Jobs War: Post #7--Workers

Workers
a. Disengaged workers make for unhappy customers, who stop buying the product, which causes layoffs or company failures. It’s that simple—that disturbing.
b. Gallup has been researching engagement and found that around 20% of the 100 million U.S. workers are disengaged. That’s 20 million workers who are slowly but surely destroying our nation’s companies. Consider that economic impact. It’s like a form of terrorism, only worse!
c. Gallup stats: 28% of the American workforce is engaged; 53% is not engaged; and, 19% is actively disengaged. Engaged employees have the following stats working for them: 12% higher customer metrics; 18% more productivity, 16% more profitability, 37% lower absenteeism, 25%-49% lower turnover, 27% less theft, and 60% fewer quality defects.
d. Gallup Path: 1. Identify a worker’s strengths; 2. Right fit them into a job that takes advantage of those strengths; 3. Provide a manager/leader who cares about the employee; 4. You’ll get an engaged worker; 5. Engaged workers who produce happy, engaged customers; 6. All this leading to sustainable growth and profitability.
e. Managers are Job #1: Managers are the most important choice in a company. Why? The level of engagement of employees depends on their manager. There is, on average, 1 manager to 10 employees, and 1 in 5 managers stink. That means such sub-par managers turn off 20% of employees. That’s staggering when you review the stats that disengaged employees produce.
f. Leaders have to understand what motivates people (behavioral economics) if we are to continue to prosper and lead the world. And not doing so sets up a negative dynamic—a movie with an ending none of us wants to see.