By , Entrepreneur
Published July 19, 2016
Most seasoned leaders know that the key to a strong workforce and high morale is fostering and encouraging high levels of employee engagement, but the million dollar question is: how? As a corporate trainer for more than a decade, counseling leaders and teams, I’ve found that the key to employee engagement is having leaders and organizations who consciously work to consistently and simultaneougly engage and feed the head and the heart.
In many ways, finding the right employee fit for a particular position is much like dating. Clearly, it’s important to look for fit in terms of similarities in background. A candidate/employee can be a great fit on paper but not in reality. So how does the resume review often lead us astray? It doesn’t take into account chemistry which often is the real magic that creates lasting excitement and interest. While reviewing resumes is important for assessing fit with the brain, it's often is a poor barometer for assessing fit with the heart. Clearly, for employees to feel a true sense of passion and engagement with their organization, just checking the boxes of whether or not they have the requisite experience and skills is not enough.
Related: Five Morale Boosters That Kept a Dying Business Afloat Until It Finally
Typically, engaging the head comes more naturally. Managers are programmed to ask employees about their work and constantly assess where they might need training or other support as it relates to their tasks, projects, corporate objectives, and overall industry. Managers regularly conduct team meetings, email reports, tasks, conduct training sessions, and spend most of the day in some form of communication focused on engaging the brain. Unfortunately, engaging the heart while not as natural or intuitive for most managers, can be a more critical component for developing authentic employee engagement.
Related: Ignoring Employee Morale Will Cost You. Here's the Solution.
Managers can engage the heart in a variety of ways:
Related: 'Dancing Barista' Demonstrates the Rewards of Heart-Centered
The best managers don’t think of engaging the heart as some separate additional activity. Instead, they acknowledge it as the key to true employee engagement and put as much, if not more, focus on engaging the heart as they do engaging the head. Indeed, engaging the head will get the job done. Engaging the heart will create a sense of excitement about the workplace; Engaging both creates true lasting dedication.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-secret-to-employee-engagement