The New Era of Employee Engagement Begins with Events
You can measure employee dedication and connection to an organization by “employee engagement.” Employee engagement has emerged as a crucial success factor in today’s competitive corporate environment. High levels of engagement encourage talent retention, develop consumer loyalty, and enhance organizational performance and shareholder value. According to executives worldwide, increasing employee engagement is one of the top five worldwide company initiatives.
Engagement is critical to customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and shareholder value. It can also substantially impact staff retention, productivity, and loyalty. Organizations are increasingly looking to HR to determine the direction of employee commitment and engagement to gain a competitive advantage. Gallup reported that only 33% of American workers are actively engaged in their employment. Most businesses still have a lot of work to do to realize their workforce’s full potential because 52 percent of employees claim to be “simply showing up,” and 17 percent identify as “actively disengaged.”
Social cohesiveness, feeling supported by one’s supervisor, information sharing, shared goals, vision, communication, and trust can all impact engagement and productivity. Workers want to be appreciated and valued and know that their work matters and their opinions are serious. Highly engaged employees are more dedicated to their employers and more productive.
Driving Factors of Employee Engagement
An extensive study exists to identify the variables that affect employee engagement levels. There are organizational drivers and management drivers, according to the research. Employee involvement may decline in the current digital era due to decreased interpersonal communication and an increase in on-demand technology, including chats, Text messaging, social media updates, and news feeds.
Organizational Drivers: Employee engagement drivers at the corporate level exist in certain studies.
Quantum Workplace has found six factors that most significantly affect employee engagement, the research company behind the “Best Places to Work” programs in more than 47 metro areas:
- This organization’s leaders are committed to building a great workplace.
- The organization’s leaders can be relied upon to steer it in the correct direction. A conviction that the organization will succeed in the future comprehension of its role in the organization’s future goals.
- People are the most valuable resource to the organization’s leaders.
- The company makes investments to increase employee success.
Managers as Drivers: When employees have pleasant interactions with their immediate managers or supervisors daily, employee engagement rises significantly. The following actions of a direct supervisor are in line with employee engagement:
- The “Q12” from Gallup consists of 12 principal components closely related to meaningful business outcomes. These factors relate to what the employee receives (e.g., clear expectations, resources), what the person offers (e.g., individual contributions), whether the individual fits in the organization (e.g., based on the corporate mission and coworkers), and whether the employee has the opportunity to grow (e.g., by getting feedback about work and opportunities to learn).
- Employees have a positive relationship with their supervisors.
- Employees have the tools they need to execute their jobs properly.
- Employees have the necessary authority to do their jobs properly.
- Employees can make their own work decisions.
The New Era of Employee Engagement
Covid-19 is still teaching businesses many things worldwide, including how crucial employee engagement has become for them to survive in the post-pandemic era. In actuality, putting a strong emphasis on employee engagement has never been more critical.
By now, everyone is aware that organizations with engaged employees outperform those without one by about 202% and that companies with highly engaged staff see a 10% rise in customer satisfaction and a 20% increase in revenue. Over the past year, engagement has grown significantly in importance while becoming more genuine in its application. It is more than just ping-pong tables and complimentary lunches.
Change in the Approach to Employee Engagement
The truth is that three critical areas have helped firms develop their personnel strategy to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic successfully. These businesses have put internal plans in place to see their post-COVID-19 employee action plan develop into one that:
Is Human: The post-COVID-19 era of employee engagement must be inclusive, targeted, and, most importantly, human. HR stepped in as the partner businesses needed and their people wanted when employees needed clarification about where to turn, what resources were available, or whether they were waking up to losing their job. Employees will want to work for companies that prioritize their people and demonstrate their care for them through meaningful recognition, honest and open communication, and inclusive well-being. To give workers a voice and positively impact cultural transformation, leaders can achieve this by establishing channels for open and honest dialogue and feedback. Addressing every demographic in your workforce
Innovation: Budgetary restrictions and a changing workplace environment require new working methods, including learning to accomplish more with less money, personnel, and time. How, without impeding future business growth, can HR collaborate with their company to best connect, acknowledge, and support their people? Businesses that continuously innovate within these limitations will outperform their rivals. Thus it’s essential to learn how to create dual- and multi-purpose solutions to everyday business problems. The engagement strategy won’t change with a check-the-box solution that only fulfills one function, and the financial constraints that many businesses are experiencing won’t get help either.
