Motivating employees who have lost interest at work
Samson Osero
Workplaces are like pitches whose key players are management and employees working together to meet customer needs.
While some workplaces have promoted favourable working climates, others have supported cultures that are against the cardinal purposes of the organisations.
Employees in the latter workplaces usually show, in appearance and reality, several signs of disengagement. Here are five approaches that management would use to re-engage disconnected employees.
1. Modify management styles
Management styles in some organisations are so unpredictable that employees have a short-sighted view of job security for whichever time horizon.
Disconnected employees in such establishments begin the day with job searches in local dailies and the internet. When productive time is lost in non-work related activities, it impacts on both employee and organisational productivity.
To re-engage the employees, the chief executive and management team should re-examine their management styles and modify them to encourage a high-performance culture.
2. Empower employees
The mantra that “people are our most important resource here” seems easier said than done for organisations that continue hanging onto unproductive bureaucracies.
Employees, who are not allowed to make simple operational decisions, end up offering poor customer services while waiting for permission from upstairs.
Delegation with capacity and authority for its execution is not entertained by the management team that also expects quality delivery of products or services. Organisations yearning for results should empower employees to carry out their duties.
3. Recognise performance
Although organisations have installed performance management systems that easily capture staff output, they have not encouraged managers or supervisors to provide immediate feedback to employees.
Some wait until year-end formal appraisals to inform staff of past shortcomings whose time for corrective action has expired. Employees, whose performances are excellent are not accorded immediate recognition.
Employers should implement worker recognition awards coupled with timely performance feedback from the management team.
4. Fair remuneration
Remuneration of employees is a thorny issue in organisations that have not put in place systems for salary determination and adjustments. Staff members of different cadres quietly compare their outputs against salaries payable to them.
When glaring disparities are identified and not addressed, employees transfer their salary dissatisfaction to customers.
An employer that recognizes employees as the bedrock of business sustainability would regularly undertake remuneration surveys to inform staff salary adjustments.
Pace-setting organisations implement attractive bonus schemes while others have introduced employee share-ownership options.
5. Train employees
The rapid technological changes that affect the operations of workplaces have put employees in a “transition between jobs” mode.
The business landscape wants employees who can interpret data instead of those that enter mere data. Organisations should provide employees with training that offers skills for future business needs.
6. Promote innovation
Some organisations not only stifle any form of innovation but also punish employees who make mistakes in product or service delivery improvements. Star employees who want to champion new ideas will keep them while looking forward to jumping ship to where they can be received with acclamations.
The writer is a human resource consultant. Email: [email protected]
