Since its emergence in the 1990’s, the engagement industry has, as Gallup has said, taken on a life of its own. Gallup began tracking employee engagement in the U.S. in 2000, and according to Gallup Daily tracking, with some slight modulation one-third of U.S. employees have been engaged in their jobs and workplaces during these years.

Actively Disengaged

With 33% engaged, 18% occupy the “actively disengaged” category. These employees aren’t simply unhappy at work, they are resentful that their needs aren’t being met and are acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers potentially undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish. It is a sobering thought to consider that one in five employees are in this group. “Actively disengaged” employees may also negatively influence the largest, middle group.

The largest group (over 50%) is comprised of the “not engaged.” These employees are just marking time – not hostile or disruptive; they just show up and do the minimum required with little or no extra effort.

According to Gallup, this lack of engagement is not specific to lower-level, frontline employees – managers aren’t all that engaged, either. This is especially common among those managers closest to the rank-and-file. While 45% of executives are engaged, just 29% of managers are.

Engagement strategies are beneficial: Gallup’s research has repeatedly shown that employee engagement is strongly connected to productivity, profitability, and customer engagement (all essential to an organization’s financial success).

Effective Strategy

As an engagement solutions provider, we believe a solid engagement strategy should include a strategy to establish, build, and maintain your organization’s culture. While many organizations have been successful in this, most find it difficult to implement such a strategy.

David Friedman, founder/CEO of High Performing Culture, has developed a straightforward, practical, and easy-to-use system to create, drive, and maintain high performing cultures. According to David, the first step is to realize that your organization’s culture is what sets you apart from your competitors. Next, you must be intentional and systematic about how you author, create, and drive the culture you want to have. Lastly, you must institutionalize your culture.

Many develop “values” and “vision” statements, but these are abstract and do not always reflect reality. David shows how to map out desired behaviors and then institutionalize them – resulting in concrete, action-based behavioral standards. Because, as he points out, behavior = culture.

Not sure where to start? Reach out to see how one of our custom engagement solutions can be a game changer for your organization.