Engage Employees and Enable Career Growth

Dealing with the problem of disengagement in the workplace isone of the greatest workplace challenges of the 21^st century and itdoesn’t have a clearly defined solution. A Gallup poll in 2014 revealed that the percentof engaged employees hovered around 31.5 percent. That means, according to thepoll, that 68.5 percent of employees are either not engaged or are activelydisengaged.

Here’s the important thing about those numbers: According toGallup, engaged employees are “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about,and committed to their work and workplace.” Gallup says it bases thecategorization of employees as engaged or not engaged on their responses to keyworkplace elements found to predict important organizational performanceoutcomes. In other words, far from being an irrelevant academic or “feel-good”metric, engagement makes a bottom-line difference.

There are several ways to increase employee motivation andkeep engagement levels high. Let’s start with an example.

Scenario

Mike recently started a position as a technology trainerafter switching careers from teaching chemistry. While Mike is strong in many trainingskills, he needs to strengthen his technology and graphic design skills.

Mike’s manager encourages him to check out Canva DesignSchool to strengthen his graphic design skills. His manager sets a short-termgoal for Mike to finish several tutorials in two weeks. Mike is surprised thathe can get free and extensive resources to build his skills. He’s excited thathe’s able to immediately develop his skill on the job so he immediately getsbusy.

Mike finishes the training requirements and his managerrecognizes Mike’s accomplishments by awarding a badge that he can proudlydisplay on LinkedIn.

Mike starts his new job pleased with the recognition hereceived from his accomplishments. Mike is so pleased that he wants to increasehis skills more. He takes additional Canva Design School tutorials outside hisregular work day.

The company benefits in several ways by motivating Mike withrecognition and professional development.

Mike’s story points out a few ofthe benefits of helping employees and enabling their career growth. In thisarticle, we offer ideas and practical advice on how you can engage employeesand help them remain satisfied in their position.

Help employees find their way

You have a lot of responsibilities as a leader, but arguablythe most important part of leading is creating a great work environment.Keeping employees engaged is not an easy task—here are a few methods to supportemployee engagement.

Intrinsic or extrinsic motivation

Focusing on both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors isessential for any leader.

Intrinsic motivation deals with what matters most toemployees. This might be personal enjoyment, self-worth, individual career-goalsatisfaction, or the attainment of personal goals.

Extrinsic motivators typically aren’t as powerful and can behit or miss, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important. Extrinsic motivatorsare external rewards, recognition, promotions, and public praise that leaders canprovide.

Figure out what motivates

A leader can motivate employees by building on their personalintrinsic motivators, but first she needs to know what matters to heremployees. This may seem simple, but the best way to determine intrinsicmotivation factors is to ask employees.

Ask:

• What do you want?
• What do you need?
• What matters most to you in your job?

Asking these questions may uncover what you as a leader can doto empower employees to stay motivated and succeed in their work.

Extrinsic motivators are somewhat easier to create. They maybe as simple as awarding a digital badge for employees to show off. There arewebsites, such as Credly, that allow you to award badges to employeesthat they can display on LinkedIn or within their email signatures to show theiraccomplishments.

Professional development

Professional development is typically a challenge. With anexpanding workload, it becomes increasingly challenging to dedicate an hourhere and there to learn something new, or think about work in a different way(you know—innovate). Setting short term goals that are manageable and easy toachieve can keep engagement levels high. Keep in mind that acknowledgingemployee’s efforts is one way to maintain their engagement level and buildtheir confidence.

Give employees the opportunity for professional development.If you’re seeing any signs of lack of engagement, talk to them about expandingtheir career opportunities by earning additional credentials. Manyopportunities exist to get and keep employees motivated in their job. Forinstance, many organizations will contribute money to lessen the financialburden of getting a credential, or perhaps pay for a local conference.

There are many online resources that can provide theprofessional development needed to engage employees. Finding the right balancebetween intrinsic and extrinsic motivators is important when exploringprofessional development options. It’s also necessary to determine whatindividuals want and what benefits the workplace.

When employees learn new skills that are easily transferrableto their work environment, they want to implement their new skill set. This newdesire to practice their skills is a step in the right direction for bothemployee engagement and workplace improvements.

Promotion and looking ahead

What motivates employees is often no different than whatmotivates any other group, so it’s no surprise that what de-motivates them isnot much different.

A TinyHR study revealedthat over 66 percent of employees feel they don’t have strong opportunities forgrowth in the workplace.

One possible option you have is to work with HR to open upwardmobility options for employees. Clear a path for them. Make sure they know whatthat path is, and employees will feel engaged and motivated to take the path.

A big part of engagement in the workplace relates to havingsomewhere to go: a job position to grow into or work towards. There’s nothingmore motivating than the chance to move up, to earn that promotion you’ve beenworking so hard for.

Employees are motivated by different things, so it’s hard toput your finger on just what will motivate them. If you’re not sure what willmotivate your employees, ask! While this isn’t the easiest way to approach thesituation for you, it will be the most effective and can get you the bestinformation (and maybe a bit more respect too!).

Losing employees is expensive

As a leader in your organization, second only to making sure employeesare engaged is being a good steward of resources.

When talking in terms of sales and marketing for IT companies,churn rate (or churn) is a term that often comes up. The term also applies toemployee turnover rate. When speaking in terms of employees, churn rate is theannual rate in which employees leave their job.

The best way to be a good steward of resources is to ensurethat employees are engaged and work long term in their positions. According toa study performed by the Center for American Progress, the cost of losing an employee is around 20percent of their annual salary. That means an employee making $75,000 a yearwould cost about $15,000 to replace.

With costs like these to replace an employee, it becomesevident why it’s so important to keep employees engaged. Luckily, employeeengagement and being a good steward of resources fit together well because havingengaged employees also means they are less likely to leave, therefore savingthe organization a lot of money.

Summary

Employee engagement is low in many organizations, but strongleaders can create positive changes. Leading a team of disengaged employees isnot an easy task, so part of a leader’s role is to make sure employees remainengaged.

The first step to discovering how to engage your employees isto figure out what motivates them. What balance between intrinsic and extrinsicmotivators should you strike? Asking your employees questions about what theywant and need from their career is a simple and effective way to learn more.

Equipped with more information about employees, you have manyopportunities. One of the best opportunities is to make sure employeesparticipate in as much professional development as possible. Using professionaldevelopment to reach a goal is important.

Next, provide a clear career path for employees. Where istheir professional career bringing them on the next step? What do they have toachieve to get there?

As a leader, you have the difficult task of keeping yourprofessionals engaged. If you’re able to motivate them and keep them engaged intheir job then you can save your organization a significant amount of money byreducing employee churn rates.

Get out there

Schedule a meeting with your employees to talk about what theyneed from their job, and what they hope to get out of it in the near anddistant future.

Get a clear picture of each employee’s professional story—past,present, and future. It’s your responsibility to help them build the futurecareer they want.