Truth by Numbers: The Cost of Disengaged Employees

I took 2 HRM classes this session. Both classes were great, and both taught me well. In one we encountered poor performers in high-performing teams, in the second HR class we encountered employee engagement and what it costs an organization. It was absolutely intriguing and appalling at the same time. I did not use this article for my assignment, but I wanted to put it out there the cost of disengaged employees; and these are old numbers.

15 April 2002The High Cost of Disengaged Employees

There are "cave dwellers" in your ranks, and they're hurting your company
Element 1 ExpectationsEmployee EngagementA GMJ Q&A with Curt Coffman
Coauthor of First, Break All the Rules (Simon & Schuster, 1999) and Follow This Path (Warner Books, 2002)

Engaged employees are clearly more valuable to your company than disenchanted ones. Great managers and leaders know this instinctively, and The Gallup Organization's latest research into employee engagement levels among the U.S. workforce confirms it. In fact, according to Gallup's calculations, actively disengaged employees -- the least productive -- cost the American economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity.

What are the characteristics of the best -- and worst -- employees? And how can employees, managers, and corporate leaders work together to create a workplace that promotes employee engagement? We asked Curt Coffman, Global Practice Leader for Q12 Management Consulting and coauthor of Gallup's best-selling book on great managers, First, Break All the Rules, and the soon to be published Follow This Path (due out in October), to give us Gallup's latest insights.

GMJ: Gallup uses the terms engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged to describe workers in businesses worldwide. What do those terms mean?

Curt Coffman: Since 1997, Gallup has reviewed the responses of approximately 3 million employees (over 1 million in 2001 alone) that have participated in the Q12 survey, Gallup's 12-question assessment of employee engagement levels. Employee responses to these crucial 12 items have significant linkages to broader employee attitudes and day-to-day behavior.

In Gallup's review, three distinct groups, or levels of engagement, emerged: engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged. The "engaged" employees are builders. They use their talents, develop productive relationships, and multiply their effectiveness through those relationships. They perform at consistently high levels. They drive innovation and move their organization forward. The employees that are "not engaged" aren't necessarily negative or positive about their company. They basically take a wait-and-see attitude toward their job, their employer, and their coworkers. They hang back and don't commit themselves.

This brings us to the "actively disengaged" employees -- the "cave dwellers." They're "Consistently Against Virtually Everything." We've all worked with an actively disengaged employee who is not just unhappy at work; he acts out that unhappiness. Every day, actively disengaged employees tear down what their engaged coworkers are building.

GMJ: What are the characteristics of an actively disengaged employee?

Coffman: Actively disengaged people operate from the mindset, "I'm okay. You're not okay." They believe that they're doing what needs to done, and everyone else is wrong. Negativity is like a blood clot, and actively disengaged employees sometimes clot together in groups that support and reinforce their beliefs.

Actively disengaged employees also may close themselves off from anyone who will challenge them to become part of the solution, rather than staying part of the problem. This is key to understanding the difference between an engaged and actively disengaged person. An engaged person occasionally becomes negative. We all do. But an actively disengaged person finds it almost impossible to become part of the solution, because they thrive on being part of the problem.

GMJ: How can you spot an engaged employee?

Coffman: Engaged workers show consistent levels of high performance. They're natural innovators, and they drive for efficiency. They demand clarity about the desired outcomes of their role. They're passionate about their work -- they have a visceral connection to what they do. They challenge others to work with mission and purpose.

Engaged employees don't just accept anything that comes along; when a change occurs, they want to know what is behind it and how they can connect to it. They're energetic and enthusiastic, and they never run out of things to do -- they create more work for themselves within their area of talent. They're committed to the company, to their workgroup, and to their role, so much so that their commitment overcomes barriers and transforms relationships.

GMJ: What can managers do to help engaged employees stay that way?

Coffman: Engaged employees need strong relationships with, and clear communication from, their manager. They also need a degree of tension within their areas of talent and strengths that will stretch them and help them continue to grow.

