Improve Employee Engagement Through Behavior Analysis

There is new buzz word hitting the business world: Employee Engagement. I’m not one for actually promoting these types of words that ebb and flow like hot pants and bell bottoms, but this one actually has some staying power.

A startling statistic shows that only 21% of U.S. employees are engaged in their work. This is down from 33% just two years ago!  That is 1 in 5 workers. Look around at your team if you have 100, only 20 of them are actually working to full potential every day. Yikes!

There are a couple of factors contributing to these statistics: out dated hiring practices, out dated training process or worse, not training process and shifting of the workforce and work culture. I’ve been working with a millennial colleague putting together a Closing the Generation Gap course for our company and it’s been enlightening for both of us.

As a software company, our culture is vastly different from the corporate culture I’ve experienced since I sashayed into the formal workplace <ahem> 20 some years ago.  However, with a primarily Gen X management team, we cling to some of the basics we were taught about management, professionalism and respect.  We struggle with finding the balance between teaching those very important values to our Gen Y co-workers (most of whom are new to the workplace), but modifying them in such a way to keep them engaged.  Gen Y is roughly twice the size of Gen X and with the 80 some million Baby Boomers retiring every day, every company needs to figure this out quick.

One way that companies can improve their employee engagement numbers and thereby increase productivity and profit margin is via a strong hiring and new hire process that includes one-on-one training, plenty of time for question and answer sessions  and behavioral assessments.

At Avionté, we integrate Personality, Cognitive, Attitude and Engagement assessments via our on-line applicant portal. The results feed directly into the employee record to allow recruiters to very accurately match not only skills and experience to open positions but what makes this person tick and happy in their work. You can even print out the report and share information with your clients to prove your commitment to their account.

You might be rolling your eyes, I know that I have when thinking “Geez, in my day you did what you were told and were just happy to get a pay check”. However, for my friends born prior to 1978, the world has shifted. Even in a bad economy, the pay check isn’t driving people half as much as doing something enjoyable and meaningful does. Only managers who are open to change and quick to act on this new reality are going to attract and retain the super stars moving forward.

If you are one of those pioneers and risk takers, contact us today to find out more about our PeopleClues assessment integration and how you can use it to leap forward in engagement, retention and efficiency. Also, let us know if you’d like to consult on our cross generational training and knowledge, we’d be more than happy to share what we’ve learned and are working on.