EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMNET- HITTING THE NAIL ON HEAD

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Steve Jobs

Take a quick look around your office… do your employees look happy? Are they satisfied with the work place environment and do you feel you can count on them to work under pressure?

Over the past few years employee engagement has become the talk of the town.More and more people are realising the significance of a happy and engaged company culture.

Endorsingemployee engagement in an organization is more like driving a car. The employees control the gas pedal, HR handles the brakes, managers shift gears, leadership keeps track of the map and instructs.  The journey of a business organization, hence, depends on everyone working together, aligning eachs’ efforts.

Not only team work but timed circulation of duties among employees also carries a heavy impact in on employee engagement. With the career progression of the employees, these calculated shifts in responsibilities don’t let the water settle but keep flourishing the organization and help it to grow branches in all directions.

Employee Recognition-The Sum and Substance

Human beings are susceptible to all kinds of emotional predispositions for we are, after all, only human.

The power of recognition and itseffect on employee engagement and withholdingcan’t be undone. General Motors (GM),a global automotive company, shares their magic ingredient of success to be employee recognition. GMemploys more than 160,000 employees across six continents. The company wanted to build, manage, and raise a Recognition and Rewards (R&R) program that would streamline their corporate behaviour, aligning their global GM team.

They launched a GM Recognition Program, to 67,000 employees across 26 countries.Their success stories clearly state the vitality of employee recognition in building a global workforce. However, as Andy Groove (former CEO and co-founder of Intel) says:

“A given managerial approach is not equally effective under all conditions”.

Employee recognition should also be implied while keeping the former in mind. There is a fine line between, otherwise similar, awarding recognition and rendering a physical or monetary reward. Apparently, the underlying motives for these both is the same in terms of boosting the morale of your team. It’s crucial, however, to assess the response of your employees in either cases.

In some instances, a cash bonus may be a hugely motivating factor for someone – but, just a lump of cash, about once it’s spent. Therefore, it is necessary to take some time andcraft thoughtful, symbolic incentives and gestures to make your staff feel that your recognition is heartfelt.

Goal Oriented Hiring

Employee engagement should be kept in mind as a goal while hiring new employees. The new comers should be assessed in terms of values, competency and culture of the company along with considering if the newbie’s salary expectations compensate and aligns with the company’s provision.

To cut the chase, if the candidates can answer two main questions:Can I work here? and Do I want to work here?both with an enthusiastic yes, then they’re ready to engage with your organization.

Engaging the Onboards

Have you ever felt like your brain is on autopilot? Sometimes our monotonous routines are so entrenched, they almost disappear. This feature of human brain forming habits can be one of the reallychallenging to keeping new employees engaged during the onboarding process.

First impressions have amassive impact on new comers. Your newest employees tend to be more observant during the first few weeks towards the organization. If it matches with what you promised during the hiring process, it strengthens the initial good impression from your company paving the way for employee engagement.

So, while onboarding works on many different levels, it’s important not to overlook the training and relationship as it sets a pattern of employee engagement from the start. It will be helpful if you: (i)Make a great first day, (ii)Assign a mentorand (iii)Pace the learning.

Employee Development

Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs to explain how human motivation works. Starting with physical needs,the pyramid extends to self-actualization at the top. While the needs at the base take precedence over those at the top, fulfilling the needs at the top is a solidmeasure of satisfaction.

Employee development can engage employees even better and longer if the team members can see clear succession plans and avail appropriate transparency.