There is a buzzword that is really hot right now. The word is “engage.” You might ask yourself why suddenly everyone is talking about engagement. It used to be said the average attention span of an adult was 20 minutes, but some research now claims it has dropped to 12 minutes. That means you now have 12 minutes to transfer knowledge and get confirmation of the understanding of that knowledge before they check out. One study showed the average adult attention span has dropped to 8 to 10 seconds before their mind starts to wander. They attribute this to increased digital consumption and multitasking.
You might say, “Multitasking is a good thing, right?” It is, but today multitasking is too often replaced by light-attention multitasking, or “task grazing.” This can cause several issues, including reduced retention. Employees take in the information but cannot recall it when it is needed. However, actual sustained focus can vary widely based on an individual’s engagement with the task.
From entertainment to how we receive our news to how we connect with people have all changed very rapidly over the past decade. Employees have been confronted with so much information that they have effectively rewired their brains, making it harder to maintain focus.
For that reason, I feel focusing on engagement is more important than ever. Companies need to develop an engagement plan. I will discuss two ways companies need to engage. They need to engage their resources and engage their knowledge.
Engaging Your Most Valuable Resource
A company’s greatest resource is its people. I have a feeling that anyone I ask would agree with that statement. However, if I ask them if their company is engaging their employees, the answers will vary greatly.
Engagement of your people can be seen in project planning. Do you get input from up and down the chain? It can be seen in your investment, not just a paycheck and benefits but your time. Does management invest time into their teams? This can be done through effective evaluations, regular conversations, or just by being available.
Another way engagement in their people is paramount today is in career path planning. Having a conversation with employees about where they want to go and then what you need them to accomplish to get there allows the employee to see a path toward the success they want.
Turning Experience into Safer Operations
Engaging knowledge is critical in training, succession planning and even safety. How many times have you just zoned out in a classroom? The issue can usually be found in the lack of engagement. Testing employees’ knowledge, discussing scenarios and doing hands-on training are all ways engagement can be used to ensure training is not just grazed on but absorbed with greater potential for recall when needed.
Engaging in the knowledge of tenured employees allows for that transfer of knowledge to newer, inexperienced employees. Too often the frequency of an event is overlooked. Having conversations that allow experienced employees to share scenarios that would get missed by the normal SOPs and JSAs is critical.
Additionally, engaging employees in safety is critical. Having conversations surrounding work environments, unsafe practices and task details can be revealing. This helps get a clearer, accurate picture of the culture but also of real safety needs that might not be evident.
Coming up with a plan for engagement has always been essential for successful companies, but in today’s world it has become more important than ever. Having purposeful conversations with leadership about who engages with whom, how often it happens, and how to use the information gathered effectively is a recipe for positive change within their company.
Dean Alling is the safety director for Ray-Carroll Coop in Richmond, MO (deana@ray-carroll.com, 817-932-1000).