If you’re wondering what ratatouille has to do with employee engagement, here’s an alarming statistic … in their State of the Global Workplace 2022 report, Gallup discovered that only 21% of employees were engaged at work.

Flipped on its head, this means that almost 8 out of 10 workers worldwide are actively disengaged.

So, time for employers to start being more innovative in their approaches to increase engagement levels.

Which is where we need the ratatouille.

Because unlocking engagement is rooted in an organization’s Meaning, Values, Goals, and Responsibilities.

Or, more memorably, by Making Very Gooey Ratatouille!

Meaning – As Simon Sinek famously said, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why do you it”. While he was talking about consumers, this ideology is very applicable to employees, too. As a leader, knowing how to demonstrate the purpose of your work to your team highlights its importance. Motivating and inspiring passion in people about what they do is the best way of engaging them. This rings especially true when you look at the results of one poll which found that 90% of respondents said that work should bring a sense of meaning to their life. If leaders are actively supplying that meaning, and highlighting the value of what each individual employee does and why they are doing it, this will no doubt lead to a more engaged workforce.

Values – This is in reference to the way in which leaders train people to create and deliver output. Leading with purpose requires a methodology that reflects the values that the company holds, and so it is important to ensure that the way the products and services are created and delivered highlights their purpose and need.  

Goals – Employers need to be able to depict the bigger picture to their teams, and this means being clear and concise about how the company is going to achieve its goals. This requires leaders to be mapping out what needs to happen in order to get from point A to point B smoothly. By doing so, they will be instilling faith in their abilities and bring their ‘leading with meaning’ mindset to life as their staff will be able to see the end result.  

Responsibility – Lastly, members of a team need to know who is responsible for doing what. Each employee will play an integral role in the success of an organization, but in order to do so their responsibilities must be made clear. Leaders have to make a point of ensuring everyone knows what is expected of them, and then apply this ‘meaningful mindset’ to those responsibilities. This will result in each member of staff being fully engaged and prepared to do what is needed of them in order to fulfil their part in reaching the end goal.

By combining these four ingredients together, employers are sure to be making very gooey ratatouille that will see employee engagement skyrocket, as well as the production of high-quality output, and an increased likelihood of retention!

To discuss how you can start implementing this strategy into your leadership team, please get in touch with me at andy@orgshakers.com