In today's competitive business landscape, one of your greatest assets is an engaged workforce. Engaged employees are productive, motivated and committed to going the extra mile.
But what happens when a previously engaged workforce becomes disengaged? Productivity, customer service, operational costs and turnover all suffer. The consequences are far-reaching, which means you need to act fast.
Fortunately, the workforce analytics experts at ActivTrak have identified several effective strategies for re-engaging employees. Let’s look at them now, along with the causes and symptoms to watch for.
What is a disengaged workforce?
A disengaged workforce is a group of employees who are largely disconnected from their work. They lack motivation, don't care about team goals and are uninvested in the organization's mission. While virtually every organization has some disengaged employees, high levels of disengagement across the workforce indicate bigger problems.
What causes a workforce to become disengaged?
Employees become disengaged for different reasons. Some burn out to the point of apathy. Others become resentful due to a lack of recognition or a toxic work environment. And still others face issues in their personal lives that impact their ability to focus at work.
Left unaddressed, these individual instances spread and cause overall engagement levels to plummet. That’s because disengaged employees become more disgruntled over time. They call in sick, speak cynically about colleagues, and openly discuss disdain for leadership. Those negative attitudes impact team members, who often become disengaged themselves as a result.
Sometimes, workforce disengagement is the result of broad changes like poorly executed restructuring, reorganizations and transitions in leadership — or it might be isolated to a single team that’s not managed well.
Signs of a disengaged workforce
The most common signs of a disengaged workforce are:
- Unplanned absences: Studies show disengaged workers have 37% higher absenteeism than engaged employees. They frequently leave early, start late, take long breaks and call in sick.
- Less interaction: A disengaged workforce is less inclined to participate in meetings, team-building activities and outside work events.
- More complaining: Disengaged teams often discuss projects with disdain instead of actively innovating and problem-solving.
- Decreases in productivity: Missed deadlines, less focus time, fewer active projects and lower quality of work all indicate a workforce is disengaged.
- Disregard for company policies: Disengaged employees prioritize their own interests over company policies, making them more likely to use unsanctioned apps, ignore office requirements and test the limits of set work hours.
The consequences of a disengaged workforce
It’s dangerous to brush off the impacts of a disengaged workforce, or to assume a few actively disengaged employees won’t do much to change an otherwise strong culture. In addition to financial implications, research shows disengagement leads to:
- Higher turnover rates: Six in ten disengaged employees are actively looking for new jobs, compared to just 43% of engaged workers.
- Less customer satisfaction: Companies with the lowest levels of engagement experience 10% less customer loyalty than those with highly engaged workforces.
- Lower profitability: Organizations with low employee engagement scores experience 16% lower profitability, 37% lower job growth and 65% lower share prices over time.
6 strategies for re-engaging a disengaged workforce
While the best methods for boosting engagement vary from workforce to workforce, several proven strategies work equally well for companies of all sizes.
1. Identify sources of disengagement
Let’s face it: You can’t fix what you don’t understand — which is why re-engaging employees starts with identifying underlying causes. The quickest, most effective way to do this is with employee engagement software like ActivTrak. Monitoring real-time workforce engagement metrics makes it easy to discover root causes such as imbalanced workloads and too much overtime. You may even be able to spot early signs of disengagement in a single employee so you can provide support before it affects the entire workforce.
2. Solicit employee feedback
Sometimes, all a disengaged workforce really needs is an opportunity to feel heard. If you’re not already fostering a culture of open and honest communication, now’s the time to start. Nine in ten workers are more likely to stay with a company that asks for (and acts on) feedback. Encourage employees to voice their concerns, suggestions and ideas freely — either by providing platforms for anonymous feedback or meeting with people individually. Many business leaders are surprised at just how quickly actively seeking employee input helps revive engagement levels.
3. Recognize and reward achievements
Recognition isn’t just a nice incentive. It motivates 84% of employees to succeed at work. What’s more, 78% of workers say they’d be more productive if their employers simply showed appreciation more frequently. Whether you implement a formal reward system or simply offer words of praise, recognizing employee achievements is a powerful way to boost engagement. After all, it’s hard to complain about positive reinforcement. And providing a sense of belonging helps encourage further engagement.
4. Create career advancement opportunities
A disengaged workforce is a sure sign employees feel stuck in their careers. But open the door to career-building opportunities, and engagement is bound to increase. And promotions are just one way to create growth paths. Mentorship programs, more challenging assignments and upskilling programs are all effective ways to re-engage your workforce. In fact, an astounding 94% of workers say they’d stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn.
5. Offer flexible work arrangements
If you currently require employees to report to the office or work set hours, consider revisiting or expanding flexible work options. According to recent studies, hybrid work improves every area of performance, work-life balance and company culture — and 80% of surveyed employees say it’s enhanced their overall well-being. But remote and hybrid work aren’t the only options. Allowing employees to choose the start and end times that work best for them is also a great way to support work-life balance and re-engage teams.
6. Expand access to mental health resources
Did you know more than half of workers who are unsatisfied with their companies’ mental health and well-being support plan to look for new jobs? If this isn’t already a top priority at your organization, make it one today. Emphasizing mental health not only improves engagement levels but also contributes to a healthier, happier workforce. Foster a positive work environment by providing resources for stress management, offering wellness programs and encouraging employees to prioritize self-care.
Re-engage your workforce with ActivTrak
If your workforce is disengaged, don’t panic. By actively watching for the signs of disengagement and using the strategies above, it’s possible to turn things around.
However, it’s important to note re-engaging a disengaged workforce is an ongoing process — one that requires the right tools. ActivTrak’s employee engagement software monitors the signs of disengagement for you, making it easy to see when it’s time to take action. It's one of the quickest, most effective ways to learn what your unique workforce needs to find passion and purpose at work.
Get a demo to see how more than 9,500 organizations use ActivTrak to help teams thrive.
