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Compliments of: Janine Moon, MA, Career & Business Coach |
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CompassPoints |
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October 2004 |
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PLEASE NOTE: COMPASSPOINTS NEW SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: We are moving
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reading and "opting in" to our new database management system. We appreciate your subscription! Feel free to contact us with questions or
comments. …Janine Columbus Senior Roundtable Meetings
dates TBA. Execunet Meeting Thurs, Oct.
28/04 7:30 to 9:30
am Bank One
Corporate Register by: Tues, Oct.
26: This
month's speaker: Pierre
Daunic of Fast Forward Career Services - "Is Your Resume a Keeper?" UPCOMING PROGRAMS: Sep 30: Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Council,
Square Wheels, a workshop on continuous improvement Oct 6: Anthem Blue Cross: The Oz Principle, a
workshop on individual and organizational accountability Wednesdays
in Oct: Franklin
University MBA Program Janine
Moon CompassPoint Coaching LLC 2015 Arlington Ave Columbus, Ohio 43212 U.S.A. Tel: 614.488-6876 Fax: 614.488-1458 We’re on the Web! Copyright (c) 2004 Janine Moon CompassPoint
Coaching |
A Hard Look at the Soft
Stuff
While I’ve since discovered that “fun work” or
“engaging work” is not an oxymoron, most Ohio workers have not. Results of a Gallup survey on employee
engagement released in July show that less than one-third of those responding
were engaged in their work. In other words, only thirty percent of Ohio
employees are engaged—committed to their employer, loyal and working with
enthusiasm. [As an aside, this is actually one percentage point higher than
the survey’s national results!] Which
30% of your employees are engaged? The other 70% of survey respondents fall into one
of two other engagement categories: 53% are “not engaged” while the remaining
17% are “actively disengaged.”
Employees who are not engaged put in their time but have
checked out…they show up, warm the seat, but contribute little to
productivity. Their energy and commitment are limited or non-existent. The last 17% of Ohio employees, those actively
disengaged are plainly unhappy at work. They actively show their
unhappiness (maybe they burn the seats!) and consciously undermine the
work of others. So this group of employees not only contributes nothing to
your workplace productivity, they also work consciously to destroy the
accomplishments of engaged workers. And
what does this 70% cost your organization? Before you rush to a “not in my workplace” defense,
take a look around. It’s not hard to identify employees who are engaged and
productive…they are the ones who move your organization ahead, who initiate
new projects, who make themselves available to tackle any new (or old)
challenge, and who daily bring energy, enthusiasm and resilience into your
work group. They are not enveloped in fear of being part of the next
rightsizing wave because they use their strengths and talents every day and
clearly know their value in the marketplace. While you’re at it, take a look for your employees
who fit the “not engaged” profile. These folks show up and put in their
time—maybe you call them average or satisfactory workers—employees who do
what’s necessary after prodding, follow-up, missed deadlines, and lots of
reminders. They may even show leadership qualities on occasion…for the
Fantasy Football league, the Final Four pool or the Friday potluck. They do
little to see that your organization’s current customers are heard, or to
improve services to gain new ones. Most of these folks keep a low profile—out
of sight, out of mind—and bring no enthusiasm to either their own work or the
organization’s success. They have ‘zip’ buy-in, let alone ownership and, when
you look for the signs of the unengaged, you’ll find them. These “seat warmers” may be easier to identify than
the “seat burners,” your actively disengaged employees. The actively
disengaged are masters of passive aggressive behavior and will loudly
proclaim their loyalty while they stand on the sidelines and (silently) cheer
on the chaos they create. Their actions, mostly subtle, will not only
undermine business, but will also wreak havoc with your engaged employees—by
destroying trust and sowing seeds of uncertainty. It’s actually quite
difficult to “out” the actively disengaged employees because few employers
are willing to have the straight talk needed to do so. In the interest of
avoiding confrontation, most employers will isolate or ‘special project’ the
employee, making it easier for the employee to actually be destructive. WWhat is the bottom line?
Organizations
trying to be competitive in the global marketplace can ill afford to pay
people who operate in “neutral” or worse, in “reverse.” This is comparable to
taking one step forward followed by three back…your organization has no
chance of staying even, let alone moving ahead of your competition. In the
Knowledge Economy, your workforce will literally make or break your
business…regardless of how cutting edge your systems or forward-thinking your
consultants. So…what
to do? Take a Hard Look at The Soft Stuff…the Stuff that
makes people engage…because it’s the people who make or break your
organization. Show me an organization that doesn’t need people for its
success, and we’ll end this conversation right now. Looking at the Soft Stuff
is a challenge…it’s hard! Because Soft Stuff is People Stuff…soft skills,
people skills, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and the messy Stuff that’s easier
to hide and ignore and tiptoe around than to bring out in the open and deal
with. Hard Stuff, like money and
numbers, is easier to see and easier to control and is the Stuff that has
driven business in all our previous experience. And because it’s comfortable, it’s how we’ve always done
things, we continue to pay attention to it…but that alone isn’t enough, not
in the 21st century. In
the 21st century, we’re well into the information age…where
information and creativity are the piece parts of the workplace assembly
line. But we don’t have many assembly lines any more because our customers
want unique solutions and a custom fit…Henry Ford’s philosophy (“…they
[customers] can have any color car they want as long as it’s black.”) worked
in the last century, but not in this one. “Mass customization” is the
philosophy of the marketplace [customers] now, and luckily, it’s people who
have the unlimited brainpower to provide this. But employees can only provide
this when those same people can use their brains, and only when the body that
carries the brain, that holds the emotions and beliefs and attitudes that
make the person unique can come in its entirety and show up to work. And
that’s where things get messy and that’s when workplaces find themselves with
huge numbers of disengaged employees. While 21st century organizations
need the whole worker, people only bring to work the parts of themselves that
will be safe. And
so, the hard truth about the soft stuff is this: the Soft Stuff that
must be assimilated throughout organizations today is, literally, their food
of life and that of engaged employees, and so, it is the formula for success
far beyond the next quarter’s financials. Prioritizing the Soft Stuff is a
major shift in the way we do business inside organizations. Just like
customers demand customization, we must treat employees as individuals…not
job titles, not subordinates, not labor, but the energy-fuel that makes
business run…because we are and we do. We’ll take a look at the Soft Stuff that fosters
employee engagement in the upcoming issues of COMPASSPOINTS…please watch for
future issues! Looking within… If you have thought about coaching, but
just aren’t sure how to begin, call or e-mail me, I’ll introduce you to
coaching and you can “try it on” with no commitment, only learning! – JM Until next month... “I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else; hard work
and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.” ~ Lucille Ball ~Please
feel free to pass along this newsletter to someone else who can
benefit from reading it~ |
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