A great manager can help them create and "own" their goals, targets, and milestones. A great manager can help them focus and can help keep their path clear, so engaged employees can do what they do best every day. And managers can help them develop the skills and knowledge they need to build their talents into strengths.

GMJ: What do engagement levels mean for a business' bottom line?

Coffman: Engaged employees produce more, they make more money for the company, they create emotional engagement with the customers they serve, and they create environments where people are productive and accountable. We also know that engaged employees stay with the organization longer and are much more committed to quality and growth than the other two groups.

Our most recent research suggests that 29% of the U.S. workforce is actively engaged, 55% is not engaged, and 16% is actively disengaged. To put it another way, for every two builders walking the halls of your organization, there is a cave dweller impeding the good work done by the engaged employees.

If 55% of all U.S. workers are not engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged, then 71% of the Americans who go to work every day aren't engaged in their role. So 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 -- but so is the opportunity for growth, if you can move your employees from the "not engaged" to the "engaged" category.

-- Interviewed by Barb Sanford

Next month: Managing for engagement

Curt Coffman, a former Global Practice Leader with Gallup, is coauthor of Gallup's best-selling book on great managers, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently (Simon and Schuster, 1999). Coffman's latest book is Follow This Path: How the World's Greatest Organizations Drive Growth by Unleashing Human Potential (Warner Books, 2002).
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Appreciating what I have

Appreciating what I have

Every night I pray with my son (well really, he sings his prayers) and every night we thank God for all our blessings.

Today, I count my blessings because if I am unhappy with any aspect of my life, it is because I did not heed the omens set forth by the universe and God. Either way, as my favorite poem says: - no me prometiste tu que mayo fuese iterno (Nervo) (spring was not promised to be forever).

Here goes...
•Chris - my strength and one of my most vocal supporters. It's been me and you since the beginning and since the beginning I have always loved you.
•Our son - so much joy wrapped into all 38lbs of him.
•My girlfriends - we dish, we fight, we make up but in the end it has always been about our bond.
•The [dis]organization - through which I met my girl friends directly and indirectly.
•The comic relief (proprietors) - in terms of management, we won't go there. However, you are hilarious to watch. You are fodder for this blogger.
•My sister-in-law - as I think I have mentioned before, you are my support system. Your continued support has allowed me success in my studies. Thank you, I really appreciate it. I love you Lau...
•Uncle Joe - you have always been a supporter of higher learning. You are the barometer to which I measure success. Thank you for the challenge.
•My mom - big ups for giving birth to me and all that you have sacrificed for your girls. You are 50% of what makes me but you are 100% great.
•My sister - I always tell you that if we were one person we'd be great but alas we were paired by God for a reason and it was to be sisters - a reason to never be lonely. With you I am never alone and together we will put it all in our rear view.
•Peter - the dream: come wedding day, if ever, it will be you (walking me down the aisle). It has always been you since I was 6, at 16 and forever because through it all you have always been more than an uncle. You have always treated us as if we were yours. That is something I will always remember.
•To the one that saved me from walking las calles de San Bartolo desclaza, my grandmother - si no fuera por ti no hubieras tenido las opportunisades que se han presentado en mi vida. Mi familia, por generaciones - nuestras riquezas, y todo lo que somos es por ti.

Con mucho amor...

Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas (or the now popular Feliz Dubidad)

Sincerely,
~Cher

Sent from my iPhone

I want to be Engaged: A Plea for Engagement and Teamwork

Diclaimer: I believe that no job, regardless of the task, deserves anything less than 100% of you. No one can be 100% of everything 100% of the time, but that is why you don’t work alone. That is why you are part of a team. Where your strengths end, your colleague’s begins and it continues with everyone you work with. I believe that (I revel in my naïveté). However, when your team is just as fed up as you are; when they no longer care whether what you need to do gets done or not because their measly benefits have been slowly taken away every year and you have nothing left to show for your 40-45 hours a week of work (not including the commute), you cannot help but be disengaged.