Agile: Employee engagement is crucial for business expansion. This is a fact. Yet, organizations need engaged people in a post-COVID-19 environment to effectively reform and progress. That being said, businesses must adopt an agile strategy for employee engagement, be ready to recognize that their initial plan might not be their only one and be flexible to meet the evolving demands of their organization and workforce. The people who can quickly change course to implement worthwhile projects are the ones who will endure.
As a result of these factors, it is obvious how crucial it is for businesses to recognize the significance of employee engagement at this particular time. They need to locate the appropriate instruments to maintain the momentum and strengthen their company in the post-COVID-19 era. Employee morale has become a constant concern for businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as employees worry about their health, safety, and employment.
According to mental health provider Ginger, 62% of workers surveyed claimed to have lost at least one hour per day of productivity due to the stress connected to COVID-19, with more than a third of them losing more than two hours per day.
Employee morale, which refers to your workers’ general outlook and attitude, has historically been among the most crucial factors for businesses. But in a constantly shifting workplace, morale can quickly deteriorate if it is not supported and cared for by the company.
Engage Your Employees
- Capture employee voices – Employers should continuously practice active listening. You can record different staff voices in different ways. Locate software that enables you to use engagement, pulse, and lifecycle surveys to gather, analyze, and respond to employee input.
- Set and track employee, team, and organizational goals – Employees need clarity and a sense of purpose to be completely engaged and successful. Your software for employee engagement should assist teams in setting, monitoring, and debating goals. It should demonstrate and promote goal alignment between the individual, the group, and the organization.
- Give and receive feedback – Continuous feedback is crucial for performance and engagement. Workers must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Use software that makes it simple and frequent for your managers and employees to provide and receive feedback.
- Provide recognition – When workers feel their efforts are not appreciated, they won’t give it their all. A great technique to inspire workers is acknowledging their efforts and rewarding them with unique perks and incentives. Numerous businesses express appreciation by providing prizes and certificates, while others prefer rewarding their staff with gift cards or offering cash incentives. Therefore, your rewards policy should align with your corporate culture and business policies.
- Take regular follow-ups – Gathering employee input is a crucial first step. Yet, follow-ups are present in the most successful employee engagement programs. According to research, workers whose supervisors follow up with them after a survey are 12 times more likely to be engaged the following year than those who don’t. In other words, the value of feedback depends on the actions it motivates. Collect data, communicate it to your people’s leaders, and encourage them to act on the issues that matter.
Final Note
Employee engagement doesn’t have to be a gamble. You can develop focused and effective plans when you know the factors influencing engagement inside your firm. You must monitor, evaluate, and adapt when you obtain additional information and make adjustments.
A new era of engagement has arrived, replacing the days of the yearly engagement survey. Successful companies know how important their employees are to the business’s success. Employee engagement has evolved from a straightforward annual study to a solid and crucial corporate strategy.
You have to make a significant transformation commitment before you can start enhancing employee engagement. In your organization, involvement should be a must.
The author Aishwarya Khan Bhaduri is the Content Manager at Engagedly Inc., an award-winning People + Strategy Platform. Experienced Leader, Digital & Content Marketer, Consultant, Writer, and Editor with a demonstrated history of working in the HR, B2B, SaaS, B2C, Leisure, Food, Travel & Tourism industry.
Other than that, a Certified Yoga Teacher, Pranic Healer, and Spiritual Practitioner is on the side.
– Gravatar’s email ID is aishwaryakhanbhaduri@gmail.com.
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About the Author / Ana Almeida
