In
the current market, having a high level of employee engagement can lead to
numerous benefits for your business. Studies
have shown that engaged workers display higher levels of creativity,
productivity and willingness to go above and beyond for their employers. They show passion for their work and feel more
connected to the company.
However,
research indicates that only 32% of
employees are considered as ‘engaged’ in their current roles. Therefore, not only are businesses losing the
benefits of an engaged workforce, but may even suffer from the potential harm of disengaged employees.
Disengaged
workers can lead to losses of tens of thousands of dollars in lost work productivity
and have a negative influence on workplace culture. Disengaged employees can also affect a
business’ reputation through their disregard of organisational values.
To
maximise work place productivity and positivity, here are four management
practices that allow you to continue to keep your employees engaged with their work:
1 Develop
employee skills
Opportunities
for both personal and professional development have been consistently linked to
employee engagement. It is important to
set challenging, but at the same time realistic standards for your employees so
that they feel stimulated in their work. Research has shown that job demands
such as large workloads, time pressures, and responsibility in the working
environment are positively associated with engagement when employees believe
that these demands provide opportunities for growth. Thus, regularly providing your employees with encouragement
through challenges can help to maintain engagement and reduce the negative
impacts of mundane jobs. Improvement of
employee skills through training workshops is just one such way.
Allowing
career mobility within your company is another way to enhance job resources and
workplace engagement. In fact, companies
who incorporate career mobility into their workplace
strategies were found to have a stunning 42%
increase in employee engagement, productivity, and teamwork on average.
2 Foster
a values-based, supportive work environment
Establishing
a workplace culture where organisational values are strongly adhered to will provide
employees with clear boundaries to work within, whilst allowing them freedom to
shape the work they’re doing. This
fosters effective communication between employees and promotes engagement
through the process of making decisions based on organisational values.
Studies have found that social
support and a positive organisational environment are related to work
engagement. Ensuring that your business
has a friendly atmosphere whereby employees feel comfortable and share a positive
relationship with fellow employees will reinforce the efficiency of the team. Setting a zero tolerance approach towards
negative employee behaviours such as discrimination, sexual harassment and
bullying further helps to foster a supportive work environment.
3 Monitor
and reward positive employee behaviours
There
is a positive relationship between the amount of rewards and recognition directed to employees and
work engagement. It can be as simple as
chatting with staff once weekly to see how they have been doing and providing appropriate
feedback. Employees will be much less
likely to equivocate when they are aware that their work is valued, discussed and
even linked to strategic outcomes. Additionally, employees are less likely to
experience the effects of burnout, exhaustion, cynicism and ineffectiveness, when
they feel that their behaviour is being rewarded and appreciated
4 Prevention
is better than a cure: Improve hiring decisions
A
good work role fit has also been identified as a contributor towards employee
engagement. When you invest extra time
and effort into reviewing your hiring processes, aided by appropriate tools,
you are more likely to find employees with an appropriate organisational
fit. Improving hiring practices with
engagement in mind helps you identify in candidates the desirable attributes
that are well suited to your business’s ethics and values.
Utilising
psychometric assessments during the recruitment screening process is a great
way to identify those who fit well into the organisations standards and values,
as set by you. Ensuring that employees
recruited will be genuinely interested and passionate about their work will not
only reduce the likelihood of hiring disengaged people, but will also reduce
turnover rates and the considerable amount of associated costs. Long-term, objective, qualitative recruitment
assessments provide the statistical data needed to evaluate which attributes
make a difference within the organisation.
With
a range of short and long-term benefits, having an engaged workforce proves to
be beneficial for organisations. It provides a good indication of the organisations’
internal management, and aids in achievement of organisational goals.
When
engaged employees feel valued by their organisation, this recognition can contribute
to increased levels of self-regard, a vital personality attribute that all
employees should possess. This
relationship is reciprocal. Hiring employees who have high levels of
self-regard are likely to engage with work and the required organisational
outcomes more easily.
The Business Personality Reflections® is one personality
questionnaire that measures business-related competencies like Self-Regard
to assist in selection and personal development decisions. Developed by Psych Press, this assessment
contains 70 personality scales that can be tailored to any organisation’s needs. Below is more researched based information
about the Business Personality Reflections® Self-Regard scale.
Self-Regard
Self-regard
measures an individual's attitude toward and confidence in their own abilities.
Self-regard encompasses a freedom from
doubt in one’s beliefs and confidence in expressing these beliefs in front of
peers and managers. It is the extent to
which individuals perceive themselves as important, effective and
meaningful. This scale also assesses an
individual’s ability to receive feedback and criticism and how they manage and
respond to others' views of them.
Self-regard
has been understood as both a driver and result of higher levels of engagement
in the workplace (Bakker, 2011). Employees
with high levels of self-regard have been shown to cope better with stress
(Oginska-Bulik, 2005) as they have the sufficient self-assurance to believe
they can solve most problems. Self-regard
also reduces turnover, as employees with confidence in their work are more
likely to continue at an organisation (Arshadi & Damiri, 2013). Self-regard is even a strong predictor of counterproductive
work behaviours. Acts such as theft, abuse, lying and unwillingness to
co-operate are much less likely in confident employees (Arya & Khandelwal,
2013).
A
sample item that might be seen on the Self-Regard scale is “I have a concern about my abilities to
achieve things in life”.
You might consider using self-regard scales in your recruiting and
development processes if your employees:
- · Work in a stressful environment
- · Present signs of counterproductive work behaviours
- · Demonstrate low organisational commitment
- · Display signs of burnout
Organisations
that prioritise self-regard in their employees are reaping the benefits of
confident, engaged, and effective workers. By placing an emphasis on self-regard in your
recruitment and development processes you enable your organisation to
potentially outperform competitors.
If you were interested in learning
more about the Self-Regard scale, or
the Business Personality Reflections®
personality questionnaire please simply enquire now for a free trial.
