Are You Facing These Challenges?
Have you noticed a drop in your team’s productivity, an increase in absenteeism, or a rise in turnover rates? Perhaps the energy in your meetings is lacking, or innovation and collaboration seem to be faltering. These aren’t just minor hiccups—they’re warning signs of a deeper issue within your organisation.
As an executive leader, you’re juggling multiple responsibilities, and managing disengaged employees is one of the toughest challenges. When your team is disengaged, it’s not just their productivity that suffers—your entire organisational culture and bottom line are at risk. The pervasive sense of dissatisfaction you’re witnessing is more than just a temporary slump—they’re red flags that signal deeper problems within your organisation.
Time to Pay Attention
Disengagement isn’t just about employees being less productive—it is a much greater risk to the organisation.
Disengagement is beyond just the statistics, like what Gallup shares, stating disengaged employees cost the global economy $7.8 trillion in lost productivity annually. Within Australia alone, based on Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report, three-quarters of the workforce are not engaged or actively disengaged. Try and tell me that isn’t concerning and should make this pandemic your top priority. Remember your people touch every aspect of your business, making decisions and taking actions and inactions that affect your business hourly. And this extends to your technology.
At best, disengaged employees they are satisfied with the bare minimum level of productivity and focus. Over time, disengagement can erode your company’s culture, damage your reputation, and ultimately, hurt your bottom line. Ignoring this issue could lead to a cycle of hiring and rehiring, escalating costs, and an overall decline in organisational health.
But there is a greater risk than just disengagement. When it comes to disengaged employees in the context of risk, there are three concerns:
- Lack of attention leads to errors, and ‘unintentional’ insider threats which is the most common type, making up two-thirds of incidents.
- A lack of situational awareness, they don’t even see there is a risk.
- A low ‘care factor’ if they do identify a threat or vulnerability, they see it as “someone else’s problem.”
The Widening Gap
Imagine a workplace where every team member is fully engaged, bringing their best ideas to the table, and working with enthusiasm and commitment. Now, compare that to your current reality. The gap between where you are and where you want to be is widening. The longer you wait to address it, the harder and more costly it will be to close.
To start turning things around, adopt a people-centric approach to engagement. One effective strategy is to involve your team in decision-making processes. While this may seem straightforward, many companies struggle to implement it effectively. When employees feel their voices are truly heard and their contributions valued, their commitment to their work increases, fostering a sense of ownership that significantly reduces disengagement.
However, this alone isn’t enough. Another crucial aspect of improving engagement is ensuring your processes and procedures support and enable your people to fulfill their roles, rather than inhibit them. Unfortunately, many businesses fall into the trap of overcomplicating and overly restrictive methods to meet governance or compliance requirements. Striking the right balance is essential, and your people are the key to achieving it.
What Will Be Your Story?
This silent and insidious threat of disengagement doesn’t have to define your story or your business’s legacy. Having worked closely with organisations like yours for years, I understand the challenges firsthand. Many businesses fall into the trap of managing risks through a checkbox approach, losing sight of true risk management in the process.
I’ve seen countless risk teams frustrated by the endless cycle of new risk management checklists. They often feel they’re merely ticking boxes to fulfil regulatory requirements, rather than effectively protecting the organisation and everything that is important to it. This approach not only fails to address real risks but also leaves significant gaps in protection.
A Practical Solution to ‘PROTECT The House’
Rather than contributing to the noise, I dedicated myself to empowering organisations to regain effective risk management practices centred around their people—their greatest asset to ‘PROTECT The House’. This philosophy is the cornerstone of our 7-Step system, ‘PROTECT,’ which embodies our commitment to safeguarding your organisation.
Consider this; businesses that prioritise employee engagement have consistently shown better performance metrics. To ‘PROTECT The House’ and resolve disengagement, the focus must be through your people—their engagement, empowerment, and involvement in the risk management process; after all they are the one’s who are truly executing your strategy.
I am driven by a passion to make this knowledge accessible and to ensure our system not only complements but also elevates current approaches. That’s why I authored the book, ‘Risk Starts And Ends With People: Demystifying Risk for Executives and Leaders.’ This book presents a straightforward yet powerful framework in everyday language, breaking down barriers to understanding and managing risks more effectively.
Bridging the gap and breaking down barriers is crucial, and I take pride in the impact being made: my framework has become essential reading at various global conferences across sectors including finance, insurance, non-profits, and cybersecurity, shaping board and executive-level decision-making. Moreover, it has been integrated into the curriculum of a prestigious Australian university dedicated to developing future leaders.
Take Action Now
Don’t let disengagement continue to undermine your success and limit your organisation’s potential. Take action now to bridge the gap between your current situation and your desired outcomes. Whether you’re interested in exploring how this proven system can work for your organisation through a free strategy session or delving into detailed insights in my book, ‘Risk Starts And Ends With People: Demystifying Risk for Executives and Leaders,’ reach out today. Start transforming your team and safeguarding your company’s future.
