6 Strategies for Fighting Your "Internal Terrorists"

Ter-ror-ist
A person that causes extreme fear.

The term “terrorist” conjures up images of evil-doers like Osama bin Laden. But did you know that you have internal terrorists bent on sabotaging your best efforts?

When the Gallup Organization measured engagement levels of 80,000 employees they found that:
28% of the employees were engaged.
Engaged employees work with passion.  Because they feel a strong connection to the organization, they work hard to innovate and improve.
54% were not engaged.
Employees do the work expected of them, but do not put in extra effort.
17 % were actively disengaged
Employees in this category are not only unhappy; they are spreading their unhappiness to other staff. According to the Gallup Management Journal, “Actively disengaged” employees — those fundamentally disconnected from their jobs — cost the U.S. economy between $292 billion and $355 billion a year.”
Engagement pays off in higher productivity, lower costs and most importantly highly satisfied and loyal customers. Many managers I know focus their efforts on getting the 54 % of employees who are disengaged to be more engaged. After working as a consultant in this field for many years I recommend that managers also make every effort to reduce the number of “actively disengaged” employees, or what I call “internal terrorists.”

Six strategies for reducing the impact internal terrorists have on your organization.

1. Get them on your side.
Many unhappy employees are talented “informal leaders” who have a knack for influencing the opinions of their co-workers. Put their talents to work by giving them an opportunity to get involved in new initiatives.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate and then communicate some more.
Get out in front of the rumor mill by sharing information. If you don’t provide the facts and information your employees crave, you can bet that your local terrorist will gladly fill that void with damaging dis-information.
3.  Have a friendly chat.
Many unhappy employees feel that they are not being heard and are misunderstood. If you haven’t met with these individuals one to one recently, do it soon. Every unhappy employee is dissatisfied for a combination of reasons. Find out what those reasons are and see what you can do to help.
4. Consider the possibility that they could be right.
It’s easy to pigeonhole an employee as troublemaker or pain in the rear. Try putting judgment aside and listen to what your unhappy employees have to say. It is very possible they could be right.
5. Thwart toxic talk and gossip.
If left unchecked, chronic negativity (often driven by disgruntled employees) kills morale and can destroy organizations. When you overhear employees making negative comments about another department for example, let them know that is unacceptable. The same applies to gossip. Don’t do it and don’t tolerate it.
6. Help your disengaged employees make a “career decision.”
It’s entirely possible that these unhappy people are in the wrong job. If so, help him or her find the right match. They will be happier and so will everyone else.

In a nutshell, the best anti-terrorism strategy is to communicate with employees frequently and listen closely to what they have to say.