Employee Engagement Challenges

There was once a time when employees genuinely embraced their organizations. They took pride in their work and felt personal joy at the company’s success.

But that is much less true now. Some argue that this is because very few companies give credit to their employees, and that employees are seen as a tool, rather than a crucial part of the organization. That may be true.

But every business has the potential to increase employee engagement with smart decisions and changes in their organizational policy. You simply have to be aware of what is creating the challenges of employee engagement and address it correctly.

Us vs. Them Hierarchy : Companies that genuinely recognize how important every single employee is to the company are the ones that are going to have the best employee engagement, because it will be seen in everything that they do. Unfortunately, many companies have decision makers completely separate from the workers, and simply tell them what to do instead of valuing their input and figuring out the best strategy for moving forward.

Little Managerial Oversight : Similarly, many companies give too much credit to manager, and too much blame to those that work underneath the manager. Very few companies take the time to gain feedback on how supervisors and managers are performing according to those beneath them, and making decisions based on that feedback. No one should be untouchable or beyond performance management.

If a lower level employee doesn’t feel that they have a voice, or they don’t like their manager, or they don’t feel that they are considered at the same level as their manager, they are not going to be engaged. Cutting Costs vs. Earning Employees : Whether it was true or simply a myth at the time, employees used to believe that their companies were looking out for them.

Not true anymore, where employees rarely get to see any type of reward when the company succeeds, and many companies find ways to cut employees or reduce their pay to improve their bottom line. Your role as a company is going to be addressing these issues and doing whatever it takes to try to decrease the disconnect that employees have with their company. It’s a challenge, but the more evidence that employees are engaged in the company, the more likely you will get better production, less turnover, and additional benefits that will help you become the great organization you want to be.

You can also find out how engaged your employees are with an employee engagement survey .