3 Reasons Employee Engagement is Declining & How Managers Can Improve It

Article from Forbes.com

Employee engagement is one of those management attributes that can be hard to define. Different companies characterize it differently, but there’s one thing they pretty much all agree on: They do want engaged employees. Why? Engaged employees are usually more committed, hardworking, and productive.

There are three measures in particular at the heart of substantive problems management often deals with – problems that if not resolved have far-reaching consequences on employee engagement, productivity and retention. The three measures are: Lack of Employee Recognition, Lack of Transparency, and Disconnection from Peers.

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Incentive Services University (ISU) is the educational arm of Incentive Services. ISU was established to provide organizations with information and support services on Employee Engagement, the psychology of Motivation, and the core elements of Performance Management.

How Incentives Impact Emotions

When it comes to tapping into the emotions that make recognition/incentive programs work, businesses have noted that tangible, non-cash rewards do a better job of attracting and holding people’s interest, getting them excited about possibilities, and motivating them to act in a way that meets business objectives. The theory is that, while cash is nice, and usually needed, the participant feels more “rewarded” when they receive something they have long wanted or may not have acquired otherwise, and it creates a more meaningful, positive, memorable experience.

How are you getting your employees excited about possibilities and motivating them to act in a way that meets the organization’s business objectives? Contact us today so we can help you and your organization!

Want to learn more?

Incentive Services University (ISU) is the educational arm of Incentive Services. ISU was established to provide organizations with information and support services on Employee Engagement, the psychology of Motivation, and the core elements of Performance Management.

Employees are being ignored – and it’s tanking their performance.

Employee productivity is an ongoing concern for organizations around the world. Managers, CEOs, and HR executives are constantly looking for ways and means of driving effective performance while improving levels of engagement. You can invest in all the expensive and complex schemes you like and update each and every workplace process, but before you get carried away, you should ask one simple question: how much attention are you really paying to your employees?

We spend a great deal of our time at work. It forms a great deal of our identity and, for most of us, we genuinely care about the work we do and how we do it. For reasons such as these, it’s difficult and demoralizing when we feel we’re being ignored at work. When our efforts aren’t being acknowledged or appreciated, it can be detrimental in terms of morale, which has a huge impact on a company’s bottom line.

Contact us today so we can help you keep the spirit of recognition alive!

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Incentive Services University (ISU) is the educational arm of Incentive Services. ISU was established to provide organizations with information and support services on Employee Engagement, the psychology of Motivation, and the core elements of Performance Management.

Employee engagement has long been a concern in the U.S. workforce, but — perhaps now more than ever — it represents a vital component of employee attraction and retention. For the modern workforce, an engaging work environment is a fundamental expectation, a baseline requirement. Many employees refuse to settle for an organization that does not strategically prioritize engagement.

Creating a culture of engagement requires more than completing an annual employee survey and then leaving managers on their own, hoping they will learn something from the survey results that will change the way they manage. It requires an organization to take a close look at how critical engagement elements align with their performance development and human capital strategies.

How are some highly-engaged organizations focusing on the development of individuals and teams through employee engagement? Contact us today to find out!

Want to learn more?

Incentive Services University (ISU) is the educational arm of Incentive Services. ISU was established to provide organizations with information and support services on Employee Engagement, the psychology of Motivation, and the core elements of Performance Management.

Research has proven that employee engagement contributes to increased profitability, yet most organizations still have no formal engagement strategy in place and two-thirds of employees are disengaged. A Gallup study drew the connection between consistently low engagement and team performance and suggested that when an employee’s engagement needs are not met, there is a higher likelihood of turnover — which can cost an employer 1.5 times the employee’s original salary.

Having an engaged workforce is clearly good for business, but there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy to make it happen. So, gaining a better understanding of what your unique employees need is the surest path to success. Companies who have successfully put an engagement strategy into action can offer valuable tips – like ensuring that employees at all levels are recognized, and the importance of employee feedback on the success of your strategy.

Contact us today to have a conversation about how we can help your organization get employee engagement right!

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Incentive Services is a leading supplier of Incentive, Recognition, and Loyalty Marketing programs. We build custom programs to motivate and reward your employees, strengthen the dedication of your channel partners, and increase customer loyalty.

In order to maximize performance, it’s important to understand the cross-section of a typical workforce. It’s common for an organization to have 10-15% of its employees in a high performing group, and 10-15% in a lower performing, more disengaged group. This leaves the bulk of your workforce in the 70-80% middle percentile.

