12 Keys to employee engagement – 2

Have you ever heard members of your team say, “We’ve been out of that stuff for weeks now?”

It doesn’t matter what the “stuff” is; it can be frustrating to hear that something your team needs to do their job well isn’t available to them – and you didn’t know about it.

One of the key questions the Gallup poll asked employees in their survey was “Do you have the materials and equipment to do your work right?”

Guess what answer the highly engaged team members gave? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if the company isn’t committed enough to supply the materials and equipment, the frustrated employee will not likely become one of the rare highly engaged team members.

The same thing is true for training. I have been astounded to hear employees who attended every single orientation and inservice tell someone from the outside (like an Ombudsman or licensing surveyor) that “no one ever trained me on that” when they were observed doing something incorrectly.

What I’ve come to realize is that the answer to the key question about materials, equipment and training is an individual answer. Some people need to be trained in a certain area slowly, repeatedly, and in greater depth than others, especially if their life experience hasn’t prepared them for this environment.

Some people won’t be comfortable asking as many questions, and may not realize that the supplies and equipment they need are, indeed, available – in a different location, perhaps, or upon request.

Take a few minutes this week to ask a random sampling of your team members if they have the supplies, materials and equipment they need to do their job right (however they define that). Take a few extra minutes to really listen, too.

Ask about training: “Could you use more training in any area of your job? Have you been provided with enough training?” Listen to their answers.

As a key indicator of employee engagement, this is a question that needs a resounding “YES!” before you can start seeing the bottom line results of a highly engaged team.