Employee Engagement is All About Listening

culled from:profilesinternational.com
Employee EngagementAccording to a recent Onion article, Josh Morris, junior sales associate at Crystalpoint Systems in Philadelphia, has stated concerns that he does not have enough job security to voice his opinion at work. “I’m still pretty low on the totem pole,” he said, “so there’s no way I’d put my job at risk by sharing what I actually think during meetings or conversations with coworkers.” He continued on to say that he dreads going into the office each day, fearing the repercussions of uttering just a single honest opinion or constructive idea. While this story is made up, others like it are playing out in businesses all over the world in various workplaces.

According to the Journal of Management Studies (a Wiley publication), “There is evidence from a variety of sources that employees often do not feel comfortable speaking to their bosses about organizational problems or issues that concern them.” What’s more, a University of Texas study found that when employees’ don’t feel involved in the workplace, they tend to withdraw and employee engagement becomes practically nonexistent.

Furthermore, the UT study stated that bosses who are not open to new ideas can have psychological tolls on their employees. One subject was referenced who took a “significant pay cut just to work for someone else who did value her ideas.” As you should know by now, when employee engagement dwindles, employee turnover rises.

What might be more disheartening, according to the study, is that these employees who are afraid to speak up aren’t just acting paranoid. “Employees who speak up and challenge the status quo are viewed as less competent, less dedicated to the organization, and more threatening compared to those who support the way things are.”

Is that what you want from your employees?

A better question might be, is that what you want from yourself as a leader?

Listening is a responsibility of effective leadership. As a leader, you need to balance your intensity and desire for high performance with compassionate attention to your employees’ needs.

There are four ways to improve your listening skills:

1. Show that you care

When you care about your employees, especially about their engagement, they will likely exceed your expectations. Employees want to be led by a leader who genuinely cares about them. If you show a little compassion, your employees will want to represent your company. Your employees aren’t tools, and they shouldn’t be viewed that way. Moreover, too many leadership-employee relationships end at 5 o’clock. Employees want managers who care about their general well-being and personal development.

2. Be engaged with your team

This goes far beyond caring for others. When employees share their concerns or opinions, be sure they elaborate and ask them questions to further expand on their perspective. Embrace their personal style, and don’t try to mold them into something you want them to be. This will make them feel valued, and boost their employee engagement.

3. Be empathetic

Sometimes the workplace can feel like a warzone, fueled with stress and pressure. Let your employees know you’re on their side and feel their frustrations. Be positive and encouraging with your employees during these times. Empathy is an act of listening. You might think that avoiding emotional ties with your employees is a good idea, but the most effective leaders know how to balance the head and the heart.

4. Don’t judge people

When you’re judging, you’re not listening. Simple as that. You may criticize your employees for having a different approach or way of seeing things, but you could be missing out on learning a thing or two. Your employees should know that they can come to you with an idea—however ridiculous—and not have it thrown back in their face. Let them know your door is really open. It shouldn’t matter what their position is or where they stand in the company.

“The last thing I want is to open my mouth and irritate the wrong person,” said Morris. “Maybe if I get that promotion I might feel okay at least hinting about some of the improvements I think could really help the department or offering my take on the new database software they’ve been trying out. But for now, I’m just going to nod a lot to suggest agreement.” At press time, Morris had lost out on the promotion to a coworker who management reportedly valued for his active participation in staff discussions.