Employee Disengagement is Rife in Government Agencies

Falling revenues, major demographic shifts, and rising citizen demands have become the new normal for government agencies across the U.S. In order to deliver high-quality services to their citizens, the public sector needs to view every city employee as a key contributor to their success.

One of the biggest challenges faced by city administrators is the low engagement and commitment from their employees. However, a major challenge faced by city administrators is the low engagement and commitment levels among their employees. According to Gallup's 2016 "State of Local and State Government Workers' Engagement in the U.S." report, only 29% of full-time local and state government workers are engaged at work.

The cost of disengagement among government employees is staggering. Disengagement results in low retention rates, slow and dispassionate productivity and double work. This costs U.S. taxpayers and estimated $18 billion a year.

Employee disengagement can be reversed. Employees don’t start out disengaged. At the start, they are usually excited at the prospect of a new job and the purpose of government work. The negative culture of the workplace, poor experiences and lack of career development can act like a slow erosion which creates disengagement over time. But those original purposes employees had at the start are still there and can be rehabilitated.

To address this challenge, many government agencies are implementing mentoring programs to increase employee engagement and commitment. Mentoring programs can help employees identify and develop their innate talents and unlock their full potential. These programs can also help employees connect their work to overall agency goals and feel a sense of purpose in their job.

The City of San Antonio is a great example of a city that is succeeding in increasing employee engagement through mentoring programs. They offer their employees a series of training and mentoring programs, and recently created a dedicated "employee engagement coordinator" position to keep these values front and center.

In addition to mentoring programs, cities can also increase employee engagement by frequently praising and recognizing employees' accomplishments, offering personal and career development opportunities, and incorporating employees' ideas. Gathering information about what motivates and activates civil servants through regular employee surveys is also a cost-effective and smart approach.

As local governments continue to face challenges and citizens look to their city halls to solve pressing problems, it is crucial for city leaders to intentionally create a highly engaged culture in every corner of city government. While this solution may require some investment, the potential gains in productivity and innovation are well worth it. By adopting strengths-based practices and investing in mentoring programs, city administrators can help their employees reach their full potential and deliver high-quality services to their citizens.

Mentor Resources can help any company or government agency to leverage technology to create tailored career development programs that are cost-effective. Our mentoring software - Wisdom Share is a cloud-based program that is simple and comes with guided workflows. Included are tools for administrators to attract, enroll, connect, and guide participants. We also provide analytics to ensure you can monitor your employee development program and easily see ROI metrics.

Reach out to us today for a Free Demonstration of our software.