Engaged Teams = Productive Teams; How to get your team engaged in 45 days or less

I was recently reading a stat that boasted; "some research shows only 29% of North American employees are fully engaged. That's a lot of productivity being left on the table."

I can guarantee you that this is not a US centric experience, as the stats (+/-5%) are consistent with what I've seen across the planet over the past +25 years... and it's getting worse!

Add to this the following additional stats:

• 36% of employees are looking for better work-life balance


• 28% of employees expect to change jobs within the next 2 years


• 30% of employees believe that their management is committed to improve engagement


• 68% of employees report lacking meaning or purpose in the tasks / activities they carry-out on a daily basis

What does that spell?

Lacking of engagement on various levels, typically between daily activities / tasks vs. the successful outcome as it relates to company and personal objectives in life. This could spell out a more complicated journey depending on the multipliers & variables.

Basically as an employer you have to (1) understand how your stated company strategy, goals, projects & daily tasks align with your employees own goals in life / personal self-actualization, and (2) if your staff even have a 2-3 year life plan for themselves which they can tie back to the work their doing. Until you have a grasp on these two fundamental areas, you're going to be in a perpetual tail-spin, with at-best momentary success stories, but nothing on the level of the consistency you need to succeed in the long run.

Who's responsibility is it?

Engagement is a shared responsibility across an organization. It's not just the responsibility of the manager, employee or even the company.

It's a collaborative effort that requires everyone to participate.

Satisfaction is fickle.. Engagement is KING!

Do you remember those presents that you thought you'd never put down when you first opened them on Christmas morning? How long did that sensation last? 2-3 weeks at best? How about your last high-school romance? 2-3 months at best? Those sensations could be compared to employee satisfaction.

Now remember that rag doll or G.I. Joe action-figure that you could never put down? remember all the marvelous adventures you went on together throughout your entire childhood? Remember the ageless doll-house or your first car? remember the high-school sweetheart that you married? That's engagement, and that what you should be measuring if you want to ensure productivity!

What are the Core Issues that destroy employee engagement

• Alignment & clarity between personal tasks & relevance to company objectives


• Lack of trust (employees in management / management in employees)


• Focusing on risks instead of opportunities

What's the solution?

The Work Engagement Profile by Ken Thomas clearly states intrinsic motivators which are made ever more critical by the growing number of remote workers, and or individuals who have greater autonomy & being asked to make more key decisions themselves.

The Work Engagement Profile states that engaged individuals have a:

• Sense of meaningfulness / purpose


• Sense of choice


• Sense of confidence


• Sense of progress

What's the benefit for my organization?

I have typically seen a +80% engagement rate with 45 days, followed by a 30-40% increase in productivity within 60 from starting a continuos improvement project.

What about you?

Looking back at your own business, whether you're a manager or an employee, can you see how issues are impacting the level of engagement in your work-place? How are they affecting productivity?

Guest Blog by JC Duarte; The Strategy Guy