Employee Engagement - don’t make it sound like the latest initiative
"Go on then Engage Me"
I can still recall the session to this day. A group of burly regional managers sat around the boardroom table, summoned to head office to hear about employee engagement. Just as I was about to share my thoughts, one delegate kicked it off to the amusement of everyone…
“Go on then, engage me”.
You could cut the cynicism with a knife - but presenting can sometimes be a bit like stand-up comedy, you have to win the audience over. At least it broke the ice - and beneath the titters, there was a fair point being made.
The truth is - employee engagement shouldn’t be like this. It’s not an initiative, an add-on, a course, a nice to have - it should be much deeper and ingrained in the business. Get it right and you don’t even have to call it employee engagement.
You wouldn’t call a house structurally sound - it’s a given. It’s the same with engaged employees - successful organisations feel the benefits at the core of what they do - and when it’s done right it’s embedded in the foundations.
There is a clear business case for focusing on employee engagement - so how do you make it ‘real’ - and not sound like an initiative?
1) Stop talking about ‘employee engagement’.
You might be surprised to hear this coming from an employee engagement specialist but, it really doesn’t help you at the ‘sharp end’ where employees can be naturally cynical about anything that looks like an initiative - as I know! Effective employee engagement comes naturally from the way you run your business. It’s about discovering and then reinforcing the right culture and values for your business - not a ‘forced fit’ to engagement theory.
2) Don’t delegate it to HR and tick the ‘done’ box
Everyone in the business owns employee engagement - and that especially includes the leadership. You are all in it together and it succeeds because you foster an environment of openness and shared opinion where everyone can feel their views count. If you don’t feel this is happening, allocate time and budget to someone who is qualified to help you create a plan - they will, as I do, help you take it forward across all of the business.
3) Start undertaking research and actions
To understand what is turning your people on, and what might be driving them crazy - start by finding out what they really feel with a properly constructed and anonymous survey. Talk to them, listen to them and most importantly take action. Then track and monitor progress and tell them how it is.
4) Keep telling the story in lots of different ways
Spot opportunities to reinforce your vision, brand and values. Make them emotive, believable and a source of inspiration. You can do this through every stage of the employee journey - from recruitment and induction, performance management, career development - even through to leaving the organisation. Having leavers still feel engaged and positive can be hugely beneficial in today’s reputation led world.
5) Don’t forget the simple stuff
The smallest things often have the biggest impact. Making staff feel positive about doing a good job works every time. There is a saying that people join organisations but feel like they are leaving a manager. It’s often because of lack of recognition - which is so easy to do and costs nothing. And don’t forget to surprise your people once in a while - do something different. Get the ice creams in, share a meal together - everyone feels valued and equal.
Research shows that more 75% of organisations want to improve employee engagement - but less than 20% have a strategy to do anything about it. If you would like our help - or even just an informal chat on the phone - please get in touch.
http://www.enrich-hr.co.uk/get-in-touch
Posted on: Friday 4th July 2014