Pay attention to hamsters and honeymooners at your firm, or else...

By Annie Waite, Editor of the Internal Comms Hub, Melcrum

How many "honeymooners" or "hamsters" do you estimate your company employs? I reckon I could safely say you've probably got about 12%.

How do I know, you wonder? No, I'm not part of a crack-team of computer hackers (or am I?!...) and don't have access to the results of your latest employee survey. Instead, I'm basing my assumption on research results from training and consulting firm, BlessingWhite.

I attended an event in Chicago last week, where Wendy Fencl, BlessingWhite's leader of employee engagement and senior consultant introduced the company's recent research findings.

Hamster: Dangerous, but "not the worst of your problems"

Honeymooners ("those whose satisfaction is high but their contribution is low," Fencl says), and hamsters ("those who work very hard, but at the wrong things"), even though they've "perfected staying under the radar" aren't necessarily the worst of your problems, she says.

So what is, or who are? That'll be your "crash and burners" (13%) and "disengageds" (19%).

If this is so, then why do we need to pay much attention at all to the harmless deliriously happy honeymooners or those inoffensive, burrowing-for-cover hamsters?

We concluded at the event that it's because they'll need to  be transformed, fast, into "actively engaged" employees, or at least "almost engageds" and most importantly, not be lured into one of the more negative employee groups.

Crash and burners, although high performers, aren't happy. They complain, they take prisoners and they become toxic. "You can't afford to have people stay on who are so dissatisfied with their work," says Fencl. But what real difference does it make to the company if they complain or not? Because, according to figures from Gallup, disengaged employees cost up to $300 billion annually in lost productivity.

Do BlessingWhite's findings tally with the state of employee engagement at your organization? Can you see the smoke rising from the crash and burners right now? If so, what do you plan to do about it?

How are your employees able to complain, constructively or otherwise, at your organization? Having the right company culture that encourages openness and participation could be all you need to reduce your amount of crash n burners and disengageds.

Soundtrack to the blog: anything by the Pet Shop Boys

Comments

[Mariana Sarceda]

At the company where I work, employees can ask the HR manager for a meeting to talk about how they feel, what they expect and what improvementes they consider can be made in their activities or position. Having this chance has helped us all to find innovative ideas that make our life at the office much better.

[Annie Waite]

That's interesting - so how does the HR manager act on that feedback? Is it a formalised process or just a process that employees know is there, and that they can trust, should they need to use it?

[Jasbinder]

Possible alternative conclusion: having the right processes that encourage openess and participation could be 'all you need' to reduce your amount of crash n burners and disengageds.

When it comes to either of these category of employees - you can change the people (takes time as you are operating in the existing culture) or you can change the people (quicker option).

As for 'all you need' to engage employees, how many companies prefer the Mark Twain approach? 'All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.'