Employee engagement has always been a popular topic in most HR and training circles and even more so in the current environment we are experiencing, which I shared on our leadership blog.
In today’s highly competitive talent market, to keep your employees, they need to be satisfied and engaged. While employee satisfaction measures how happy your employees are at work, it’s not the same as employee engagement.
An engaged employee is committed to the company’s success and not just their own. The last few years have seen a huge shift in the mindset of our employees, which I talked about in detail here. Their priorities moved as they lived through uncertainty on the one hand and more freedom away from the office on the other.
The Uncomfortable Data About Disengaged Employees
Some organisations have realised and have a new focus on engagement, while others are slow to move, and if you need more convincing, here are a few unsettling facts.
Across Europe, many organisations have vacancies they have not experienced for over fifteen years, according to a post by the manpower group in Brussels.
There are multiple reasons why this is the case, and engagement is a key factor. Though increased pay rises initially fuelled people to move last year, Gallup also reported the shocking stat that it takes more than a 20% pay raise to lure most employees away from a manager who engages them, and next to nothing to poach most disengaged workers.
According to the same Gallup report, employee turnover isn’t the only concern when it comes to poor engagement; the loss of productivity relating to not engaged and actively disengaged employees is equal to 18% of their annual salary.
The same report identifies global employee engagement at around 20% as a huge problem for many organisations.
So, what are the new rules of engagement that organisations need to action.
1. Meet Employees Where They Are With a Caring Culture
Company culture changed when the pandemic hit two years ago. Suddenly creating and maintaining a culture happened virtually, and in reality, managers and leaders made a concerted effort to do everything they could to create connections.
In line with several Covid-driven initiatives, this has dropped across many companies, and in some cases, employees are ‘made’ to feel the odd one out if they aren’t keen to return to the office.
It’s crucial that people are cared about and cared for. Where we live and work no longer has a dividing line, which needs to be considered when our team members ask for flexibility in where and how they work.
Being able to ‘ask’ is critical, which isn’t always the case.
Every employee needs to feel they have someone at work they can turn to for help when needed – whether it’s for mental health support or time off, which is especially important as employee burnout is increasing.
2. Uplevel Your Leadership Capability
Our last blog on developing leadership skills for the new hybrid economy had a deeper dive into this topic, and I encourage you to go back and cross-check where you have the skills required now and what might be missing. Advanced communications skills will be a key driver for many, alongside developing your self-awareness and coaching capability.
More than ever, our teams need to be heard and not just listened to.
3. Uplevel Technology
I work with many organisations across the globe that have gone in and out of lockdown and travel restrictions over the past year. Add into this medically vulnerable employees and getting together for a team training session or meeting isn’t exactly smooth.
Yet many different streaming services and messenger channels can keep a team connected. Many use Slack productively, though consider establishing guidelines, so your team neither under nor over-communicate.
One team I work with has a team video channel running all the time. This isn’t about checking if someone is working or at their desk; however, it does create, at some level, an office vibe that some people do appreciate and miss.
It also encourages conversation when someone has a question which doesn’t always happen in a remote situation.
What options might be available for you to deploy with your team? This leads me onto the classic Stephen Covey mantra; start as you mean to go on.
4. Uplevel Your Onboarding To Establish Engagement
Zippia, a well-respected career website, shared data earlier in the year that confirms the power of onboarding.
- Organisations with robust onboarding processes increase new hire retention by 82% and improve productivity by 70%.
- 88% of employees believe that their company doesn’t do a great job when it comes to onboarding new employees.
- 58% of organisations have onboarding programs that primarily involve processes and paperwork.
- Employees who attend a structured orientation program are 69% more likely to remain at the company for at least three years.
For many people reading this post, you may think your onboarding is working well, though, is it?
A logical question when you read that approaching 90% of our employees think their onboarding wasn’t fabulous and nearly 60 % of onboarding focuses on paperwork.
This data is especially relevant when many organisations, especially the ones we work with at Zestfor, have a hybrid/remote workforce where the initial team meet and greet is no longer in person.
Pre 2020, a new starter would quickly get to know their colleagues in the office, at the coffee machine, or working at adjacent desks. It’s now a completely different experience. To ensure newcomers feel connected, finding an alternative to those informal chats is important. This may require much more planning than before, whether digital or face-to-face, but it is worth it.
Peer support can also play a vital role in your engagement strategy for new starters and become a self-perpetuating system for wellbeing.
5. What Gets Measured Gets Made
A truth that what we consistently measure creates an intentional focus needs to be applied to improve our engagement. Organisations that use engagement surveys, ask challenging questions, and then critically act on the results will have a more engaged workforce and consequently happier employees who are more productive.
Until next time,
Julia
How We Can Help You Help Your Hybrid Team
Our range of leadership development programmes focuses on supporting you to improve your leadership capability to build engaged teams, especially in our current turbulent environment. This will lead to better relationships and staff retention, which is particularly critical, as I alluded to in this post.
Click here to find out more or call one of our team on 0845 548 0833.
About Zestfor
Zestfor specialises in developing leadership Training programmes and resources scientifically tailored for technical markets – including Pharmaceutical, IT, and Life Sciences.
Our blend of in-classroom, online, and virtual live-stream delivery methods will engage and assure even the most introverted team members from the first meeting – whether face-to-face or virtually. So, to have a brief chat, call us on 0845 548 0833.
