Employees Feeling Valued

Compensation is typically what attracts an employee to an organization, and feeling valued, respected and challenged is what keeps them there. Compensation can also be considered "rational engagement", while feeling valued, respected and challenged creates emotional engagement - which is required to create the kind of commitment Mr. Riggleman cited as lacking in his reason for leaving. The single greatest business tool is not the dollar, but sincere gratitude for a job well done.

To answer your question about how feeling valued in the workplace affects productivity, I want to go back to the differences between rational and emotional engagement. Rational engagement meets the needs of the head; emotional engagement meets the needs of the heart. The Corporate Leadership Council revealed that leaders who trigger emotional engagement release 400 percent more discretionary effort than those who trigger rational engagement.

Here are some examples of the differences:

Examples of rational engagement are:

• I understand the strategic objectives of my organization.
• I understand the big picture of how things work here and how I fit into it.
• I understand the expectations my manager has of me.

Examples of emotional engagement are:

• My leaders listen to me in a way that makes me feel respected.
• I am proud of the purpose of my organization.
• I feel my manager has my back and goes to bat for me.

In our own work using a tool called the Juice Check, employees who do not feel valued in the workplace are more inclined to look for work elsewhere, making retention an issue for corporations that want to retain good employees. In this post-recessionary environment where organizations are operating in an environment with fewer resources (people), they will not remain competitive if they don't hang on to the star performers. Mr. Riggleman was winning but he wasn't getting the recognition he expected. He allegedly asked for a conversation to discuss it, and upon refusal, he hit his limit and left.

At Juice, we believe we are living in an era of the "Feelings Economy". When needs are not only met, but also felt, you release energy that triggers discretionary effort -whether that's an employee or a customer. They are willing to go above and beyond for you. It‘s what is felt that matters most to people. It‘s what is felt that energizes people. It‘s what is felt that unlocks their desire to do more, tell other people about you, and pay a premium. Wherever you see :"felt needs" being met at work, you‘ll see energized employees giving their best effort. Mr. Riggleman was obviously depleted of that energy.

For more information, refer to our e-book, Love at Work, Driving Employee Performance through Emotional Engagement : http://www.juiceinc.com/files/documents/Love_at_work_Ebook.pdf. It is based on our book, Love At Work, Why Passion Drives Performance in the Feelings Economy. Additionally, you can measure the level of engagement your work environment releases in you using our free Juice Check tool: http://www.juiceinc.com/juice_check/index.php?lang=en and you can identify which driver is most important to you in the workplace, where "feeling valued" may be the most important as it was for Mr. Riggleman: http://www.juiceinc.com/articles/show/what-juices-you

 

About the Author

Crista Renner

Crista has been part of Juice Inc. since its inception. She is an engaging presenter who brings a vast storehouse of business and personal stories, making her an entertaining and pragmatic speaker. Because of her inviting and open style, she excels at asking the difficult questions that people think about, but never ask. Her marketing prowess and creativity have helped numerous organizations clarify their point of difference to increase sales and improve client retention.