Your ‘Staffing Crisis’ Might Be an Engagement Crisis

Based on global engagement surveys by organizations like Gallup and Press Ganey, only about one third of employees are engaged, while two thirds are either disengaged or actively disengaged.

In many ways an organization is like a 10-cylinder engine in a work vehicle, where each of the cylinders represents an employee.

Imagine right now, only three cylinders are working at full capacity, five are working sporadically, and two are actively undermining the engine’s effectiveness.

Instead of simply adding more engines (hiring more people), the solution lies in improving the cylinders you’ve got.

This means understanding the behaviors that drive your employees, recognizing their social needs, and applying a structured model like CABLES to get the engine firing on all cylinders.

Understanding the Social Drivers

To effectively improve your workforce, it’s crucial to understand what motivates and drives your employees—what fuels their engagement.

Employees are not simply cogs in the machine; they are complex individuals with social needs and emotional drivers.

According to David Rock’s SCARF model, these needs include Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness. Each of these drivers can either fuel engagement or contribute to disengagement.

For instance, employees who feel undervalued or unnoticed (lack of status) may be like the cylinders that are sputtering sporadically or working against the rest of the engine.

When employees don’t feel secure in their role (certainty), they might disengage, making the project stall.

A lack of relatedness, or not feeling connected to their colleagues, can turn a team member into a disruptive force, actively undermining others.

Applying the CABLES Model

This is where the CABLES model can help. By applying the six key behaviors—Consistency, Appreciation, Belongingness, Listening, Empathy, and Specifics—leaders can address the drivers of engagement and work to get all cylinders firing effectively.

Consistency

To get your engine running smoothly, you need consistent behavior from your employees. If some cylinders are working sporadically, the inconsistency could be because employees lack a stable, predictable environment.

Consistency in leadership and expectations creates a foundation where employees can rely on clear guidelines and support, reducing uncertainty and increasing engagement.

Appreciation

Appreciation fuels motivation. When employees feel appreciated for their contributions, their status is reinforced. This appreciation leads to greater trust and a stronger sense of belongingness.

Employees who feel valued are more likely to engage fully and work in alignment with team goals, contributing to the overall performance of the engine.

Belongingness

Employees who feel a sense of belonging are like cylinders firing smoothly in a high-performance engine. If your workforce is disengaged, it’s often because employees feel isolated or disconnected from the larger mission.

Building a culture of belongingness helps employees feel they are part of something bigger than themselves, encouraging them to actively contribute and collaborate with others.

Listening

Effective listening is essential to address the needs of employees. When you listen to your employees, you can identify pain points and gaps that are preventing them from performing at their best.

Listening to both the verbal and non-verbal cues—observing body language and tone—ensures that your employees feel heard and understood, which strengthens their connection to the team and enhances performance.

Empathy

Empathy enables leaders to connect with employees on a deeper level. When employees know their leader understands their challenges and aspirations, they are more likely to overcome obstacles and re-engage.

Empathy also helps address those two "problem" cylinders that are working against the team. Understanding the root causes of disengagement allows leaders to find solutions that restore balance and improve performance.

Specifics

Finally, providing specifics—clear expectations, concrete goals, and measurable outcomes—ensures that employees know what is expected and how they contribute to the team’s success.

Specifics remove ambiguity and guide employees toward a shared objective, allowing the engine to work in unison and at full power.

A Holistic Approach to Improving Engagement

When you integrate the CABLES model into your leadership approach, you begin to address the root causes of disengagement.

The employees who are sporadically working or actively working against the team will respond positively to behaviors like appreciation, listening, and consistency.

Over time, this can turn your 10-cylinder engine into a smooth, high-performing machine where more cylinders is firing optimally.

Instead of focusing only on hiring more people to fix your staffing issues, focus on engaging your existing workforce.

When employees feel appreciated, heard, and supported, they will engage at higher levels, working together to achieve the shared goals of the organization.

In the end, the key to improving performance lies not in adding more people, but in maximizing the potential of the people you already have.

By applying the CABLES model and understanding the social drivers that affect engagement, you’ll ensure that every cylinder in your engine is working efficiently, and your organization will run at full capacity.