From Our Print Edition

Employees were never more engaged at work than they were in 2020, the year the novel coronavirus pandemic hit, and grocery workers were lauded for the essential role they played in keeping the nation safe and fed. However, according to ongoing research from Gallup, worker engagement in American companies has since fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, leaving employers searching for answers on how to reengage with employees.

Don Fitzgerald

Just 30% of full and part-time workers were highly engaged during the first quarter of 2024, down from 33% in 2023 and 36% in 2020. The last time the level of highly engaged employees was 30% was in 2013. The decline in engagement equates to 4.8 million fewer workers being highly engaged in their jobs now compared to 2023. The difference is 9.6 million workers when compared to 2020. Worse yet, the percentage of actively disengaged workers has increased to 17%, up from 14% when COVID-19 hit.

The most significant decline in highly engaged workers was among Gen Z, a vital employee demographic at retail, down 6% from 2023. According to Gallup, the number of highly engaged workers under 35 fell 5%.

“I think we’ve gone back in some ways to bad habits that were present pre-COVID,” says Don Fitzgerald, a partner in The Partnering Group’s Retail Commerce Practice, Lake Forest, Ill., and former CEO of Dom’s Kitchen & Market. “The challenge here is our workforce has changed. It’s changed with COVID generationally, and we’re not doing as good a job as we were recognizing [that] and making connections with employees and helping them understand how they fit into our mission. They may not want to know the details granularly, but they want to know where they fit in.”

‘Our workforce has changed…and we’re not doing as good a job as we were recognizing [that] and making connections with employees and helping them understand how they fit into our mission.’

TELL EMPLOYEES WHY THEY’RE IMPORTANT

Fitzgerald says that workers rose to the occasion during the pandemic because they understood the importance of doing their jobs well. Grocery leaders communicated the importance of the work being done, and those sentiments were echoed throughout the organization.

“We needed to get the job done. Right? I think leaders have to almost have that same sort of crisis mentality in their minds — although we’re not in a crisis — to show that same sort of passion to their employees.”

Corporate leaders can communicate the importance of the work being done by regularly visiting stores, distribution and fulfillment centers and engaging meaningfully with managers and associates to learn what the front line needs to live up to its responsibilities to customers and the organization.

Research by Gartner finds that 82% of workers say it is important that their employers view them as people, although only 45% say that is actually the case. Store directors and department managers can engage associates through simple acts, such as saying “hello” as they report for work or asking employees how their shift went at the end of the day.

Highly engaged workers are more productive, leading to more satisfied customers.

Fitzgerald says that leaders and managers must not just talk the talk but also walk the walk to get associates to go all in. “A shepherd should smell like his sheep,” he says. “In retail, that means getting in there with the team shoulder-to-shoulder. It doesn’t mean that you have to load trucks all day long, but it’s good practice once in a while to let folks know you’re not above that. We’re in this together. We want to win together. I’m here to listen. I think that’s really important to people.”

Engaging employees directly affects productivity, turn- over, customer service, and, ultimately, profitability. “Back in the day, you would be more likely to say, ‘I’m going to suck it up even though there was bad leadership in the store because I can’t really go anywhere else.’ If I went home and told my parents I just quit, they’d be like, ‘What?’ Right now, if I quit, I’m going to DoorDash. I’m going to Uber. I’m going to be an Instacart shopper. There are other options. So the onus is on leadership to engage associates,” says Fitzgerald.