Why You Should Get Your Workers Hooked on Their Jobs

Disengaged workers terrify HR departments. And it is not just about the negative impact to the brand and company culture. The fact is disengaged employees cost the company money. According to an earlier Gallup poll, disengaged employees are estimated to cost the US between $450 billion to $550 billion. Numbers indicate that a bad hire can cost a company anywhere between $25,000 to $50,000. And when the workers are temporary, the issues around engagement are even more complex.

Little surprise that at the recent HR Tech World conference in San Francisco, the chatter was all about what technology can do to keep workers engaged. Ideas ran the gamut from simple to funky. One app called Never Eat Alone automated the scheduling of lunch between two workers at a company. The idea: help employees get to know one another and boost morale. Another online platform was called Blue Board; it put together “experiential” benefits ranging from a trip to the Caymans to volunteering for your favorite cause.

PREMIUM CONTENT: Temporary Worker Survey 2017: Satisfaction with staffing agencies (or lack thereof), and what drives it

Execs are eating up engagement. A survey by Deloitte Consulting found executives rank engagement among their top priorities in 2017.

And execs have different approaches. Keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur and author, said he encourages employees whom he fires — and don’t agree with that decision — to post a negative review on Glassdoor. Although that may lower his firm’s rating, he feels it could ultimately weed out candidates who wouldn’t fit into the culture. See Vaynerchuk’s blog for his thoughts on negative reviews on Glassdoor.

Peter Hinssen, author of the upcoming book, The Day After Tomorrow: How to Survive in Times of Radical Innovation, however, warned HR executives at the show to stay one step ahead. Concentrate not just on the tasks now but what technology will be needed for the further future — the day after tomorrow.

“If you only focus on today and tomorrow, you are deluding yourself,” Hinssen said.

The show was focused on HR pros, but it makes one wonder about what the day after tomorrow will bring for our industry? Will drones deliver snacks to temps? Could augmented reality make jobs easier for contingent workers? Will automation help with engagement or be a turnoff?

Join in the conversation. What do you think?

MORE: Keeping your contingent workforce engaged and motivated

Craig Johnson

Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson is senior editorial director at Staffing Industry Analysts. He can be reached at cjohnson (at) staffingindustry (dot) com.

Craig Johnson

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