How to Decrease Your Number of Quiet Quitters

Almost every leader will agree that a fully engaged employee is critical to an organization’s success. Everywhere we look, the narrative is about employees who are disengaged, and it’s hard to be a great leader without hearing the pandemic disengagement term, “quiet quitter.” The quiet quitter is described as an employee who has decided to leave your organization; they have not formally told you yet. 

Although we are not seeing it with our clients, a Gallup 2022 survey suggested that one-half of the US workforce was in the category of a “quiet quitter.” The hybrid or remote working model has created the ideal environment for the quiet quitter to flourish. When you do not have to meet face-to-face with your boss, peers, or team members, and you only connect with them through email, Zoom or Teams, it creates an easy environment to contribute well below an employee’s full capacity. 

Our economy is not as strong as it was in 2021 and 2022. With layoffs in many industries and a threat of a recession, many employees who would have quit a year or two earlier are now staying put. The quiet quitters are not happy, but they are staying, negatively impacting your productivity, ability to innovate, and build a culture where employees love coming to work. This phenomenon has led to an even more appropriate human resource term, Resenteeism.

The seven tips below are the answer to minimize the number of quiet quitters on your team and increase the number of engaged and accountable team members.

Ensure alignment with the direction and goals. We know that the clearer employees are on their goals, and how they relate to the department/organizational goals, we see higher levels of engagement among them. As a leader, you need to ensure that employees are clear on their goals and understand how they relate to the overall goals. The clearer that alignment, the more chances employees will be on board moving the organization forward in a highly engaged manner. 

Promote and build a true hybrid environment. If you are fully remote, pick a few days a week when team members will be in the office. If you are already in a hybrid model, ensure the ‘in office’ day for staff is aligned. Our clients tell us the middle of the week seems to work best, leaving employees working remotely on Mondays and Fridays. We know that some team members truly excel working remotely and contribute even more value to the organization than a full-time in-office team member. In order to attract and retain the best talent, you may need to adapt your work model to accommodate both sides of the remote work debate. We recommend not making in-house work mandatory, but that team members make a commitment to others on their team or cross-departmentally what days they will be in the office to help take communication, collaboration, and teamwork to the highest possible level. 

Meet weekly and develop a growth plan. Most team members find engagement easier when they feel they are learning and growing their career with new skills, tasks, or projects. To do this, you will need to meet with your team members individually to find out where they want to grow and their goals. Ask them what growth and development goals they have for their career. Anytime you can align a team member’s goals with a department or organizational goal, increases the chances that your team member is fully engaged. Once the development plan is complete, plan check-in’s with your employees weekly to see how they are doing both personally and professionally. Remember, the most engaged employees rank development as the most important aspect of what they want in a job.

Take action on your Employee Engagement Survey Results. First, if your organization does not currently conduct an Employee Opinion/Engagement Survey, we highly recommend that you do. We recommend that leaders find one or two themes they can focus on and improve based on your Employee Engagement Survey results. The most common improvement themes we see in the surveys we administer for clients are: improved communication; improved cross-division/departmental/branch communication, collaboration and teamwork; holding all team members accountable; adequate staffing to get the work accomplished and meaningful recognition. If you implement consistent actions on one or two of the lowest themes of your survey, leaders can significantly improve their next survey results. Last, we recommend our leaders review the actions their team is taking each quarter and gain feedback from the team. What actions are making a positive difference and what are the team’s recommendations to adapt the action plan.

Hold a consistent team meeting. Weekly is better than bi-weekly and bi-weekly is better than monthly. One of your jobs as a leader is to make team meetings a valuable use of their time. This is the opportunity for everyone on the team to become fully engaged and up to speed on team projects and the contributions of individual team members. You have the opportunity to review team goals and determine, as a team, where we are excelling and where do we have to improve prior to our next meeting. Leaders who have consistent and productive weekly team meetings have higher engagement and accountability scores on their engagement surveys.

Be flexible and adaptable. Today’s work environment is moving and changing faster than any time in history. In my twenties, I was on a non-profit board that had C. Everett Koop as a foundation board member. He was President Ronald Reagan’s first Surgeon General who made the decision to put a warning on the side of a cigarette package…this will kill you. Koop was a strong leader who was bold and opinionated. Dr. Koop gave me a great perspective on dealing with change. One time I asked him in a board meeting why he had so quickly reversed a decision he had made to the board. Dr. Koop looked at me and said, “Son, when I get new information, I quickly react and make a new, appropriate decision that aligns with the environment. What do you do?” I was speechless and the only thing that came to my mind was that I should take copious notes when Dr. Koop gives me advice. We know that flexibility is one of the most valued traits employees look for from an employer. Employees today want an employer who will provide them the flexibility to be successful both on the job and in their personal life.

Recognize and celebrate success. Most leaders do not spend enough time acknowledging and highlighting team and individual success. Many leaders and team members will tell you that they do not need public recognition. It is not true. Team members who publicly state they do not need recognition are saying that to compensate for the fact that they most likely do not get enough recognition. The need to be valued and recognized is one of the highest implicit needs that any person holds. Learn the unique gifts that each of your team members brings to you and the team and ensure that they know how you feel about their contributions to the organizations’ success. 

We know that 70% of an employee’s engagement is directly correlated to their relationship with their supervisor. By raising the level of engagement on your team, you raise the level of productivity, satisfaction, and success.  

Increase engagement on your team by utilizing these tips to make that a reality for your team in 2023.