It may or may not be your time of year for evaluating the results of your latest employee engagement survey. Regardless of that, this blog is for you if you want to find the easy way to engage your people.

Before we explore how, did you know that 66% of the UK workforce are disengaged? In an organisation of 10,000 employees, that is an astonishing 6,600 who could be actively working against your mission, purpose and values.

Think about that for a moment… 6,600 people who are:

• actively reducing your customer satisfaction ratings
• potentially halving your net profit in comparison to those organisations where engagement levels are high
• more likely to leave
• less likely to deliver their full capability or realising their full potential
• more likely to have an accident at work

Scary things to read. These facts are based on the findings of a high level task force of the UK’s most recognisable organisations. They are desperate for every leader and manager across the economy to play their part in tackling the UK’s employee engagement deficit. But how do you get your leaders and managers to a level where they not only get the importance of great employee engagement, but actively seek ways to engage their people every day.

Here’s what I think you need to do:

1. Authentic Leadership

Don’t waste your money on an expensive leadership programme that sells you a preferred model. One size does not fit all. You should encourage your leaders to be true to themselves and create an environment where they can be the best version of themselves at work. It may be that you use some existing tools to aid leadership development but an off the shelf leadership model will probably fail you in the long term.

2. Sell the benefits of great leadership

I’m convinced that nobody comes to work each day wanting to do a bad job. I do believe that sometimes there is a lack of guidance in leadership and little understanding amongst leaders of the impact of their behaviours and actions. To create great leaders, you must first convince them that great leadership has a real benefit to them. Engaged colleagues are more productive and more innovative. In a nutshell, an engaged employee will make your job easier.

3. Don’t save it for the survey

I see it all the time…The predictable “You Said, We Did” communications that are sent out just a few weeks before the annual engagement survey.

“The ‘you said, we did’ approach just doesn’t work. If your people can’t see change then no real change has occurred”

Not only are the motives for this approach 100% transparent but, as adults, your colleagues will decide for themselves if they have been listened to or not. An open line of two way feedback throughout the year is key to building employee relations.

4. It’s not all about a positive result

We’ve all been in those meetings. “You must get a good result”, “You will be judged by the result you get”, ‘When they are talking about their line manager… they are talking about you” and (my particular favourite…) “If you don’t have 90% engagement then you’ve failed”. A survey does exactly what it says on the cover page. It solicits opinion from those completing it. The insight that the data then gives you should drive your approach to engagement. Allow your people to shape the leadership they want to see, and then use your authentic style to deliver on that.

5. Follow it through

When you make a promise, deliver it. When you say you’ve listened, take action to prove it – even if that action is explaining (honestly) why something can’t be achieved. If your people feel that their opinions are not only valid but also valued then you will see your engagement levels grow.

It’s really easy for me to sit at my keyboard and talk about engagement, but this is the stuff that really gets me out of bed in the morning. I know that when approached correctly, you can build engagement and reap the rewards. Your people are your most important asset. With the right approach you can ignite the fire in your people and turn them into walking, talking adverts for your company or brand.