Are Your Employees Committed to Your Company?

"I'm not telling you it is going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it." - Art Williams

Only about 30% of employees in your workforce are engaged at work, according to a recent Gallup poll. This is a startling statistic for any business owner to hear. That means that 70% of employees are actively disengaged from their work. A large part of employee engagement is a commitment to the organization. So what is desire-based commitment and how can you get employees to commit?

Committed employees do more than just show up to work. These are the employees who want to help your organization reach its goals. Desire-based commitment, or want-to commitment, means that employees want to work for your business and have an interest in your business success (more than just a paycheck). A committed employee is also different than a happy employee. You can make some of your employees happy by giving them a paycheck while simply asking them to do little or no work. On the other hand, a committed employee tends to simply be happy to work -- especially if they can see that the company is moving towards its goal.

Every business with employees can benefit from creating commitment. I’ve seen first-hand how in even a seasonal or temporary employment situation, employee commitment turned customer service around. So what can you do to create desire-based committed employees?

Have a clear goal or purpose. Creating a goal for your employees to work toward is the first step in creating commitment. Once you have that goal, share it passionately with your employees. Tell them why you do what you do, why you love it, and why they should too. People make it to the top of Mount Everest because that was their goal, not because somebody told them to take step after step until they reached the top.

Create rivalry with your competitors. Ever hear the term “common enemy?” Make it a game to your employees to win against your competitors. It’s human nature to be competitive and that’s what business is all about, so let your employees in on it too. Set benchmarks based on what your competitors are doing and share those with your employees. Come together as a business to defeat the enemy. Working together to win creates commitment.

Use teams to your advantage. Bring your employees together in teams to help foster a commitment to not only your company, but to the team of other employees they work with. Studies show a reduction in absenteeism and turnover with the introduction of team-based projects in the workplace. Teamwork also gives businesses the advantage of more ideas and greater collaboration and communication between employees doing different tasks.

Give your employees the tools to succeed. Provide your employees with the stuff they need to achieve the goals that you’ve set. This can be physical stuff like printer paper for a project or intangibles like training on how to use a piece of equipment. Keep your communication channels open so employees feel they can request these tools if and when feasible. Create an environment where employees are continuously learning and expanding their skills. Employees who feel their growth needs are being fulfilled by an organization will be more committed to that company.

Use some of these techniques to help motivate your team of employees to want to climb the mountain with you! Do you feel your employees have a desire-based commitment to your organization? What have you done to create that? Please comment below.