Ready for a Commitment: it is not a ring

I want to be engaged. I don’t need a ring on my finger. You don’t have to make me any promises of a Novo, Lucida, or any style of micro pavé anything from Tiffany's. I already have the house, the yard, the kid, the man; but I don’t have the position that motivates me to be engaged. I used to be so happy to work. I mean, hey I was getting free medical. I was young. I just needed to support my shoe habit, my clothes habit and to help mom with the bills. It was all good. I felt great to wake up in the morning. Many years later, my priorities have changed. I changed, unfortunately, the organization did not change with me.

I no longer wake up happy: I am happy to wake up and be alive and be with the people that I love, but when I enter the building, turn the knob and make my way the anger bubbles. I go through the motions, I no longer care – and that bothers me. Why should I work like this? I want to care again.

The Problem

When the disorganization asks you what is wrong, they ask with concern in their eyes how they can make your work life better, say they will change but then continue doing the very things that upsets the work force, what does it tell the staffers? Why should the staffers care about the things you promise or your business overall? After hearing that things will change all of the time and yet they never do, you can’t help but to become discouraged and absolutely disengaged. You have spent so many years making idle promises and idle threats (to people raised in the outer boroughs of New York City in the 80s no less) that at this point, you have the staffers wanting to collect the unemployment. Was that your goal again?

Align your goals!

I think that no one should work for technicians that don't have any real management background. Just because you can do the job, doesn't mean you know how to run a business. Either that or hire managers to run your business while you work it. M. Gerber (the E-Myth) wrote about it, there is also the Peter Principle and so many other theories that only knowing about management can teach you. Some things you pick up, some things are common sense, some things you have to take the time to learn; but it is those things that can really take your workers from ordinary to extraordinary. Don't you want extraordinary?

I really want to be extraordinary for an organization. I cannot have any less.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

The management of me: A prayer for management

The management of me: A prayer for management

I need to be managed. I know too much, and the funny thing is that I know nothing at all. Some of what I know is about management theory. It's only theory, but here's the thing - it makes sense and I need a leader. A real one.

A manager leads, plans, organizes and controls. The very few times I ask how I should go about something, I ask my supposed leaders and they don't know, it is discouraging. Why won't you make a decision? Okay, maybe it is the first time encountering a problem: let's trouble shoot and genuinely think of a better process. Let's figure out a solution.

Doing things the old way because it is the old way that has worked does not make it a good way or even the right way. But change is scary and fear turns into resistance. If you expect resistance you will be met with resistance and that is just the truth (okay the Ford's wrote about it but only after Kotter).

So, I want to learn. I want the organization to have measures set, to recognize the constant need for change to impose best practice methods in everything they do.

I can't say that I have been totally unhappy with the false sense autonomy and empowerment but now with all that I know: Deming's Theory of Profound Knowledge, for example is really compelling and attractive when management at my current disorganization knows nothing about processes that I have improved; let alone have profound knowledge. What about those forms? What about the spreadsheets, the presentations? To what is my education going to?

A friend posted that in order to receive the glories of God that one must pray for the abundance they do have and not pray over what they are lacking. With that said...

God I thank you for the abundance of ignorance you have surrounded me with, thank you for the disorganization, its cup runnth over.

Truthfully and above all thank you God for all the glories in my own life separate of it all... Not even I can deny that the stupidity of the years has provided me with goodness that You have allowed me to receive. But then what about my ability to stretch my fifteen cents into a dollar? My ability to analyze and come up with solutions to financial, health and personal problems? Okay God, I thank you for giving me to parents with enough wherewithal to teach me, educate me. You gave me to people who didn't come here (the US) with much, didn't command the language and after more than 30 years here still have fluency issues but that too has taught me: language barriers do not diminish meaning or importance in what is being said. They have given me truth, they have instilled fear and they have taught me to know when enough is enough. In that, You will help me.

So... In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Sincerely,
~Cher

Sent from my iPhone