A business capital loan can help owners improve their small business. However, having engaged employees who are giving their all can be just as beneficial.
Unfortunately, a recent study from Deloitte showed that up to 88 percent of America’s workforce is not passionate about their work, and this is resulting in less hard work.
“In a world of mounting performance pressure, companies need to find ways to accelerate performance improvement on a sustained basis,” John Hagel, director of Deloitte Consulting, said in a media release. “CEOs need to move beyond short-term solutions that offer one-time performance bumps including giving a bonus or implementing an employee engagement program. Instead, leaders should focus on identifying and cultivating the untapped talent of their existing workers to achieve a longer term performance improvement. The fact that passion levels are so low in the workforce should be a wake-up call to senior executives.”
Of course, it’s not just senior executives who should be concerned about employee engagement. Small businesses that rely on a limited workforce need to make sure each one of their employees is contributing to the organization’s success.
And the problem surrounding employee engagement isn’t a new issue. The 2013 State of the American Workplace report from Gallup found of approximately 100 million people in America who hold full-time jobs, only 30 percent are engaged and inspired to work.
“At the other end of the spectrum are roughly 20 million (20 percent) employees who are actively disengaged,” the report stated. “These employees, who have bosses from hell that make them miserable, roam the halls spreading discontent. The other 50 million (50 percent) American workers are not engaged. They’re just kind of present, but not inspired by their work or their managers.”
Employee disengagement can not only make for a poor workplace environment, it can lead to bad customer service and a decrease in revenue. For owners considering a small business loan, it’s important to make sure everyone involved with the business is on board and dedicated to achieving success.
Improving employee attitude
While some small business owners may think a raise or bonus is the only way to inspire employees, data shows many bosses are turning to more flexible worker duties as a way to boost employee passion. Expanding worker job descriptions and giving employees a chance to try new things was shown to boost passion for the job.
“The key message from our work is that workers of all types and in all locations have the potential to be passionate – it’s not limited to a privileged few,” Hagel continued. “Rather than just focusing on recruiting more passionate workers, the big opportunity is to look at the existing workforce and create environments that can tap into, nurture and amplify the passion of every worker already on the job.”
