Have you ever been in a situation when you felt disregarded? Someone introducing himself to you for the fifth time? Cut off several times in a meeting? Being micromanaged on a daily basis? Telling your team you’re sick and still being bombarded with emails and texts? Someone selling your ideas for theirs? Being “incentivized’ by a two-day training, you make travel arrangements, work like crazy to pull yourself out of daily business only to realize that you know all that already, that your manager had no idea that you do and that your company is basically throwing money out of the window? Moving around the world with your family for your job and getting the feeling that the fact that all of you are turning your lives upside down is nothing but taken for granted?
All of these situations are real situations my clients tell me, some minor and not such a biggie but they still hurt a little, some biggies indeed. Not “only” does the feeling of being “dis”regarded naturally come with more “dis-es” like: disappointment, discouragement, disengagement, disrespect, distance … the next part of the equation is about money and in the end about the profitability of companies: If people feel dis-ed it costs - a lot!
According to Gallup, disengaged employees have 37% higher absenteeism, 18% lower productivity and 15% lower profitability. When that translates into dollars, you're looking at the cost of 34% of a disengaged employee's annual salary, or $3,400 for every $10,000 they make.” (Forbes, 2019)
Reason enough for organizations and especially for leaders to pay attention to the individuals, e.g. by asking questions, by listening and by having regular, meaningful and honest conversations. Reason enough for organizations to get rid of broad-brush stuff, e.g. by tailoring and curating to the specific needs of their teams and individuals. Reason enough to get back to human by shifting the focus to people away from “numbers only”.
Not only do we at double human hear from our clients that deep personalization and honest attention to their specific requirements are the reasons they work with us, we also pass it on to the decision makers and leaders of organizations so that they realize, too, that they shine so much brighter in a tailor-made outfit than in a one-size-fits-all onesie.
Rock that outfit!
Yours, Sonja