Strategies for Addressing Disengagement in the Public Sector

As HR professionals we understand the value of employee engagement and that a majority of staff is considered “disengaged”. This presentation will explore what is meant by employee engagement and disengagement and the role of motivators in that process. We will dive into what is within management’s control and what needs to be employee/job-fit driven to create the potential for engagement. It is important to note that engagement is a measure of the level of commitment between the employee and the organization, their absorption in their work, and energy levels while conducting that work. There are a thousand things management can do to disengage their staff but what can we do to engage them? Are we asking the right questions? A small portion of time will also be spent on engagement surveys to increase understanding that their primary focus is on identifying the factors that can lead to disengagement rather than evaluating the level of engagement of staff – this is a common misnomer.

Our Presenter: Jonathan Lappin is the Chief of the Workforce Enhancement Branch in the Office of Human Resources of the National Institutes of Health. His team is responsible for the retention and development components of the Human Capital lifecycle. Their major programs include: orientation, on-boarding, employee engagement, Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, competency modeling, workforce planning and analytics, mentoring, and honorary awards. He has a passion for organizational improvement and has spent 11 years exploring the psychology of federal sector work. He is a lifelong learner with a BS in Biology, a MS in Human Resource Management, an MBA and is currently an Industrial and Organizational Psychology PhD candidate at Capella University.

Primary Learning Objective: This session will help HR professionals and mangers better understand what is meant by employee disengagement and present strategies to start to improve the organization.