As a business owner, you’ve put many hours in each day to establish your company. You have a reputation for getting the job done for a competitive price. While you do much of the work on your own, you also rely on your team members.
An engaged workforce is a productive workforce. On the other hand, if staff become disengaged then productivity will fall, ultimately hurting your bottom line. How can you tell when an employee has become disengaged and what can you do about it?
Constant absenteeism
Everyone gets ill from time to time, this simply cannot be helped. However, engaged employees will always be reluctant to take time off unless they have to. If a worker is calling in regularly on a Monday morning to say they can’t make it, then there’s likely something else going on other than an illness. As an employer, it’s important that either you or your designated management team open up a dialogue with the absent employee to get to the bottom of what is going on.
A lack of teamwork
Every individual within your organization has something to offer. You’ve carefully picked each individual based on their unique skillset. Nonetheless, you can’t have a company full of individuals, you all need to work as a team. If a worker is refusing to communicate with you or their coworkers and has even become rude and aggressive at times, then they are disengaged from the job at hand.
You cannot afford to have a hostile work environment, so it’s important to nip such behavior in the bud. Ideally, the conduct will be the result of a misunderstanding that can easily be resolved with a conversation. If not, you may need to start thinking about your other options.
The problems above can be addressed through legal channels such as the court, but litigation should generally be a last resort. What could benefit you in such a situation is having an experienced neutral third party to arbitrate or mediate the dispute. Seek some further guidance to find out how this can be done.