Guide to Better Employee Engagement Top Tips
By Graham Birse
Cairney Partner
Employee engagement. It’s a funny term isn’t it? Implying some potentially awkward encounter with an unknown third party.
It needn’t be so awkward. And yet so many organisations make a right cod of it.
I once worked in a large organisation that ticked all the politically-correct boxes on the HR dashboard, including a strong commitment to employee engagement. The trouble was that this policy was manifested in high-handed statements, punctuated by occasional open-forum sessions with the leadership team, during which no-one asked any difficult questions for fear of being marked down as a malcontent. The organisation had ‘form’ on this last point, so there was good reason to keep your head down.
If this ritual dance sounds familiar to you, then you are not alone. In almost all workplace surveys, communication, or the lack of it, is listed as one of the primary sources of dissatisfaction or disengagement. In other words, meaningful dialogue in an organisation equals knowledge, motivation and productivity. In turn, your employer brand shines brightly, leading to higher levels of recruitment and retention.
Moreover, generations x, y and z are no longer satisfied, as their parents and grandparents were, simply to ‘have a good job’, a mortgage and 2.4 kids. They seek meaningful relationships in the workplace and an appropriate work/life balance.
The frustration for many of us working in the field is that there is plenty of literature and guidance available. The CIPD says that: “Employee engagement goes beyond motivation and simply job satisfaction. It should be seen as a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values and a willingness to help colleagues.”
Just think about that last point- and what a powerful motivational force it can be if and when the people in your organisation mobilise behind its values and, genuinely, show a willingness to help colleagues.
I came across a fine example of that only yesterday in an organisation I’ve been working with. At short notice, a contract was awarded, and the client demanded a final report by December 31. The individual best placed to service the contract, who worked in a parallel team, knew nothing of the award until a colleague asked them if they could take it on. So, instead of attending the office Christmas party and night out, he worked on to complete the assignment. And probably saved himself a massive hangover in the morning! That, ladies and gentlemen, is living the values of your organisation.
So here are my top 10 tips for improving your employee engagement:
Respect people as individuals. We are all different. Understand that and build meaningful relationships at every level in your organisation.
Measure your performance. On the basis that you can’t improve what you don’t measure, carry out at least one annual workplace survey and act on the recommendations.
Assign responsibility. Communications fail when individuals fail to step up to the plate. Ensure your managers and team leaders understand their responsibility in building effective engagement- and hold their feet to the fire if they don’t.
Prioritise word of mouth. Avoid issuing significant news by e mail. Meetings and briefings may be time consuming- but they’ll save you a whole lot of trouble in the long run, especially if your team leaders are capable of handling the questions and dialogue that follows.
Listen to your people. It seems obvious- but many leaders don’t demonstrate this skill. I once worked for a CEO who conducted conversations of the ‘I speak, you listen; you speak, I interrupt,’ variety. Implying what you have to say is of little value to them.
Develop social media platforms. Choose the best platforms for your organisation- and work to build a meaningful rapport. Encourage content by developing informal dialogue, celebrating successes, recognising people.
Relinquish control. Understand that beyond the fundamental issues around pay and conditions, most communication should be engendered between and among teams.
Bottom up, not top down. Keep the megaphone in your drawer. Create the environment in which people and teams are comfortable in sharing knowledge at every level.
Be creative. Ensure your social media content is in the hands of people with the creative skill to produce or edit content that your people find interesting, informative, even funny.
Don’t give up. The world of internal newsletters is littered with one-hit wonders. Persevere with it and, especially, survey your people to ensure that the content you moderate is what they want to read or hear.
