The Happy Employee by Julia McGovern & Susan Shelly

Author:Julia McGovern & Susan Shelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Adams Business, an imprint of
Published: 2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

How to Earn the Respect

of Your Team

52 Make Sure Every Employee Has Responsibility

This book contains a lot of information about the responsibilities of managers. You’re responsible for attracting top talent, for finding the best job candidates, and for interviewing candidates in the proper manner, choosing the ones best suited for the jobs, and keeping them all happy once they show up to work.

It might be a relief, therefore, to switch gears for a few minutes and read about employee responsibility. The problem, however, is that in many cases, employee responsibility seems to be in short supply.

Managers across the country bemoan the fact that employees don’t seem to take responsibility for their work. They complain that employees don’t seem to be accountable or won’t go the extra yard to address a concern or fix a problem.

These workers are known as disengaged employees, and there are a lot of them. A study reported in the Gallup Management Journal revealed that only 29 percent of employees are fully engaged in their jobs. Fifty-four percent—more than half of the entire workforce—are not engaged, while another 17 percent are actively unengaged. Let’s have a look at what that means:

• Engaged employees possess the willingness and ability to put forth great effort at work. They are enthusiastic and anxious to contribute. They don’t head for the door five minutes before quitting time but are willing to stay on until the job is finished.

• Employees who are not engaged are those who show up but merely go through the motions of doing their jobs. There’s no excitement, no “wow” factor, and no willingness to complete more than is absolutely necessary.

• Actively unengaged workers are the ones who cause managers to lose sleep. These employees not only are unhappy, they want everyone else to know that they’re unhappy and why. The danger, of course, is that actively unengaged workers can demoralize other employees and undercut their accomplishments.

It goes without saying that engaged employees are more productive than unengaged, making them more beneficial to their companies. The question is, how can you encourage employees to remain engaged in their jobs so that they continue to be productive and happy at work?

Delegate in Order to Ensure Significant Responsibility for Every Employee

A key factor in keeping employees engaged is knowing how to delegate responsibility to every member of your team. Engaged workers want to be involved. They want to know how their work fits in with the bigger picture and that they are making a difference within the company.

Most employees start in jobs as engaged workers. They’re willing to give it a chance and to see how they’ll fit in and what kind of difference they can make. If they are not assigned any responsibility, however, they lose their focus as to their role within the organization. Once that happens, they begin to disengage and lose their sense of employee responsibility. Your job, of course, is to keep them engaged by maintaining their levels of responsibility. Keep the following tips

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