The Massive Crisis of Employee Disengagement, with Andrew J. Sherman

Episode 15:

Andrew Sherman is a partner in the Corporate Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and serves as the Corporate office chair for the Washington, D.C. team. He focuses his practice on issues affecting business growth for companies at all stages, including developing strategies for licensing and leveraging intellectual property and technology assets, intellectual asset management and harvesting, as well as international corporate transactional and franchising matters.

He has served as a legal and strategic advisor to dozens of Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of emerging growth companies. He has represented U.S. and international clients from early-stage, rapidly growing start-ups, to closely-held franchisors and middle-market companies, to multibillion-dollar international conglomerates. He also counsels on issues such as franchising, licensing, joint ventures, strategic alliances, capital formation, distribution channels, technology development, and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Sherman has written nearly 30 books on the legal and strategic aspects of business growth, franchising, capital formation, and the leveraging of intellectual property, most of which can be found on Amazon. He also has published many articles on similar topics and is a frequent keynote speaker at business conferences, seminars, and webinars. He has appeared as a guest commentator on CNN, NPR, and CBS News Radio, among others, and has been interviewed on legal topics by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and other publications.

Mr. Sherman serves as an adjunct professor in the M.B.A. programs at the University of Maryland and as well as the law school at Georgetown University and is a multiple recipient of the University of Maryland at College Park’s Krowe Excellence in Teaching Award.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why Andrew felt compelled to write his book Crisis of Disengagement from the perspective of a concerned citizen rather than a subject-matter expert
  • How a Gallup study revealed that 19% of workers describe themselves as actively disengaged, 52% are not engaged, 25% are somewhat engaged, and only 4% are deeply engaged
  • Why the not engaged and actively disengaged employees tend to stay in their jobs, and why it is the 4% of employees who are deeply engaged who tend to leave
  • What deep underlying causes have resulted in such a huge percentage of the workforce being disengaged from their employers
  • How the disengagement crisis can have a significant negative impact on a company’s overall valuation, and why culture is increasingly becoming a driver of enterprise value
  • Why the business landscape is beginning to change and the market is starting to recognize the overarching value of a strong company culture
  • What first steps a business leader can take to address engagement issues within their organization, and why seeking outside help is critical
  • Why disengagement isn’t a generational issue, and why conducting corporate social responsibility (CSR) the right way is an important pillar of employee engagement
  • What results Andrew has obtained from his research into automation and AI and their impact on employee engagement in the workplace of the future
  • Why employee disengagement can create other serious problems like anxiety, depression, stress, substance abuse, fraud, wellness and safety issues, and many, many others

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