Are your employees disengaged? And what can you do about it?

Orla Hodnett
Orla Hodnett

Employee disengagement can cost you and your organisation. How can you take corrective measures to ensure your employees feel involved? And how can it impact your recruiting efforts?

Disengaged employees are reason for concern for a number of reasons. They may be reducing the overall productivity of your team, ultimately costing your organisation. They may also be at risk of leaving your organisation for another role, which can affect your recruiting projects in the median term.

With recent studies suggesting that only 13% of employees globally are engaged, this really demonstrates how disengaged employees might affect your organisation. So how can you identify disengaged employees? And what can you do about it?

How do you identify disengaged employees?

What defining traits or characteristics might a disengaged employee have? Was there recent changes in your organization that might have precipitated those changes? Disengaged employees will not interact with the wider team and will not contribute as they should to the team. Other indicators may be persistent lateness and a lack of initiative.

What can you do?

Talk to them: 

Having a conversation about the employee’s change in performance is essential. You have to find the root cause of the drop in engagement in order to fix the problem.

Take corrective measures: 

If a employee has told you about their concerns, it is really important that you make moves to change this. By documenting the employee’s concerns and proposing a plan to make organisational changes, you are showing the employee that you take them seriously. 


If your employee is facing challenges, it is important to support them. There may be simple changes that you can make, which can bring your employee back in from the cold.


One possible cause of disengagement in employees who have been with your organization for a while is a lack of opportunities. The opportunity may not even be a promotion. Trusting an employee with some further responsibilities may make them feel their opinion is valued.


If employees are becoming disengaged, maybe reassess your current employee benefits. Would you be able to offer flexi-time or work-from home options? A small perk like this could change your employee’s perspective on their role.

Share goals and plans: 

Sometimes employees can become disengaged because they have not got a view on the bigger picture. By letting employees in on new projects, plans or objectives, you can help them re-focus their attentions on their work.


Disengagement can sometimes be caused by boredom. If an employee has been in a role for a while, they might need a little change or challenge. Further training might be what an employee needs to remind them of their passions and motivations at work.

Changing management style: 

Everyone is different. And everyone relates to people differently. If your employee has become disengaged, maybe you need to change how you manage them. Maybe you need to be a bit more hands-on or let them direct their own work.

Get started with a product tour

Try for free