The Band-Aid Approach: A Common Leadership Pitfall in Employee Engagement

When it comes to employee engagement, there are any number of mistakes that leaders make, and one of the most common is taking a Band-Aid approach.

This means providing quick-fix solutions, and thinking they’re going to make a difference in the emotional commitment that employees feel towards their company and its goals, the very definition of employee engagement.

Things like:

* Free food
* Gourmet coffee bars
* Subsidized gym memberships
* Employee discount programs
* Free classes
* Annual picnics

These are all nice to have, and employees probably won’t complain. However, by themselves, they will do nothing to improve employee engagement and, therefore, culture.

They won’t solve any of the business problems that employers may be experiencing when employees are disengaged, like low productivity, high turnover, or an inability to attract top candidates.

This is because they are a surface level response, as opposed to a sustainable, long-term solution that gets to the heart of engaging employees and turning cultures around, leading to great workplaces and companies becoming employers of choice.

The role of the Band-Aid is basic first aid, and not the treatment of more serious issues.