Why do we have to be better than 9%?

For 8 hours a day, your team are highly motivated, excited and feeling fulfilled, just not the 8 hours they work for you!

I think a clever chap called Tom Peters is quoted as saying something along these lines. The sad thing is the context to this in reality. Unfortunately, a vast majority of employees dread Monday and see it as the first day in the transition to the weekend. They work 9 - 5 quite literally. Indeed the very latest Gallop State of the Global Workforce a mere 9% of the UK workforce are regarded as highly engaged.

So if that is the case how can you improve on 9%? How can you increase engagement and by virtue the well-being of your team? I'm sure I don't need to ask why you should improve it, I assume that's obvious. People that are happy at their place of work are more engaged, efficient, satisfied and healthier. Yes, healthier, let's be quite clear that the stress and strain of work today are a cause of mental health problems.

So, what is ROWE?

Results Orientated Working Environment is working without boundaries in a way that generates the highest productivity. It recognises 3 key constituents that people crave and desire at their place of work, and indeed in life. Interestingly even if they don't know it. Deci and Ryan theorised that to improve an individual's intrinsic motivation they need to have autonomy, competence and relatedness; the Self Determination Theory. Today less of a theory and more of a reality in some exciting working environments.

Before I offer insight to each, you must understand a little about ROWE. ROWE focuses on creating an environment where employees are intrinsically motivated. Unsurprisingly there is a high level of autonomy. Employees have the choice of where they work, how many hours they do and their focus. Let's be clear it is with the focus on delivering what they need to and within the agreed time scales.

They also work within their competence, they have the knowledge, skills and ability to conduct their role and execute what is expected of them. Indeed this will also result in having the confidence to step out of their comfort zone, going that bit further. Added a strong alignment to being part of a team and a strong sense of purpose. As we take a brief look at each it's important to note that they don't work in isolation, this is a cultural shift towards creating ROWE.

Autonomy

We all of us crave autonomy, the sense of freedom to make decisions, to do what we want, and to have freedom of choice. Traditionally in the working environment, this is often not freely given. Employees are not given the freedom to make decisions, all too often resulting in line management being the default setting to ask for guidance and direction. Poor delegation, where the delegation is merely from one decision to the next and not actually completing the task at hand. No doubt many more examples you could think of.

What if you had the confidence in the employee and your workforce to complete their work with complete autonomy? What would the impact be? In all likelihood, there would be a greater sense of well-being and engagement, in turn, higher efficiencies. It would also create a greater capacity for the management and leadership team. All around there would be greater efficiencies.

Competence

The point here is to focus on mastery of what your workforce does. Both their current competency and their pursuit of mastery in their field of endeavour. Knowing you have the skills to complete your work is absolutely key in the creation of ROWE. There is no point in creating autonomy if there is a skill and ability deficit. That will only limit and reduce someone's drive.

This is about, as Jim Collins author of Good to Great would say, having the right person on the bus in the right seat. Creating self-determination and an intrinsic drive requires effort and focus on attracting and retaining the right people. Right attitude and skills. You have to ensure your people are equipped to be able to conduct their roles in the first place.

Relatedness

Relatedness has a double impact because it focuses on our need as humans to be part of a tribe and our need to have a purpose. In the first instance, we need to feel that we are accepted and respected within the team. We are understood, listened to, and feel engaged in our contribution to the greater good of the team. This is all about being valued.

The second part of relatedness is a sense and feeling of alignment with the higher purpose. When we feel part of something it motivates us, inspires us and creates a deep sense of meaning. Being aligned with the purpose of where we work will shift our very relationship with work. It is less about a transition of time and money and more about being part of something great. Just ask why it is some people have aspirations to work with some organisations and will do for a lower wage.

9%

I think you'll agree that we need to improve on the 9% of the UK workforce who are highly engaged. The benefits to our workers and business are clear. The more engagement we are able to create in the working environment the greater everyone's well-being, the improvement in business efficiencies and the better business is. Whilst a ROWE focus may be a significant challenge you should view it in relation to what you do, how you currently do it and where you could make marginal improvements.

Work should be enjoyable, should be inspiring, and should create a sense of meaning, it should be that for those 8 hours a day we are highly engaged, motivated and having fun. After-all, we do in fact spend the vast proportion of our time at work, so why wouldn't we want that to be enjoyable?

Reference: Deci and Ryan and the Self Determination Theory & Daniel Pink - Drive

Steve Gaskell the 'Challenge Coach' is a High-Performance Business Coach who unlocks the high-performance potential in those he coaches. The author of 'Business Shouldn't be this Tough' is also a keynote speaker with a focus on high-performance outcomes through coaching and also creating extreme ownership within the boardroom. A former Army Officer Steve understands the challenge and interFEARence faced by business owners, CEOs, directors and executives in leadership and confronts them head-on to focus on unleashing true potential.

If you would like to unlock the potential within your organisation, board, leadership, team or yourself just ask. For more information on the topic of this newsletter, you can message Steve via his profile, call on 01392 927997 or email?[email protected]