Increasing Engagement by Creating a Responsibility-Based Culture
By Dianne Michonski Durkin

Imagine working in an environment where all employees are fully engaged in what they do, excited about their work, accept personal responsibility for their performance and are committed to the organization. Envision your colleagues connected to the vision of the company, looking forward to coming to work and actually wanting to provide customers and the community with exceptional service.

No, this isn’t some warped episode of “The Office.” As sitcom-perfect as this might sound, employee engagement and high-performance workplaces are becoming an essential reality.

In recent years, the Gallup Organization has stepped up its research efforts, particularly in organizational culture, management effectiveness and employee engagement. The research has revealed three types of employees: engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged.

Engaged
Engaged employees make up approximately 29 percent of the American workforce. They are employees who show consistent levels of high performance. They are natural innovators, are energetic and enthusiastic, and they never run out of things to do. They create more work for themselves within their area of expertise. They are committed to the company and their team, and they accept accountability and responsibility for their actions.

Not Engaged
Not-engaged employees account for approximately 55 percent of the American workforce. These are employees who are non-risk takers and have a low commitment to the organization. They don’t feel a sense of connection with their organization or their manager, and they do not have a sense of achievement in relations to their job. They become more focused on the steps involved in doing their job rather than the results achieved and might focus on doing just enough to keep their job.

Actively Disengaged
The last category is actively disengaged employees. This group accounts for approximately 16 percent of the American workforce. An actively disengaged employee is not just unhappy at work, they act out that unhappiness. They find it almost impossible to become part of the solution because they thrive on being part of the problem. In many cases they also spread their discontent.

The reality is that most people come to a new job enthusiastic, highly motivated, creative and totally committed. What happens is the culture or a manager does not respect and honor the innovation, the new ideas or even the enthusiasm. It doesn’t take long for this highly motivated employee to become disillusioned and move from highly engaged to less engaged. In fact, Gallup studies show that employees that have been in their jobs for three to 10 years are 16 percent less engaged than they were during their first six months on the job. It is very disheartening to think American businesses are operating at one third of their capacity.

Think about that: What if only one third of a bank’s branches opened each day? What if only one third of a manufacturing company’s machines operated at capacity every day? The lost opportunity is obvious — and so is the opportunity for growth.

Using Gallup’s statistics let’s assume engaged employees are giving 100 percent and non-engaged and actively disengaged are giving 50 percent of what they are capable of. The cost to the organization would be approximately 35 percent of payroll. This is a huge cost of lack of engagement. So what’s the answer?

Companies need to build a culture based on trust, freedom, responsibility and accountability within a framework — a culture where people are willing to go the extra mile and perhaps to extreme lengths to fulfill their responsibilities. It’s a culture where people are self-directed versus a culture where people look to an authority figure and comply.

This is what is called a “responsibility-based culture.” In this culture trust is essential. Managers and employees practice the elements of trust including straightforwardness, openness, acceptance and reliability. When these four elements are present, respect is high. People are valued for who they are. Rewards and recognition systems exist. People are rewarded for their results, recognized for their performance and receive the recognition they deserve. Everyone seeks the highest level of excellence by being the best they can be and helping others maximize their strengths to be the best they can be.

In addition to building the culture, companies need to develop their leaders and managers so they can:

Companies that want to increase productivity and profitability must build trust within their organizations. Management should ensure employees that they are respected for their contributions and ideas and that differences are valued. Executives must share leadership, which will help create an environment where employees count on each other for support, take responsibility, keep their commitments and strive for excellence. Companies that do not have trust between employees and managements will suffer from employee turnover, reduced customer satisfaction and ultimately lose profits.

With the business pressures and the challenges of constant change, companies need to have everyone efficient, effective and working at 100 percent. It is time to engage people and trust them to exceed expectations.
Dianne Michonski Durkin is president and founder of Loyalty Factor, a training and management consulting firm based in Portsmouth, N.H. Durkin is the author of “The Loyalty Advantage” and is an adjunct professor at Penn State University’s Executive Management Program.

Reprinted from  Workforce Performance Solutions Magazine by Mediatec Publishing