Do You Have Employees That Are Disengaged? Here’s How to Motivate Them
by Kayla Ezinga
“Engaged employees stay for what they give (they like their work); disengaged employees stay for what they get (favorable job conditions, growth opportunities, job security).” –Blessing White.
Everyone has good weeks and bad weeks at work. But a problem arises when an employee is having bad weeks consistently. This could mean that the employee is disengaged. What can you do as a manager to motivate a disengaged employee? These are our top tips:
1. Recognize, congratulate, and encourage
Have you ever worked really hard on a project and felt like no one cared? The next time you had a big project, were you as motivated to work on it? Didn’t think so. One of the most important things you can do as a manager is recognize hard work, congratulate an employee for a job well done, and encourage employees to continue working on their projects and put their all into it. This can go a lot farther than you would think!
2. Let them make the decisions
When things seem overwhelming to anyone, one way to take back control is to make decisions. It is also possible that an employee is feeling disengaged because they don’t feel connected to their work. The best way to help this is to let them make decisions. Having more control of their work can give just the right amount of motivation to just get it done. Also, allowing employees to make decisions about how the work gets done lets the employee know that you trust them.
3. Incentivize
Setting a due date can feel overwhelming and demotivating if an employee thinks getting the work done is too much for the time given. Creating a reward system for your employees can help them pick up the pace. This system is completely up to you on how much or what you want to reward. Some examples of rewards are a small (or large) bonus, an extra day of PTO, a lunch bought by the company, movie tickets, or a small trophy. You can feel free to get creative with this!
4. Make sure they are in the right seat
One thing we emphasize at W Talent Solutions is having the right people in the right seat. The most common reason that employees become disengaged at work is that the work they are doing is not right for them as a person. For instance, if the current role they are in requires a lot of detail orientation and steady work and they are the type of person who doesn’t notice detail and loves to switch things up, they will not be engaged at work. If you believe that you have someone in the wrong seat, this doesn’t mean you have to let them go necessarily. You just need to find the right seat for them. If you don’t have the right seat for someone, you will have to make some tough decisions. Our favorite tool to find out if someone is in the right seat is the Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment. Using the information given in the results, you will not only be able to tell if someone is in the right seat, but you will also be able to predict if someone will be in the right seat when you are trying to fill a position.
Overall, motivating a disengaged employee can seem like a daunting task, but if you know what you need to do, you are sure to accomplish it. If you would like to learn more about our favorite tool to make sure an employee will start and stay engaged, contact us at [email protected].
