Top 5 Best Employee Engagement Practices You Should Follow in 2021
Employee engagement practices can make you a powerhouse. We have seen a massive turnaround in the way companies use data, analytics and automation to scale productivity and agility within their organization. This article provides a quick insight on the top five Best Employee Engagement Practices you could adopt this year.
Finding talent is not easy. Finding talent with the right attitude is even harder. Hiring an employee bears costs to every business which is why employee engagement and retention is indispensable for the recruiters. Motivating employees is easier said than done, but looking at some key attributes you might have overlooked in your organization will go a long way.
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Employee engagement depends largely on the emotional connection an employee has with the organization. An employee’s mental and emotional commitment towards the organization and their job is fueled by their belief in the organization itself.
Therefore, to ensure consistent performance and productivity, you could tap the 5 best engagement drivers listed below:
Communicate the Company’s Work Culture
Remote work culture might be the best thing to have happened for companies that traditionally suffered from employee disengagement. According to Gallup’s study, 41 percent of the millennial workforce working remotely are found to be more engaged compared to on-site workers (30%). During the pandemic, companies worked extremely hard and passionately to adopt, promote and communicate their values and ideas related to ‘remote working’ trends.
That’s why we should focus on communicating effectively to employees if your target is to meet the world-class employee engagement benchmarks
At the heart of successful employee engagement lies the core values that the company runs on. It is these values and ideals that the company believes in, that create an employee’s ‘belongingness’ to the organization.
Promoting the core values consistently is one of the best ways to nurture employee connection to the organization.
Employee Recognition and Appreciation
Knowing that your work is valuable in achieving the organizations long-term goals boosts productivity. Rewarding top performers is the key to drive engagement.
Additionally, building an atmosphere where employees acknowledge their peers would boost engagement.
Providing Opportunities for Growth
An organization that invests in its employee’s career would have no difficulty retaining them. Training and development initiatives indicate that the organization has chosen to invest in its people and cares for their professional growth. Having this assurance in turn has a major impact in an employee’s commitment towards his/her organization.
Ensuring Clarity and Accountability
Giving the right task to the employee/team member is of utmost importance. Further, ensuring that he/she has clarity and the confidence to fulfill what is required of them is necessary for achieving results. As much as challenges and growth opportunities motivate an individual to give their best, the small accomplishments of tasks at hand boost their confidence to take up those challenges and additional responsibility. Hence proper training and support are invaluable for employee engagement.
Nurturing Inspired Teams
Employee engagement practices can’t be designed without understanding the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At any workplace, manager’s trust and faith play big role in influencing employee engagement. These could be shown in the form of verbal appreciation, rewards and recognition. This also influences group bonding as trust and accountability is essential within team members to operate smoothly.
Frictions over decisions and methods of working are bound to pop up. Creating a space for honest feedback is necessary for resolution of conflicts within teams. Encouraging transparency and proactive resolution strategies within teams is required to prevent distrust and loss of confidence in the leaders and team members.
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In conclusion, let us look at one of the most successful companies globally – the TATA Group which has been repeatedly awarded for its employee engagement in North America. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) comes across with the highest retention rate in the industry. Their ability to retain talent across all age groups stems from their focus on fostering meaningful career paths for the employees and supporting them in maintaining a work-life balance.
The approach TCS follows is three-pronged:
- a) Exposure for employees to work globally and across diverse sectors, thereby providing the opportunity for learning and building new skills.
- b) Focus on developing the attitude than skill of an employee. This starts at the stage of recruiting. Individuals who are naturally inquisitive and eager to learn and develop are hired.
- c) A fundamental element of employee engagement is building a positive and enjoyable workplace. A vibrant culture not only attracts talent, but also ensures the ultimate goal- productivity.
There is a no ‘one size fits all’ approach for employee engagement. The solution is to view employees beyond their work persona’s. TCS views its people across four critical areas: Work, Family, Leisure and Community Engagement. Like many large organizations, they have created their own social network, Knome, for all TCS employees to facilitate interaction and collaboration in projects.
Technology has helped in increasing engagement in ways beyond our imagination! As per the study in 2016 by Forrester Research, over 63 million Americans were working virtually. It only makes sense to make the best use of technology for engagement.
Flexibility in work has been a major perk enjoyed in today’s virtual work scenario, leading to less stress for employees, higher morale and fewer days of missing work. Further, by incorporating tools for community-building, co-creation and gamification during training and daily activities – companies have witnessed increased employee motivation.
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]