One of the truly interesting things to cross my screen recently is the Deloitte report, “Talent 2020: Surveying the talent paradox from an employee perspective.” You can download a PDF of the full report here.
The report identifies three talent management challenges, but one jumped out at me. Here’s the money quote.
“Engage employees with meaningful work or watch them walk out the door: Employees value meaningful work over other retention initiatives. 42% of surveyed respondents who have been seeking new employment believe their job does not make good use of their skills and abilities.”
How do you engage people? Start by compensating them fairly. If they think that they’re not being compensated fairly, in relation to others or for the results they deliver, not much else matters.
After that, my experience and research tell me that people want six things when they come to work. If they get those things they work hard and smart and stay a long time.
People want to do meaningful work as Deloitte suggests. Sometimes it’s obvious what that means, but sometimes you have to tell them why their work matters and what contribution they make. But that’s only one of my six.
People want to do interesting work. “Interesting” often translates into “I’m learning something new.”
People want to work with other people they like. Part of the way to keep them engaged is to get rid of the slackers and the toxic behavers.
People want to do work without constantly fighting battles for resources and help. Clear the obstacles out of their way.
People want to be recognized for their good work. That starts with praise.
People want to make a little progress. That means every day, every week, every month. They want to get better.
Here’s one thing I’ve noticed over the years. That elusive thing we call engagement usually isn’t the result of grand designs, motivational tricks, or sophisticated initiatives. It grows or doesn’t depending on the little things that happen on the job every day. Make those right and people will work hard and smart and stay a long time.
