I have to say that I am not the biggest fan of large scale employee surveys because I simply do not know what exactly is being measured.
There are three kinds of lies. Lies. Damn lies. And statistics. If you torture the data long enough, it will tell you want you want to hear.
Right now everyone is ranting about the lack of employee engagement. I say the data is being tortured big time.
Is employee engagement low? In many cases - most definitely. My concern is... Are we drawing the correct conclusions?
The latest and greatest research is from Harris Interactive and Kronos - "Working in America: The Key to Employee Satisfaction" survey. In a nutshell, here's what the results suggest...
- Employees are getting a heavier workload and not everyone is getting a raise.
- Employees leave companies because they aren't inspired.
- Employees say 100% health care coverage is more important than competitive salary.
- Employees want more respect from employers.
- Employees want more communication in the form of being invited to provide feedback on issues.
- 62% of currently employed adults are actively or passively looking for another job.
What does this data really suggest?
Employee engagement is down?
No. Something deeper.
GET OUT! Yes. Get out of your job if you aren't passionate about what you do.
Read between the lines!!!! Good manages know that they should spend 80 percent of their time with the top 20 percent of their performers... Hey. Wait. If good managers are spending 80 percent of their time with their top 20 percent.... How much "oxygen" is left for people at the "bottom"? The people at "the bottom" are starving to death emotionally. They don't like their work. They want out. Nobody "loves" them.
I am reading employee engagement survey after survey saying the same things. Employee Engagement is down. Employee retention is horrible. Employers aren't listening to their employees... I keep expecting to find Chicken Little to come prancing up.
Is the "Employee Engagement Problem" really that big of a problem? Or are employers really that stupid? In general? Across continents? Think about it. We are rational human beings! When the pain is greater than the benefit - we stop the "bad" behavior.
Reality check! Employers don't want certain people on their "bus". Is there anything wrong with that?
Yes and no.
Yes and no. People making hiring mistakes. Hiring mistakes don't have to happen as frequently as they do. There are powerful tools available today to help reduce employee turnover. We know better.
Yes and no. In working with our clients, we have rarely found an organization so committed to their employees that they let the bottom 5-10 percent of their staff go every year in forced attrition. You just don't see it. After all - it stands to reason that if you are in the bottom 5-10 percent of performance - something MUST BE WRONG! Perhaps poor job fit. Lack of understanding about the job. A wakeup call?
Committed? Hey. Take out a sheet of paper. Number it one to five (if you like - go to ten). Now write down the names of five to ten people that you don't think should be working in your organization any longer. For whatever reason, they just don't get it - haven't gotten it - hate their job - hate their life - hate their boss - hate their in-laws - hate - hate - hate. If you could "wave the magic wand" they would be gone. Hey. If they could wave a magic wand, they wish they could be somewhere else too. You and they are waiting for their retirement.
Are you one of the names on your own list? If so... What are you waiting for? GET OUT!
And if you are the boss. GET THEM OUT! Help them do what they cannot do for themselves.
My prediction for you. Print this blog, staple it to your list of five to ten names, and file it to be opened in five years. Unless these five to ten named people are going to retire in the next five years - they will still be there in 2012.
Why? Four potential reasons.
- They can't afford to quit.
- The pain of making a change is too great.
- They are constitutionally unemployable - and they know it.
- You don't have the intestinal fortitude to help them quit.
This is a moral obligation. If these people don't have the intestinal fortitude to quit - then help them. Or will you help them stay and prolong the misery for everyone? Which is more "humane"?
Instead... What tends to happen? Nonperformers stay. And the suck and they drain - ENERGY - the lifeblood out of the organization. Nonperformers destroy possibility and your true Rainmakers come and go. Rainmakers have choices. Low performers and moaners don't.
Don't get me wrong. I am not cynical. I believe most people have the power to be true Rainmakers - if their job is aligned with their Behaviors, Values, and Personal Attributes. The problem is most people aren't aligned properly and this is the Talent Management Nightmare we are faced with in America.
Whose fault is this? Everyone - The employer and the employee alike.
The real problem is there are many, many people who are in the WRONG jobs who will stay and wreck it for themselves and for the rest of the team.
Imagine a world where people are in the "right seats on the right bus". It could happen. But won't until the pain is great enough.
Instead - there is a national epidemic of hiring managers looking at their hiring mistakes for 30 years. It doesn't have to be this way.
Thus... We will be looking at a ton of employee surveys saying, "The sky is falling."
My response. Worry about your top 20 percent. The rest will take care of itself.
This is your wake-up call!
Now Go Maximize Possibility!
Other posts that will be of interest to you...
- Is Having An "Asshole" For a Boss Really Such a Bad Thing?
- Eight Ways To Improve Employee Morale
- The Mismatch Problem
- Improving Employee Performance Through Coaching Score Cards
- Personal Accountability Training - The One Training Program You Need In A Down Economy
- Do Your Employees Know Your Mission Statement?
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
