How long does the honeymoon period last for the new employee? According to Galindo Consulting about three months. Using a validated assessment that measures levels of personal accountability a new employee feels significantly more empowered than employees that have been with the organization longer.
That is both bad and easily fixed.
First, let’s talk about why this is a problem. According to a study conducted by Towers Watson 63% of employees are not fully engaged. This leads to lower productivity, complacent customer service, higher rates of absenteeism and these are the things we can easily measure. Gallup estimates that the cost of employee disengagement is approximately $300 billion in lost productivity
What is harder to measure is what we lose in creativity, collaboration and loyalty. And when the economy improves and employees have a choice turnover will be problematic.
You might think losing employees that aren’t engaged would not be a bad thing, but lack of engagement is a cultural phenomenon. In other words, the people will change but everything will be the same.
So where does accountability come in to this. When employees are treated as partners and adults, when employees see that their efforts make a difference, they are engaged and their level of accountability is high. There is a direct correlation.
When employers “take care” of employees they create a learned helplessness among the workforce. Too often management sees themselves as the decision makers, the problem solvers, the intermediator of conflict and interact as though without management nothing would get done.
According to Timothy Clark, founder and chief executive officer of TRClark LLC and expert on leadership, change and employee engagement, engagement is the primary responsibility of the employee. Or it should be. At times when management tries to create engagement they reinforce the belief that employees can’t do it..
So how do we stop creating environments that sap the accountability out of employees? How do we keep that new employee enthusiasm? Maybe understanding why new employees feel more accountable and then what happens will help organizations understand how to maintain that new employee enthusiasm.
New employees are actively engaged in learning. They want to make a contribution and are ready to give their new organization the benefit of the doubt. They believe that their efforts will result in recognition and opportunity. Their boss takes interest in their work and invests time and energy in their efforts.And then.
Some Things that start to diminish the enthusiasm:
Is the remedy as simple as letting employees be more involved. It is that simple but the culture has to change and that is not simple. The manager mindset has to move from “I am the boss” to “I am a facilitator of employee engagement.” The manager has to stop telling people what to do and start making clear agreements, getting out of the way and then holding people accountable.
And the manager has to learn to trust that employees have the best interest of the organization at heart. And studies show that they do.
When managers move from cop to coach the employee moves from frustration to engagement. It means listening, letting employees shape processes and policies, looking for opportunities for employees, recognize their experience, wisdom and insight, and valuing and rewarding their contributions.
And the mindset that “they don’t get it” has to be changed to “employees are our greatest asset.” When the motto becomes the cultural reality, organizations will be able to maintain that new employee enthusiasm.
That is both bad and easily fixed.First, let’s talk about why this is a problem. According to a study conducted by Towers Watson 63% of employees are not fully engaged. This leads to lower productivity, complacent customer service, higher rates of absenteeism and these are the things we can easily measure. Gallup estimates that the cost of employee disengagement is approximately $300 billion in lost productivity
What is harder to measure is what we lose in creativity, collaboration and loyalty. And when the economy improves and employees have a choice turnover will be problematic.
You might think losing employees that aren’t engaged would not be a bad thing, but lack of engagement is a cultural phenomenon. In other words, the people will change but everything will be the same.
So where does accountability come in to this. When employees are treated as partners and adults, when employees see that their efforts make a difference, they are engaged and their level of accountability is high. There is a direct correlation.
When employers “take care” of employees they create a learned helplessness among the workforce. Too often management sees themselves as the decision makers, the problem solvers, the intermediator of conflict and interact as though without management nothing would get done.
According to Timothy Clark, founder and chief executive officer of TRClark LLC and expert on leadership, change and employee engagement, engagement is the primary responsibility of the employee. Or it should be. At times when management tries to create engagement they reinforce the belief that employees can’t do it..
So how do we stop creating environments that sap the accountability out of employees? How do we keep that new employee enthusiasm? Maybe understanding why new employees feel more accountable and then what happens will help organizations understand how to maintain that new employee enthusiasm.
New employees are actively engaged in learning. They want to make a contribution and are ready to give their new organization the benefit of the doubt. They believe that their efforts will result in recognition and opportunity. Their boss takes interest in their work and invests time and energy in their efforts.And then.
Some Things that start to diminish the enthusiasm:
- Supervisors that do and oversee everything.
- Disillusionment as opportunities are not available.
- Conflict and gossip.
- Lack of organizational information.
- Decisions made with no input.
- Ineffective management.
Is the remedy as simple as letting employees be more involved. It is that simple but the culture has to change and that is not simple. The manager mindset has to move from “I am the boss” to “I am a facilitator of employee engagement.” The manager has to stop telling people what to do and start making clear agreements, getting out of the way and then holding people accountable.
And the manager has to learn to trust that employees have the best interest of the organization at heart. And studies show that they do.
When managers move from cop to coach the employee moves from frustration to engagement. It means listening, letting employees shape processes and policies, looking for opportunities for employees, recognize their experience, wisdom and insight, and valuing and rewarding their contributions.
And the mindset that “they don’t get it” has to be changed to “employees are our greatest asset.” When the motto becomes the cultural reality, organizations will be able to maintain that new employee enthusiasm.
Terri Lorz
Senior Consultant at Galindo Consulting
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