Well-designed recognition programs help unite your workforce by aligning all generations toward shared goals. Generational motivators should be considered when recognizing top performers to encourage a culture of satisfaction, employee engagement, retention, and organizational success.

The bottom line results of your organization are dependent on whether this middle percentile can be motivated and trained to improve. Outperforming the top employees may seem unrealistic to this group, so it is important that individuals be presented with attainable, incremental goals, and recognized for improving their personal performance contributions.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, in his book Winning, said, “Most work in an organization gets done by the people in the middle 70, those solid performers who don’t quite shine but work hard and well, and perhaps could shine with enough care and attention. You just can’t allow the middle 70 to toil way in a form of obscurity, like a well-behaved, mild-mannered middle child in a family of attention-grabbing prodigies and troublemakers. Well-managed companies fight that pull. In fact, they make sure managers spend at least 50 percent of their people time on their biggest constituency, evaluating and coaching them. Further, they don’t forget the middle 70 when it comes to rewards, recognition, and training.” (Winning, Welch, 2005, p. 113)

Contact us today to learn more about Incentive Services’ tips for Moving the Middle!

Acknowledging the multiple generations within your workplace is critical to the success of your recognition strategy. With five generations working side by side in today’s workforce, it’s paramount that generational preferences and motivators be identified and understood. Determining how to best communicate with, train, engage, and retain top talent within every generation is essential to maximizing success.

Well-designed recognition programs help unite your workforce by aligning all generations toward shared goals. Generational motivators should be considered when recognizing top performers to encourage a culture of satisfaction, employee engagement, retention, and organizational success.

Contact us today to learn more about the 5 generations of the workforce and about our strategic approach to engaging all generations!

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Incentive Services is a leading supplier of Incentive, Recognition, and Loyalty Marketing programs. We build custom programs to motivate and reward your employees, strengthen the dedication of your channel partners, and increase customer loyalty.

Contact us today!

How are you reinforcing the value of your people?

By recognizing your staff and showing appreciation for their work, you make an investment in your team and also in the future of your organization. Success is not only measured by hiring the most qualified candidates, but also by ensuring job satisfaction and retention of your top players. When people are recognized and valued for their contributions, they become motivated to continue performing at a high level and develop a desire to stay with their current organization.

Contact us today to learn more ways you can develop your recognition strategy to attract and develop top performers.

Does your recognition strategy attract & develop top performers?

Contact us today to learn more about our strategic approach to recognition and how it can help you attract and retain top performers.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Incentive Services is a leading supplier of Incentive, Recognition, and Loyalty Marketing programs. We build custom programs to motivate and reward your employees, strengthen the dedication of your channel partners, and increase customer loyalty.

Contact us today!

A recent study by Aon Hewitt exploring the mindset of today’s workforce reveals that companies are falling short of expectations when it comes to rewards and recognition. According to the study, today’s workforce has the following top 5 expectations of their organizations:

  1. Communicates completely and honestly
  2. Recognizes strong achievement and performance
  3. Encourages collaboration and teamwork
  4. Possesses strong management and leadership team
  5. Provides valuable work tools/resources, including technology

Of these top 5 items, employees identified RECOGNITION as having the most significant gap regarding the current state versus desired state.

Click here to learn more about Incentive Service’s approach to employee engagement and how we are helping organizations close the Recognition Gap, or feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

Is your organization meeting expectations?

Contact us today to learn more about our strategic approach to recognition and how it can impact your employee engagement goals and ensure you aren’t falling short.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Incentive Services is a leading supplier of Incentive, Recognition, and Loyalty Marketing programs. We build custom programs to motivate and reward your employees, strengthen the dedication of your channel partners, and increase customer loyalty.

Contact us today!

Recognition for length of service is frequently used as a foundation of employee engagement strategies.

In fact, studies show that 87% of organizations have programs in place for recognizing employee length of service. These programs reward the dedication of employees who have built a career within the organization and strengthen the connection between organization and employee.

Research indicates that employees who feel valued by their organization express job satisfaction, performing to their full potential for reduced turnover. Contact us today to learn more about service recognition and how it can impact your overall employee engagement strategy!

CELEBRATE!

Celebrate employee years of service milestones with a personalized symbol of gratitude for their commitment and dedication.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Incentive Services is a leading supplier of Incentive, Recognition, and Loyalty Marketing programs. We build custom programs to motivate and reward your employees, strengthen the dedication of your channel partners, and increase customer loyalty.

Contact us today about service recognition programs!