The One Question That Could Transform Your Business- Do You Dare Ask It?
Do you have the courage for this question? The question is not even for you to answer, so relax.
What I am going to do is ask your employees tomorrow morning, “Are you looking forward to going to work today?” You may just have choked, or choked up, a bit. Or screamed. What are they going to say, your team. I mean, who wants to go to work in the morning.
So, let’s make it a bit gentler. I am going to ask your employees in the evening, after they have decompressed, “Are you looking forward to going to work tomorrow?” If you feel nervous about this challenge, you are not alone.
Nearly 90% of business owners and executive leaders do NOT ask their employees how they feel about going to work most days, are they energized, or anxious, or what.
What is with those hesitations?
Why do we hesitate to gain the singular feedback that can make the most positive impact for our businesses and organizations. After all, employees can help you with branding, marketing, process improvement, and even effective AI adoption.
But most leaders do not ask the question. And in asking the question to employees you provide a significant boost to engagement just in doing so – to be involved, to be heard, to be valued – people want and love this opportunity. Your employee value proposition, the ability to attract and retain talented employees, just strengthened with the question.
So, again, why is this question asked by only 10% of leaders? You may hear something you do not want to know; it may confirm challenges you do not want to deal with; or it may uncover a wicked problem. Many organizations tick the boxes with engagement surveys, although fewer than in the past – most feel it does not add value. I mean, just look at the numbers, despite the surveys, engagement is at an all-time low for employees.
What’s different about this question? Well, this question has been proven through research to be the simplest and most effective measure of how people are connected and committed to their work. And if you follow up with a simple, “Why did you answer that way?”, you gain the best picture of why your company is performing the way it does. I ask that question for many companies. It takes courage, but it provides context to shaping your organization to be the best possible place to work, where people feel energy most days in doing their jobs, providing customer value, and contributing to the vision. It is the best piece of feedback you will ever access.
You may be wondering; how do most employees answer the question. Right now, about 43% of Atlantic Canadian employers do not feel energized to go to their work most days. And the average rating for all employees is just 62% - a C minus. You may be saying, well this is why I do not want to ask the question. But in finding out the answers, you immediately know how to move forward, how to market to prospects, how to improve productivity, and to achieve your goals.
If you ask the question, listen to the answer, reflect on the context, and then take actions – you created a better employee experience. To know that the organization I work for cares enough to ask for my perspective and took direction from what I said – that is an amazing feeling of belonging and being a part of a business where I can contribute meaningfully.
You can create a clear metric from this question, that monitored, can create a working environment that performs ahead of others and provides a positive quality of work for people, who want to be there. You also gain a clear blueprint of the leadership people need to move your vision forward – no guessing or generic development programs, just exactly what is right for your business.
And before you let this article go, or think this message is fluff, think about this – for companies that ask their employees this question, they earn 22% higher net profits than those who do not. There is more, but I will leave it there. If the answer to this question could boost retention, productivity, and even profit—what’s stopping you from asking it?
Find out how to ask the question by touching base with me at michael@workinsights.io and check out our SME AI Adoption Fund for grants on getting a grip on AI.