Employee engagement's missing ingredient
Does Employee Engagement Work?!
Employee engagement has hovered at around 33% for many years now. So many people are working at it, so much of our budgets are dedicated to it. We try all the latest trends and technology – employee surveys, apps, and so on. Nothing works.
And yet, for a lot of business people, engagement is a key strategy for simultaneously improving morale and the bottom line. Many organisations have people dedicated to implementing engagement.
Let's Talk about Unconscious Bias
One ingredient that is often overlooked when we talk about employee engagement is unconscious bias. And there’s a good reason (well, there are a few!) for starting with bias: we can all do something about it, both on the individual level and on the organisational level.
So, to help you start in on this massive topic, I’ve put together a short list of case studies and tips that I think are really to the point.
Some Case Studies and Tips
There's a lot of information there, but these articles are a good place to start:
A case study from PwC: “We start from the simple premise that talent has no age, race or gender and is not ruled out by disability.” This very moving video asks you to imagine yourself in other people's shoes.
A case study looking at how network software provider Metaswitch sought to address unconscious bias.
Some great tips on how to avoid biased behaviour.
Some more tips – this time, from Human Resources Today – on addressing the biases that are destroying your business.
Next Steps
Well, what do you think? Is addressing unconscious bias the missing ingredient in your employee engagement strategy?