Disengaged Employees

I actively participate in a number of professional groups.  One of the participants fielded the question about a “Disengaged Employee” and how to handle it.  I have seen this topic come up frequently and thought it was time for a Blog post.

I shared with this associate that my philosophy in dealing with any leadership issue is to look at both sides of the house. I try to "see" what the other employee is experiencing or feeling to cause disengagement. A disengaged employee is not experiencing job satisfaction, they are usually miserable to be around, and along with that they are not working efficiently thus becoming a weak link affecting the rest of the department.

It is up to the manager to lead by determining the problem and taking corrective action.

The few questions I ask myself:

Does the employee understand their job and how it affects the company whole?

Are employees acknowledged for "a job well done" by management or are they just approached when something goes wrong?

What is motivating the employee to act out in an undesirable way?

Back in my days of banking, we faced problems with employee retention, low productivity, and new employees we not matriculating into the corporate environment creating tense situations.  We developed an entire "Employee Orientation Week" where the new hires met with a representative from each department to understand the functions of that department and how their job affected that division and specifically showing the employee how their role would contribute to the company goals. It did wonders with establishing a co-operative cross-training corporate culture where people owned their job and looked for ways to improve. Other divisions in the bank were not so lucky as we were.

Leadership is one big juggling act and no one style is going to fit the bill. To engage an employee, a leader needs to allow employees to contribute that guide them towards growth and development. An experienced employee is going to take the task and run with it. A technically capable employee venturing into new territory typically needs a manager that is a "sounding board" for support and guidance. A low skilled employee can still be part of the process by taking five minutes to explain the task and get their input through conversation rather than just dictating orders. You can cause disengagement by micromanaging the expert just easily as you can by giving the less experienced no feedback.

Based on my experiences, one of the hardest lessons learned is if an employee does not want the job there is no cure for disengagement. People will only do what they want to do. It is up to a manager to guide them to achieving their goals to fulfill that intrinsic value and pride in their job.  It is really back to that old phase “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”.  Sometimes a job is just a bad fit and you need to make the best decision for the organization.  If you can not move the employee into a position that gives them a sense of worth, are you really doing that employee or the organization any favors?

I left a position on very good terms to pursue other opportunities.  In preparation for my departure management dictated my replacement without input from the selected employee.  They placed an edict on the employee to take over my function without having a conversation to determine if the employee wanted the job. Management thought they were doing the person a favor saving them from unemployment because their former role in the organization was being eliminated.  My departure opened a position.  Although the transitioning employee had the minimum skills required, she was disengaged in the process.  Management gave us a 90 days lead time, assuming she would learn the ropes. BAD ASSUMPTION: The employee resisted all efforts to train, became despondent and near impossible to engage.  There was resistance throughout the training process whether it was independently reading materials, scheduling in person training, or merely attending required meetings and meeting deadlines.  The replacement disregarded critical tasks with date sensitive deadlines that demonstrated a clear problem. At one point I was scheduled to be at the employee's work site out of state to sit with them and mentor for two weeks, the employee called out of work just to avoid doing the job. When the person did show up to work, they disappeared in the building, started socializing excessively with others becoming easily distracted from the tasks at hand.  At one point on my last few days with the company, the employee admitted they did not want the job and perceived the transition as a punishment rather that the gift it was intended to be.

 http://www.linkedin.com/answers?viewQuestion=&questionID=932949&askerID=787967

I think this week I want to talk a little bit about Leadership since it has been a recurring topic in my life this past week.

Let me start by saying that I have always been a leader taking charge of a given task and inspiring others to achieve greater results.  I am committed to helping people reach their full potential and even when people decide they do not want success, it never discourages me.

I am returning to school in this unemployment stint to get a head start on my Bachelor’s while looking for another job.  One the classes I am taking, is Leadership Theory and Development.  So when I had the opportunity to go to a North American Power event for Leadership training I had to go.

I watched the top sales people, receive recognition and saw how they spoke and conducted themselves.  One of the stories floating around was about a gentleman, Mr. Helig, who came into the business to get a few referrals and as a leader was able to self produce enough accounts to achieve a high honored level in the company that offers a $1,000 monthly bonus on top of all the commissions.  This guy also gave up some of his self produced business to set his parents up to receive a substantial income.  He is now working on setting up his sister with a monthly income.  That was a story of selflessness that had me really look and examine this guy’s story.  He leads by example and selflessness.  He isn’t asking anyone to do anything he would not do himself.  The sacrifice I see and you may see, in his eyes, is not a sacrifice because he is providing for his families security.  You can see this guy in action www.snipr.com/bobvideo.  

I had only planned to stay until dinner time on Saturday, but was blown away by Mr. Costino and wound up staying the entire 13 hours Saturday and going back for the 9 hour session on Sunday.  He spoke of leadership in a very different sense and how you need to inspire people to reach your level or let them go and move on. 

Some people are always going to be looking for the short cut and looking to do the minimum required.  I saw it at my last job with a woman who received the reputation of jumping in at the eleventh hour to try to take credit for a project others had been running for months.  Whether it was by blind luck or a natural tendency to stay in the circle with “like minded” people, I was nice to the person but avoided any situation that would require I work with them.  I did not want them skate by with the minimum and make me look bad.  The woman wanted a raise a promotion but was not truly committed to do the work required and get the education necessary.

I see it in my own back yard with some of the volunteer work I do with the unemployed, many cannot be bothered to show up to improve themselves and make themselves more marketable.  Of those that show up, only a small percentage actually implement what they learn because they are not committed to implementing the lessons.  They come up with some rather creative excuses but the bottom line is that they are not committed to making themselves stand out.  Next session, I am going to have a good time challenging that lack of commitment similar to the way Mr. Costino taught.

Mr. Costino used to be a Personal Trainer and he used the analogy of how he would interview potential clients for their reason why.  He would ask people why they wanted a trainer.  If the reason was for a wedding, or reunion or some other “event” he would tell them to go to another trainer because the commitment for long term health benefits was not there.  He said he did not want his reputation as a trainer marred after that event took place and the client went back to old habits.  He reasoning is that this would affect his future business prospects because they would look at his old client and see they are not in great shape and that would reflect on him and his abilities.

This is true throughout leadership.  If you want to succeed, you need to bring people up to your level of commitment and if they do not want to do it … let them go.  Success is easy, but laziness is just slightly easier.

  

Questions and Comments Welcome!