If you were to list out the most desirable traits you want your employees to have, at which point do you include passionate employees? Sure, you’re definitely thinking about work ethic, relevant skills, resourcefulness, and even creativity, but a passion for work may not be an immediate priority.
While a good employee could possess all of these characteristics and do a good job, it’s a passionate employee who has a greater impact on overall output.
Keep reading this post to find out what you need to know about finding and fostering passionate employees in your organization.
While employee engagement is highly important for an efficient workforce, passion will ensure that you’re not just efficient but also have the determination to generate amazing products and services. Engagement, alone, doesn’t get you the results you want.
Engagement usually just means your employees are satisfied with the work they do and are active within the company and its culture, among others, both of which can bump performance levels.
For passionate employees, the work they do is meaningful and purposeful. They look for ways to improve themselves and the work they do and have a bigger focus on growth and development. Rather than bumps and dips, you get consistent, steady growth.
Did you know that in the U.S. only 12% of the American workforce is considered passionate?
The reason for this is that companies aren’t creating work environments that foster passionate employees. They perceive the inquisitive and convention-challenging nature of passionate employees as unpredictable and risky.
Organizations need to be trusting of their employees if they expect to achieve great things. If you’re one whose thought process is the same, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity by being risk-averse. Even if you have a powerful mission and your employees are eager to grow, you might be hindering their creativity and development without even realizing it.
In the end, this will also hinder the growth of your company.
Passionate employees are always looking to connect with others and help them improve and solve problems. Their innovative, even disruptive, nature primes them for innovation that drives productivity and growth.
If you allow employees to work on a side project or even let them choose which projects they want to work on, you might be able to encourage that innovative trait. If you want to increase their commitment to work, you would maybe benefit from allowing your employees to hear from your customers directly.
Foster a workplace that encourages passionate employees by removing the component of fear and making your employees more confident to take risks and accepting of failure. Give employees the autonomy they need to become passionate about the work they do.
More importantly, actively encourage them to keep learning.
To begin with, you can use a psychometric assessment that helps you recognize the strengths and weaknesses of candidates before you hire them as employees. Using the insights generated by these tests, you’re able to identify candidates who possess a passion for the work you have on offer.
Similarly, you can utilize a psychometric tool to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your employees within your organization. These tools help you understand their strengths, weaknesses, motivations and interests, giving you a clue about what you need to stir their passion – in the best way!
Regardless of the other desirable qualities an employee possesses, passion is the one trait that can make the most difference to both employee and organizational growth.
Passionate employees do not stop with themselves – they spur others to tap into their passion for the work they do and drive them to achieve bigger and better.
Give these dreamers a chance and a foundation to foster growth in your organization, through passion, for years to come.
