By Verity Bissett-Powell
After completing my university exams I had a couple of weeks to kill before graduating and joining the real world. I spent these days immersed in a pc game called “Sims” which allowed me to control various electronic individuals and build a community. I managed their well being and happiness through directing them when to eat, drink, relax, etc. Unfortunately multi-tasking these various activities was not always easy. While focusing on building a house for Dominic, I would neglect Aldo, resulting in him falling asleep at inappropriate moments of the day and Aldo’s ‘smiley face’ barometer flashing a dangerous red to catch my attention.
Over half of today’s workforce has reported that they are feeling stagnant. Consider this a flashing red barometer: your workforce is not smiling.
In the current slumping economy, organizations have redirected their focus towards productivity, selling, managing costs, and are neglecting their employees. These workers are unmotivated, uninspired, and uninterested. Of the individual contributors who said they felt stagnant 46% divulged that they “just do their job and go home”. These are the people producing your products, managing your money, and conversing with your customers. You cannot afford to ignore them.
How did I deal with Aldo? I found that spending some time checking his assorted barometers to see what he needed helped. In his case, food, shower, and sleep were the right solution to move the smiley face indicator toward green bars. I would recommend a different combination for your workers: Talk to them individually to discover their motivations, seek opportunities to give them exciting challenges, and show them how they directly contribute to organization success. You manage them. You can put smiles back on their faces.
Verity Bissett-Powell is a Consultant with Development Dimensions International (DDI).
Comments