How to Engage Disengaged Employees

Employee disengagement is a workplace epidemic. One study found that disengaged employees cost US organizations $450 billion to $550 billion each year due to lower productivity and lack of motivation. With 85% of employees feeling disengaged from their work, this issue cuts across industries, company sizes, and workplace cultures to impact millions of employees and thousands of employers.

But disengaged employees are not a lost cause. Many of these employees can be inspired and empowered if you take the right action as soon as you notice the issue.

Causes of Employee Disengagement

While every disengaged employee will have their own reasons for distancing themselves from their work, there are some common issues that lead to employee disengagement.

Lack of growth opportunities

Employees who feel that there is little room to grow will likely become disengaged, as they have less to strive for within the organization. These employees may begin searching for another job that allows them to grow.

Poor communication

When employees are constantly unsure about what’s being asked of them, told different things by different people, and left in the dark, they’ll start to feel deflated. Maintaining motivation in a confusing or uncertain environment is a major challenge for many employees, leading to disengagement.

Little or no recognition

As much as employees need constructive feedback to improve, they also need affirmation when they succeed. Those who don’t feel appreciated may detach themselves from their work, as they feel less of a reason to strive for greatness.

Not being heard

Employees with bright ideas or important needs will disengage if those ideas and needs go unrecognized. People need to feel that their voices are heard and that their contributions matter to stay engaged with their work. This factor is common among all disengaged employees, often paired with some of the above reasons for disengagement.

Signs an Employee is Disengaging

When employees become disengaged, often the first sign is a lower quality of work. The employee may begin to miss deadlines or submit work of a lower quality than usual. They might still show up to work on time and get basic tasks done, however, which makes employee disengagement harder to catch early on.

Another sign is a general lack of interest in improving or contributing to the team. This could manifest itself as withdrawal during meetings, not taking advantage of professional development opportunities, or not seeking out feedback on their work. 

When passionate or devoted employees seem to lose their spark, employee disengagement is usually the answer.

How You Can Re-engage Employees

Depending on why your employees have become disengaged, there are many ways to draw them back into their work.

Listen to your employees

This is a simple step that can create powerful change. Sitting down with disengaged employees and giving them your full attention will help you to understand what has led to their disengagement and what they need from you to resolve it. A fair number of employee engagement issues can be solved just by listening to your employees’ concerns and acting on them.

Create clear expectations and guidelines for advancement

Employees should know their exact role and responsibilities, and what skills they need to display to be promoted. While it’s not always possible to offer higher positions to excellent employees, if you are able to do so, you should make it clear what it takes to advance. Sit down with each employee and share this information one-on-one, ensuring that everyone understands what’s expected of them and how they can move up.

Recognize your team

One of the most powerful ways to re-engage disengaged employees is through employee recognition. 78% of employees in the US say that recognition motivates them to do their job, and 37% say it’s the most important method of support to receive from management. But employee recognition goes beyond an occasional “thank you.” For employees who are motivated by pay, offering cash bonuses can be a great motivator. Others prefer time off, being taken to lunch, or many types forms of recognition. 

The challenge with employee recognition is that it has to be continual -- recognizing someone once won’t be enough to keep them engaged. If you don’t want to create your own employee recognition system, you can use a platform like Assembly to integrate employee recognition into your organization without having to deal with the logistics of setting up and maintaining it on your own.

Final Thoughts

Retaining and supporting disengaged employees is critical to maximizing your company’s productivity and keeping your team happy. In many cases, disengaged employees are a sign of larger issues within the company, such as poor communication or lack of recognition. By solving these issues, you can keep your team motivated, passionate, and engaged in the long run.

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