General economic conditions have many lab employees concerned about their continued employment. This is particularly the case if their laboratory has undergone a staff reduction. Some big pharmaceutical companies even have closed entire large laboratories. All these conditions are weakening the employee – employer bond. People feel less engaged in their work. The result is unhappy people and reduced productivity.
What is engagement anyway? It is a fuzzy concept at many firms. Employee engagement refers to how committed workers are to their organization. High levels of engagement mean that staff members are willing to put in extra effort to accomplish their project goals and help their coworkers do so as well.
Loss of engagement is of particular concern for top performers. They are the individuals who can find alternative employment most easily and whose loss would be most damaging to the laboratory. Their most likely places of their new employment are laboratories of competitive firms. Some top performers with an entrepreneurial bent may go into business in competition with their former employers particularly if what is offered to the marketplace are services rather than products requiring expensive capital investment.
There are steps proactive lab managers can take to mitigate the loss of staff engagement. If they don't, their employer could be hamstrung in its efforts to climb out of their own recession when business conditions improve.
What can lab managers do?
What can be done when your funds are limited? Town hall meetings during which CEOs and other top executives explain what efforts are being taken to restore company business and profits can be helpful – but only if the speakers are open and honest with the laboratory staff. High level executives should discuss the latest business results, business goals and staffing plans.
Lab managers should be quick with positive feedback on staff members' significant accomplishments. I was worked for a lab manager whose only feedback was negative. I was surprised how demoralizing the lack of positive feedback was for me and my fellow staff members. The manager's attitude was that we were adults and didn't need this kind of appreciation. However, the need for positive reinforcement has nothing to do with maturity.
Providing increased mentoring to younger employers can increase their engagement in both their own projects and those of their mentors. Most people enjoy mentoring others and find it adds a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to their own workday.
Enabling laboratory staff members to learn new skills also increases their engagement. Social events for group or department members can also be beneficial. When I was working for Tomah Products employees at both company locations eagerly looked forward to their summer family picnic. While the company funded the events, employees also brought food and games.
What are your competitors doing?
A September 2008 Institute for Corporate Productivity survey of 290 firms found that 58% were already taking action to minimize increased employee turnover when the economy turns around. Increased communication with employees was the most popular step taken with 81% doing so. This was consistent with a Watson Wyatt survey of human resources executives the previous month. Executives at 175 U.S.-based firms also found increasing communications was the most used method of increasing engagement. Changing roles to expand responsibilities to improve engagement was cited by 47% of companies. An increased focus on coaching and mentoring was cited by 36% of companies. Increasing special project assignments was cited by 30% of the surveyed firms.
