| | APRIL 20198CIOReviewIN MYOPINIONEmployee engagement. By now, we're all familiar with the term. Many of us include employee engagement as a measurable KPI and deliverable PMO. I've sat through classes and listened to "the experts" extoll the immeasurable benefits of leaving your office door open, bringing in birthday treats, or dropping by your staff's cubicles frequently to inquire how their day is going. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure that stuff works. But inevitably, I do the internal eye-roll when I hear these tips while asking myself, "How am I going to do those things with Fred?" who today is on a 3-hour drive to repair a widget in some little town in the middle of nowhere whose name I can't even pronounce. What about Mary, the analyst who's so good at what she does that we opted to keep her on board remotely when her spouse's job took her half-way across the county?Don't get me wrong. Employee engagement is a very real thing. It weighs heavily on our ability to conduct business and remain financially viable. At the end of the day, it's all about people. We may work on devices, but we work for people. We may deliver products or services, but we deliver these things to people. Disinterested staff leads to a less-than-stellar customer experience which can ruin sales and kill the business. I've also personally witnessed the devastating effects high employee turnover can have on organizations. One need look no further than the rising cost of recruiting and training and of staffing shortage related overtime to see that it's in our best interest to keep great talent. We also know this is a vicious cycle that repeats itself over and over again as other teammates burn out and leave because of increased workload and diminished morale. If that picture isn't dismal enough, we can also look forward to the additional woes associated with favorable job markets, rising demand, decreased talent pools, and the dreaded "millennial effect" of staff which need constant affirmation, have unrealistic career progression expectations, and are already looking for a new job before they're out of orientation. I think the jury's still out on that last one though.But wait. Things aren't as bad as they seem. Come to find out, the aforementioned experts weren't wrong. It's just that the "quick-fix" tricks that we usually latch on to during these training sessions don't work with remote workers and field-based employees. As it turns out, there's a little millennial in all of us. Our hectic lives and constant digital connectivity cause us to quickly scan information in an attempt to pluck out a few useful tidbits and rock on to the next task. Well, it's not that easy. We must ENGAGEMENT IN THE REMOTE WORKFORCEBy Clifford T. Gardner, Jr., ASM, Field Service & Support, Fresenius Kabi
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