According to Gallup's State of the American Workplace report, only 30% of the workforce in America is engaged. This means that 70% of the workforce nationwide is disengaged. The Gallup report estimates that disengagement in the workplace costs roughly $450-$550 billion a year within the United States.
How do you improve engagement in the workplace? Well, it starts off by providing your employees with solid training.
Employees are more engaged at work with they have the proper tools necessary to help them be successful in their jobs. Don't overlook the importance of employee training. The problem is that most business owners see training as an expense versus a long term investment in their employees. Employees who don't have the proper training under their belts tend to be disengaged at work. This disengagement stems from a lack of knowledge. Employees tend to feel powerless when they don't have the necessary knowledge to help them accomplish their goals.
Your company will experience a negative domino effect when there is a lack of training for your employees. Your company, employees, and your customers suffer when employees are disengaged. Disengaged employees provide sub-par customer service which greatly impacts customer retention. You'll have a hard time filling up the seats in your restaurant when the customer service is inadequate. This, in turn, leads to less profitability for your restaurant.
There is the belief that there are 5 I's that can be implemented into employee training efforts to help boost engagement. The 5 I's are listed below:
Incorporating these into your employee training efforts will help engage your employees more. Don't underestimate the power of training your employees.
65% of employees say that the quality of training and learning opportunities they're given at work positively influence their engagement
Employees value training and the ability to grow within their positions, it's important to help your employees develop their skills so that they can progress within the business. Investing time and money into training your staff shows them that they're valued. It also communicates to them that you envision a spot for them within the company for the long run. When employees feel valued, it cultivates a stronger culture within your company.
If you want to have higher engagement among your employees, you have to start by providing them with training. It's important to note that employee training shouldn't be a one-time thing, but rather training should be provided on a regular basis. You can combat disengagement at your company by providing your employee with in-depth training which will give them more confidence in their abilities to do their jobs.