Involvement. Ownership. Autonomy. Shared Success. If an employee feels they are integral to the company’s success, their contribution is valued and they are heard and relied on, they can gain a sense of personal fulfillment in the work they do and will be more willing to personally invest in the organization. Letting the employee be the expert they are and trusting their capabilities will allow them to flourish. They will end up holding themselves accountable for the results, successes and improvements. If everything is prescribed and they have no opportunity for input, they will only do what is required. You need to engage their hearts and minds. Cultivate the passion within. Help them find their strengths and give them the space to showcase them and develop them. Be a support, an encouragement, a collaborator and a cheerleader. The employees that want to shine, will. You will be able to separate the people that are on your team and running towards the same goals and the ones that are just there for a paycheck.

Encouraging the employees to speak up and working together towards a solution. Trying out their ideas and implementing them when possible. Involve employees from the start of a project or initiative to have buy in right off the start. Safety and job security to help them move up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to reach self-actualization.

There is no one magic solution to a problem that can be so personal. For what activates one does nothing to trigger another’s engagement. For me personally Trust is at the core of everything I do and unfortunately, in the workplace trust is finite. To engage the disengaged I would build trust in the team. Offer support to those that need it, accept accidents for just that, work together to constantly improve and most important, never recognize just one as we are only as strong as the weakest link.

We try hard to hear what employees are saying, listen to their ideas, validate them. We encourage corroboration and team work , and reward employees for their hard work. If someone is feeling undervalued or not challenged we put processes in place to ensure we reach out often, and work towards assisting them feel better and help them succeed in any new challenges provided.