Page 20 - Alabama 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 3

Engaged Employees Work MorTe Safely
By Larry Cole, Ph.D. TeamMax
he secret is out...engaged employees are more productive and committed to their place of employment both of which lead to increased customer satisfaction and net profits. Yes, and in
your industry, engaged employees also work more safely.
In the 30 + years that I’ve worked as a consultant, literally every leader and management structure with whom I’ve worked say that they want an engaged employee, yet Gallup Poll, among others, report that only 35% of employees are engaged with their work. Research also states that at any given time some 60% of the employees are either looking or will take another job if it’s available. What is wrong with this picture? The answer — the way employees are treated! Take a look at this illustration.
I hope I know which of these two scenarios you would like
to have. All I’ll say at this point is if you want then top scenario in your company, then something is drastically wrong. Having said that, I’ve seen supervisors who seem to enjoy treating people like a baby treats a diaper! I might add that the higher this person is in the organizational hierarchy, the more damage is done in that company, which highlights the point that fish rot from their head down! For example,
an owner of the company that I was asked to work with would enter one of his locations and walk right by employees without acknowledging their presence. He acted like he just didn’t care and that’s the impression his employees had. Let your imagination wonder about his employee turnover rate.
Let’s take a quick look at what is employee engagement. In brief it is a combination of the following three variables and typically measured through an employee survey:
1. Physical engagement — the amount of energy directed to work.
2. Emotional engagement — the positive feelings associated with employment.
18 • Alabama 811
2020, Issue 3