Create a Company That Helps Teams Do Their Best Work

The Engagement Challenge

I have read my fair share of articles about the sorry state of employee engagement. Our friends at Gallup have found that less than a third of US employees are engaged.

Yikes, that’s a lot of people who are at best going through the motions and at worst trying to wreck whatever it is that your organization is attempting to achieve.

Of course, some employees are fired up. And some workplaces have figured out how to engage the majority, if not all, of their employees. How about yours?

4 Qualities That Drive Engagement

Ever stop and wonder, “How the heck do they do it?”

I’ve been thinking about the question for years. More specifically, I started dreaming about the kind of workplace that employees couldn’t help but love.

I was pretty sure it had little to do with ping pong and pets at work. But if it’s not that, then what is it? I have four suggestions. These ideas will not only produce more engagement, they are a strategy for creating a successful company.

Tell me that you don’t want to work somewhere that these qualities are present. I dare you.

1. Friends

I work among friends. I value, respect, and like my coworkers. There’s much we share in common and plenty we don’t. We may not have chosen each other, but we would now. When I am away from work, I’m happy to return because I want to see my friends.

2. Excellence

I am surrounded by competence. Everyone does his or her best work and is always on the lookout for ways to get even better. Our leaders provide us with clear direction. Our processes rock. We have the equipment, tools, and information we need to achieve our goals.

3. Impact

I am part of a mission that matters. It focuses and energizes me. I feel ownership for it and am proud to be associated with it. In big ways or small, what we do individually and together makes an important difference.

4. Well-Being

I grow as a person through my work. Every day I am able to develop my talents and use them to contribute to the greater good. My efforts are financially rewarded so I can support myself and those who depend on me. The flexibility and control I have allow me to deal with life’s twists and turns. The environment inspires and supports my dreams.

Create This Workplace

If your reaction is some version of “He’s been out of the real world a little too long,” I can appreciate your concern. This vision represents an ideal. If you don’t believe it’s attainable, it probably isn’t.

Still, can you agree it’s worth pursuing and then throw your energy into seeing how close to it you can come? Of course you can.

Begin where you have the most opportunity. Maybe you need to refine your purpose and goals. If they are unclear or uninspiring, that’s a natural starting point. Most everything else flows from them.

There are always opportunities when it comes to strengthening processes. If you want your employees surrounded by competence, the systems in which they work need to function as required.

Maybe your HR policies could use some updating. Do you really need everyone chained to their desks from 8:00 to 4:30?

The best workplaces don’t drop down from outer space. They are first imagined and then developed over time. They are continually nurtured and refined.

If you want to work in this place, perhaps today is the perfect day that you begin to build it. Nice and easy. One step at a time.