I see a lot of posts and content on this subject. First off, there needs to be more because employe eengagement remains around 30% and some reports show that pitiful figure continues to drop. And improved employee engagement scores translate directly to improved operational performance which is reflected in:
- higher customer loyalty scores,
- more upsells and cross sells to existing customers,
- higher conversion rates,
- lower employee turnover,
- lower training and recruiting costs,
- higher earnings per share,
- higher EBITDA, higher profits,
- faster revenue growth.
And these posts are well-meaning, many include lists of things to do. $5 words are used in some. I wrote a 52-week series on employee recognition, which could be seen as the first step towards engagement. That's essentially a list of 52 items. ( I think I avoided the $5 words.)
Sometimes, I wonder if the simple act of engagement has now been made complicated with rules and procedures, do's and don'ts, whens and wherefors.
The Most Important Employee Engagement Step?
It starts with you.
You have to engage with your colleagues.
How do you do that?
Well, like you do with anyone:
Person to person. Human to human. You with them.
Talk with them. Note the key word with. That implies together, collaboratively. Talking collaboratively means you both talk, you both listen.
Listen with them.
Learn from them. Learn what they love, what they hate. Learn what they do for fun. Learn what they need. Learn where they are their strongest. Learn what conditions allowed them to be successful? Learn what interferes.
How do you do that?
How did you do it when you were a kid?
You went up and said 'hi'. You listened, you paid attention, you helped them. Sure, maybe, you argued. And you learned. And moved forward.
But, you engaged with them. And that made it possible for them to engage with you.
So. There you go. Go up to someone and say 'hi'. Do it a few days in a row. You might freak them out or they might think it's a corporate HR initiative. Say 'hi' until they believe you mean it. You have engaged with them. And now they'll engage with you. It's only natural.
See? You led by example when you were a kid. Naturally. And look what happened? You grew, you accomplished things, you helped others. You led by example. Now, you can lead by example again.
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