“But we don’t want work-life balance…”
Employee engagement was 27%.
I was working for a consulting firm. We were facing productivity issues. The utilization rate was low. Maximizing the capacity utilization would lead to higher profits. But the employees were not working enough. Hence there were profitability problems.
The CEO called me and asked, “What are the reasons of disengagement? We are paying them well; we are being flexible; we provide work from home; and kind towards all our employees. What is the problem?”
The CEO’s inference was that the managers were lousy.
However, the main problem was with the leadership.
Why?
The answer was simple.
Had the problem been the managers, there would have been a variability in engagement across various practices, which was not the case.
When I had discussions with team members, I realized they had no issues with the managers or the practice leaders.
They said, “We don’t work life balance. We are willing to work hard. We want career growth. The business has been stagnant for the past 3 years. Not sure where it is headed.”
They wanted clarity about the business direction. They had no confidence that the business would grow. These team members were from premium business schools, with high career aspirations. They were concerned about their career growth in a company that did not appear to grow. Lack of confidence in the capability of leadership was the key issue.
While the employees were looking at exponential career growth, the company was giving them work-life balance. They wanted growth, direction and confidence in business.
Clearly, there was a misalignment between what the company could provide and what the team wanted.
You need to provide your employees with what they want. Or create a team that is happy with what you can provide. (Check the EVP blog)
The learnings:
Leaders must articulate the business direction clearly and ensure that it is duly communicated to the employees in a manner that increases their confidence in the company.
Once the direction is set, ensure team alignment and deliver on the business promise and employee value proposition.
Hence, Business direction and confidence in leadership are two critical drivers in our employee engagement model for which leaders are responsible.