3 proven ways leaders can inspire disengaged employees

Imagine this: You’ve got a team of ten rowers on your boat. Three people are rowing their hearts out, dripping sweat, and giving all they’ve got. There are five people just sitting with their arms crossed, disengaged and adding dead weight. Moreover, you have two people who are rowing in the opposite direction. How fast is your boat going now?

Sadly, this is the true picture of employee engagement status in our global workplaces. Gallup, a global authority on all things relating to employee engagement, found that engaged workers only account for 23% of our workforce, the actively disengaged represented 18%, and the fence-sitting, quietly quitting, the not engaged group accounted for a whopping 59%.

And the impact of the fence-sitting disengaged category on the global economy? A staggering $8.8 trillion in global productivity or 9% of the global GDP, according to Gallup.

However, with my experience over the last 25 years, working across multiple companies and countries, I know that the fence-sitting disengaged employees are only ‘seemingly’ disengaged. While you may think these employees turn up in body only, leaving behind their brains at the door, I’ve found that they are waiting to be discovered, leveraged, and motivated.

If you’re struggling to get all of your initiatives and projects implemented while holding the fort daily due to a lack of resources, then you may want to think about tapping into the latent capacity of the seemingly disengaged fence-sitters. Here are three quick tips on how to engage the seemingly disengaged.

Get them involved in improvement initiatives

When new employees join our workforce, it is quite common to ask for improvement ideas through their fresh eyes. However, as they get adjusted to ‘this is how things are done around here’, we don’t continue to tap into the human creativity and the genius in us.

By carefully including some of the seemingly disengaged fence-sitters in project teams that are led by an engaged employee, you can not only get their ideas captured but also leverage them to take action as well. Working with any of the structured problem-solving methodologies, these teams will not only move the needle on engagement but on productivity gains as well.

Most leaders think that it is up to them to improve the workplace. My mantra is “improve with the team, not for the team.”

Fix something that matters to them

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said it best: “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

In the technology-driven world we operate in today, data-driven decision-making is a buzz phrase that I hear often. However, our ability to download, analyze and comprehend promptly is extremely poor. Think about how flashy Power-BI dashboards, Excel paralysis by analysis, and arguments over data accuracy tend to drive multiple conversations in countless meetings that go around in circles when the original intention was to help teams make rapid decisions with real-time data to grow the business.

Your employees know exactly what frustrates and prevents them from doing their best work. Find ways to brainstorm issues that frustrate and constrain business growth. If you can find baseline data to prioritize these ideas, then resolve them through the process shared in the previous point.

While implementing SMART technology solutions, we are also creating DUMB employees—who are constantly Devalued, Underestimated, Misunderstood, and Belittled. Sadly, they are waiting to be Developed, Utilised, Motivated, and Believed. If we think artificial intelligence is better than natural intelligence, the end is near.

Create an infectiously positive culture

Playfulness, progress, and persistence help to create an infectiously positive culture, which increases the likelihood of the fence-sitters getting involved.

This is exactly what Tony Hsieh did when he took over Zappos—the mega U.S. online shoe company—in 1998. Zappos’ culture is reflected in its core values. Zappos’ unique approach to employee engagement can be quantified. For instance, when its call center moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas, an astonishing 80% of its California employees relocated. In 2008, when the average turnover at call centers was 150%, Zappos’ turnover was just 39%.

In 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos for a staggering $1.2 billion. Even after the acquisition, Zappos retained its unique culture, becoming a model for companies wishing to enhance customer service and employee engagement. It’s not surprising, then, that leaders from companies well-known for service and quality, such as Southwest Airlines and Toyota, make regular visits to learn from Zappos. A rising tide lifts all boats.

It’s easier than you think

The secret to engaging the seemingly disengaged is involvement. Get them involved in the right initiatives with the right teams. Over time, they’d be willing to lead initiatives as well, when they see progress and impact. Share their success stories at your town hall meetings to infuse positivity. If you stay on this method, you’ll continually improve both productivity and engagement.