Today’s employers don’t exactly lack appreciation of the need for employee engagement – 48% of respondents to one recent Deloitte survey cited it as “very important”. However, a 2015 report from Red Letter Days for Business stated that only just over a third of employees in Britain – 36% - were “highly engaged”.
Perhaps part of the problem stopping many organisations both within and outside the science sectors from boosting the engagement levels of their employees is an inability to recognise such engagement in the first place.
Here are some of the common signs of a lack of engagement – as well as of high levels of engagement – in your staff.
Signs of a disengaged employee
Where do we start with all of the ways to spot a disengaged employee? You may notice that they only do a bare minimum amount and standard of work, completing assignments in a manner that is sloppy or only just “good enough”. It suggests an employee who isn’t much interested in the consequences of such low standards for them or their company.
A worker with poor levels of engagement may also avoid involvement in team activities, although it is important here not to confuse an apparent lack of interest with a tendency towards introversion. Some of your staff members are likely to prefer working quietly on their own, which is fine, but showing a complete lack of support to colleagues or disgruntlement when asked to participate in group initiatives is a different matter.
A disengaged employee is also much more likely to complain about their work and blame others for their mistakes. It is vital here to consider potentially legitimate grievances, such as your employee being overworked or not being allowed by the culture of your company to make errors. By encouraging your employees to admit honest mistakes instead of shaming them for occasionally getting things wrong, you can make them less fearful and help to boost their engagement and performance levels.
So, how do you know you have an engaged worker?
A truly engaged employee is, of course, the opposite of many of these characteristics. They are employees who take the initiative instead of doing the bare minimum, motivate instead of complain, and easily concentrate on their tasks instead of losing focus.
Such an employee is also likely to own up to their mistakes out of a wish to learn from them, collaborate with their co-workers and love their company instead of looking for a new role elsewhere.
With Millennials especially inclined to ‘job hop’ – two in three of them signalling a wish to leave their present employment by 2020, according to the 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey – bolstering employee engagement to cultivate employee loyalty will only become all the more crucial for science employers in the years ahead.
Talk to us about your talent sourcing challenges
As all of the above indicates, recruiting staff who represent a good fit for your science organisation’s culture isn’t all that you have to do to ensure high levels of engagement. However, it could certainly have a role in the prevention and mitigation of employee retention headaches in the years to come.
Whether your firm is involved in the pharmaceutical, engineering, medical device or any other science or technology sector, and whatever your other specialised talent sourcing requirements may be, our bespoke staffing solutions help to ensure you have the best possible employees adding value to your business. Make Hyper Recruitment Solutions your dependable science recruitment partner.
