Employee Engagement is Local

Tip O’Neill, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said; “All Politics is Local”.  He meant that people vote based upon what is important to them.

This is true of employees as well.  Business Pundit asks the question; “How do you lead losers?” - asserting that 80% of employees on some teams are not getting the job done. 

I thought it might be a good idea to look at the root cause for this unproductive state.

At Gallup, we have done some research that shows that 16% of the US Working Population is Actively Disengaged.  This means that on average, 16% of the people in your company are actively working to destroy the culture you are trying to create.  Another 55% are stuck in neutral (not engaged).  They are waiting for someone to give them a push.  Finally, 29% are really into what they are doing (Engaged). 

Our research has told us that there is one major factor that makes all the difference in improving this environment – the workgroup manager.  People join companies but they leave managers.  Tip was right. Everything is local. 

The employee’s immediate supervisor is the largest determining factor in the engagement level of the workforce.

Sure, some people are bad seeds.  Sure some employees are losers.  If you find a large pocket of these “loser employees” and you want to know the cause, the research shows that you need look no farther than their manager.