her if a room upgrade was available as is customary. She paused (obvious that she did not want to redo the reservation as that is extra work for her) and politely told me there were no rooms available for upgrade. Knowing this was not true, I politely accepted the room I was offered. After all, I was only staying one night.

Let us explore this example further. At the moment she said "no" a small seed of doubt was planted in my mind as a customer. I now doubt the appreciation she uttered and I also doubt the appreciation of the hotel for my business. This seed can now grow or it can be removed by the next contact I have with this particular hotel chain. How many more events like this will cause me to make other reservations? Of course, the executives in this organization spend millions to get me (or people like me) to stay at their hotel. Had they been standing there, I think the outcome may have been different. And, there becomes the thought for this article. How do we get our employees to engage and support the values of the organization?

Decision making is easy when values are clear. In other words, employees will usually make the best decision based upon their perception of what the company finds valuable. According to my research, profit, cost-reduction, productivity are among the most common values that are perceived by employees. Ironically, stated values are typically concepts like communication, accountability and customer retention. So what exactly is the source of this disconnect?

Unfortunately, it is the rare company or organization that invests in selling a message to their employees. Large companies target potential customers with millions of advertising dollars and spend little to nothing selling a message to employees "that cash the check" promised in the same ads. It is actually humorous when employees literally tell customers not to believe everything they hear on television. Consider the Super Bowl and the many commercials we view. What would be the impact of investing resources to promote our corporate values internally? What if our employees really did know what we value as a company or organization?

When I ask employees what the "main thing" is for their company, the answer is always vague and inconsistent. In seven years of research with thousands of people, not one company (that I have worked with) has really done exceptionally well with the internal promotion of values. While some organizations are much better than others, the tragedy of wasted potential is a reality that most companies accept and pay for willingly. Imagine the corporate metamorphosis that would occur if untapped employee buy-in were on the major financials that guide our businesses. Billions of dollars are simply left on the table.

The challenge for internal marketing is no different from those we face externally. We have to repeat a message over and over for it to begin to resonate with our audience. Leadership is the mouth piece for values through constant action and a voice that becomes extremely redundant in order to be effective. The truly world-class company understands this dichotomy and works daily to make its actions consistent with the message.

The solution is simple yet difficult to attain. If communication is truly a value, employees that value communication must be selected to lead. Results must become a by-product of deliberate effort to achieve excellence. Myopic leaders that seek results or profitability first (over process and methodology) must be de-hired and allowed to impart their wisdom on the typical (underperforming) organizations elsewhere. Choosing the best people with values that match the corporate message is the shortest route to the excellence that you seek to attain. Remember that excellence is a journey rather than a destination! Please share your thoughts and comments.

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Article Tags: Buyin, communication, leadership, marketing, values
Referred by: http://www.thetrainingbank.com/



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