Profitability in 2023 equates to more than financial profitability. Profitability encompasses relationships, mindset, employee engagement, and finances. The impact of a disengaged leadership team will trickle down to the employees and further impact your company’s bottom line.
What are the benefits of employee engagement?
Engagement is the critical component to being highly profitable in both the emotional space as well as the financial space:
- 62% fewer injuries
- 87% less likely to leave their organization
- Two times as likely to succeed & are more resilient
- A highly engaged workforce increases profitability by 21%
- Only 36% of the employees in the US are engaged
It is estimated that 450-500 billion dollars are lost due to disengaged teams. The loss occurs from theft, accidents and errors, and turnover.
According to Gallup.com, “Engaged employees are rare. Gallup’s most recent global research finds that 21% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. Not-engaged employees offer perhaps the greatest untapped opportunity for businesses to improve their performance and profitability. Not-engaged workers can be difficult to spot. They are not overtly hostile or disruptive and likely do just enough to fulfill their job requirements. They sleepwalk through their day, uninspired and lacking motivation. They have little or no concern about customers, productivity, profitability, safety, or quality. They are thinking about lunch or their next break and have essentially “checked out.”
The majority of the global workforce is not engaged: most employees reluctantly head to work, lacking energy and passion for their jobs. Converting this group of employees into engaged workers is the most effective strategy that any organization can implement to increase performance and sustainable long-term growth.”
What can we, as leaders, managers, and business owners, do to improve employee engagement? We must connect more deeply with employees by increasing communication and reinforcing esteem and belonging. Understanding emotional intelligence for effective communication can significantly impact employee engagement.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your emotions positively to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.
Most of the conversation is about getting out of your comfort zone and understanding your employees and how to meet their needs. Avoidance can hinder communication because they do not have the tools to engage. Training your emotional intelligence is like working out. You train with intensity, duration, and frequency. The image below demonstrates the path from comfort to growth zone as we teach and learn how to communicate and positively experience situations.
Poor performance among an organization’s employees is reflective of poor leadership. Management’s ownership of the process is critical to avoid failure and negatively impact safety, communication, quality, and production. There is a direct correlation between engaged management and the success of their employees. Effective communication begins with leadership.
Brain chemicals and safety
Understanding the brain and how people react to fight, flight, or fear affects employees having difficult conversations about accidents, employee-to-employee relationships, and overall safety. Employees lose the ability to think calmly and rationally – it is totally disabled. Understanding and having control over difficult or challenging situations create a better environment for open communication and resolution. A controlled environment, with an awareness of chemical and physical reactions, supports conversations without fear or reaction.
Deeper thinking and rational thought create an environment where trust, collaboration, creativity, and productivity efficiency live. To know and understand these chemicals and how they affect the brain.
- Oxytocin: affectionately referred to as the “hugging drug” because the brain releases it during physical contact with others. It’s also the feeling behind love, friendship, or deep trust. If humans are social animals, oxytocin is one of the main reasons why.
- Serotonin: Support, Praise, Recognition. When others offer us that protection and support because of serotonin, we feel a sense of accountability to them.
- Cortisol: primary stress hormone. Cortisol curbs functions that would be nonessential or harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. Shuts down areas of the brain not needed for survival.
Praise and recognition should occur in all situations, good and bad. Praise can occur with excellent outcomes, and the times that are tough too- praise the process!
Catamount’s Golden Nuggets for Engaging Leadership
At Catamount, we agree with the concept that it does not matter what business we think we are in; we are all in the people business. We are in the business of coaching and being coached.
- Effective Communication as discussed by understanding emotional intelligence.
- Team Accountability and connection to the overall business goals and strategy.
- Connection and Synergy are catamounts to success. Together we achieve personal and professional success.
Safety and engaging leadership is a marathon, not a sprint.
In the long game, accountability is essential task by task and job by job. But it is also about responsibility:
- RESPONSIBILITY- REFERS TO THE OBLIGATION TO PERFORM THE TASK OR COMPLY WITH THE RULE
- ACCOUNTABILITY- THE ACCEPTANCE, GOOD OR BAD, OF YOUR PERSONAL ACTIONS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO ATTAINING OR FAILING TO MEET THE INTENDED GOAL.
It is our duty of care to step outside our comfort zones. Our responsibility is to hold others accountable to create a safe and engaging work environment.
We put people first
Putting people first creates an environment of engaging leadership. We know that strong leadership and consistent training create a strong and effective workforce. We help companies understand and develop the value of their management team and employees. Catamount Consulting provides leadership, safety, and training for mining, construction, and general industry. We deliver professional safety services, consultation, and compliance strategies at a fair price and with the highest regard for quality and employee safety.
Here is the recording of the webinar if you would like to watch it. Looking ahead into 2023, change may be coming. Studies have shown that companies with high employee engagement are more likely to retain their employees. In this increasingly competitive business world, retaining talent is critical. Contact us to learn more.
resources: Gallup News
