Are You Proud of Where You Work?

These are happy men whose natures sort with their vocations. - Francis Bacon

According to a survey reported on in People Management (http://bit.ly/MmCPet) the number of employees who are ‘proud’ to work for their organization has fallen from almost half of workers at the start of 2012 to just two-fifths.

A survey of 1,114 office staff, by recruitment firm Hyphen, suggested that question marks over the reputations of some employers may have dampened employee engagement. The number of women disenchanted with their employer has grown to more than a quarter (27 percent) compared with only 17 percent who admitted they were not proud of their firm at the beginning of the year.

At a time when employee engagement is as critical as ever this survey sheds new light on the need for employers to be engaged with their employees and to step up in their leadership roles. It is simply not enough to be aware of employee disengagement. It is incumbent upon those in leadership to understand why.

Zain Wadee, managing director at Hyphen said the findings made a strong case for employers to invest in engagement, adding that organizations and managers must work hard to foster a strong culture of inclusivity at work in the coming months.

Engagement is critical to the life of your business or organization. When team members feel valued, respected, and included it goes a long way in creating a positive work environment. Here are three simple tips to help get leaders engaged with their employees and boost morale.

Walk among your people. It is when you get out from behind the desk and the safe confines of your office that you learn what is truly going on in your organization. The only way to build employee engagement is by personal engagement.

It is when your team sees that you are with them not just in words but with your presence that you can begin to turn around the engagement deficit. Your “open door” policy should not be designed for your team members to come in to your office, but for you to get out. Walk among them and get to know them.

Listen to your people. You have now taken the first steps to engagement by coming out of your office. Now is your opportunity to learn from your team. Engagement that will build the morale of your organization begins by listening to your people. It is when you demonstrate genuine interest in what they are doing that you can reclaim the pride of your people.

Listening to your people builds relationships. It shows that you place value in their opinions and builds the kind of relationships that will see you through good times and bad. Think of the positive benefits you can reap when you gather informally with a group of employees around the table in the break room and simply have a conversation? When you respect your employees enough to listen to them they will take pride in where they work because you have taken pride in them.

Respond to your people. When you walk among your people and listen to them, you are in better position to respond to their needs. It is easier because you have built relationships, placed value in their opinions, and have taken personal responsibility about the importance of engagement.

Having pride in where you work matters. Meaningful engagement is a matter of priority for those in leadership. You will never get to the next level of success in your business if your people have no pride in their work. When you have pride in your people they will have pride in you. This is the beginning of how you create a positive workplace culture.

Are you proud of where you work?

© 2012 Doug Dickerson

*As previously published in the International Business Times.

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