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Workers with multiple skill sets can be a huge asset as fast-moving trends reshape modern businesses faster and faster.
And while some employees are happy to remain in their current roles and fine-tune their skills occasionally, others crave constant learning and growth. They need something to aspire to, like the opportunity to advance within the company or move between departments.
Between your need to keep up with changing times and your employees’ desires to build their repertoires, it’s time to consider upskilling as well as reskilling your workforce.
Never heard of that second one? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know.
What Does it Mean to Upskill or Reskill My Workforce?
Upskilling refers to training your workforce on new skills to enhance their current positions. Reskilling is all about teaching new skills that can help workers transition into different roles. It’s nice to know both terms, but as both are critical to the overall goal — which is future-proofing your team — we’ll use them somewhat interchangeably as we refer to helpful strategies in this article.
Reskilling and upskilling can involve training programs, workshops, courses, and other opportunities that reinforce existing skills or teach new ones. The idea is to help employees keep up with work changes and prepare them for new challenges. With the rapidly changing reliance on technology, some employees can feel intimidated and worried they’ll fall behind.
It also helps with career development. Reskilling employees makes them more versatile and valuable in their current role and any other role they may need — or want — to fill within your organization.
Helping employees gain more skills and remain useful is good for both the company and the employees. It helps your company stay ahead in a fast-changing world and gives employees better job opportunities and satisfaction.
What Are the Benefits of Upgrading Workforce Skills?
Part of being a good employer involves investing in learning and development. But, aside from wanting to show your workforce you care about their well-being, reskilling can be part of your talent retention strategy.
But there are even more benefits of reskilling your workforce:
Fills Gaps Without Hiring New People: Sometimes, you need skills your team doesn’t have. Instead of hiring new people, you can teach your existing employees those skills. This saves time and money on recruitment.
Boosts Employee Morale and Loyalty: When you invest in teaching your employees new skills, they feel valued. This makes them happier at work and more likely to stick around, reducing turnover.
Keep Your Team Innovative: With reskilling, your employees can take on different roles. This flexibility is great for creatively handling changes or taking advantage of new opportunities without scrambling to find new talent.
Improves Productivity: Employees with a well-rounded skill set can do more, and are more confident. This can lead to better performance and problem-solving, which can lead to improved business success.
7 Strategies for Reskilling and Upskilling
The way we do business is changing fast. Keeping up with the ever-evolving tech boom can feel daunting for you and your employees.
It’s why reskilling and upskilling should be part of your strategic plan.
These seven strategies for reskilling and upskilling will help prepare your workforce to fill in skill gaps and enhance their understanding of your company’s operations.
1. Identify Skills Gaps in Your Organization
Very rarely does a company have one employee to cover every single skill required. There’s often overlap in some capacity. Your copywriter might also fill the role of social media manager, and your operations manager might perform some light IT duties.
However, your copywriter might need some reskilling in design to create more engaging social posts. Identifying which skills your business lacks but needs to thrive is a great place to start.
Identify these gaps using performance data, industry trends, and employee feedback. Then, develop a training plan around these missing skills.
2. Use Modern Tools for Training
While some employees may require more encouragement than others, introducing them to modern tech tools can help them work smarter, not harder. This could be anything from online courses they can take at their own pace to project management software.
And beyond just online courses, consider using interactive platforms that incorporate gamification elements to make learning more dynamic and enjoyable. For example, virtual and augmented reality tools can simulate real-world scenarios for practice without the real-world stakes.
Automating simple tasks like accounts payable, data entry, or even customer service inquiries with chatbots can free up your team’s time to learn new skills and focus on more important work.
This approach can boost efficiency and give your team the time they need for personal growth. It also allows employees to engage in more meaningful work, leading to higher job satisfaction and motivation to upskill and reskill in areas that align with your business’s needs.
4. Offer Online Learning Resources
There are plenty of online learning platforms that you can customize for your business. Building online courses, webinars, and workshops allows employees to learn at their own pace and choose topics they’re interested in or need improvement.
Creating your own online learning platform allows you to offer diverse learning materials and formats that cover essential concepts in easily digestible segments. This diversity ensures that all learning styles are accommodated and promotes continuous professional development throughout your organization.
5. Create a Culture of Learning
While some employees are naturally curious and hungry for knowledge, many will need you to teach them how. The best way to encourage learning is to make it a part of your company’s culture.
This can include setting aside time for learning during the workweek, sharing knowledge among team members, or rewarding those who take initiative in their professional development.
Most importantly, you are responsible for encouraging an organizational culture that emphasizes ongoing education and skill development.
6. Use Mentors and Coaches
Using mentors and coaches is an excellent way to pair up less experienced employees with more experienced employees who can teach them what they know. This can be an effective way to transfer knowledge and skills within your organization.
But it’s not just about the skills. Mentoring also helps build stronger relationships within your team. It creates a supportive, more relaxed environment where people feel valued and comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas. Plus, it allows mentors to polish their leadership and communication skills, making it a win-win for everyone.
The best part is, this doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start by pairing people based on their skills and career interests. Then, give them some guidance on how to work together, set goals, and offer feedback. Over time, you can adjust the program based on what works and what doesn’t, making it an invaluable part of your team’s growth and development strategy.
7. Evaluate and Adapt
All the best strategies rely on data to reveal what’s working and what’s not and an ability to adapt when needed. For this reason, tracking how well your reskilling and upskilling efforts are going is important. Ask for feedback from your team and be ready to make changes if something isn’t working. This way, you can continuously improve your strategies and reskill and upskill your employees successfully.
Stay One Step Ahead
Reskilling and upskilling your workforce is no longer a luxury. It’s a must if you want a workforce ready to take on new challenges and remain loyal to your company.
Engagedly offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to make reskilling and upskilling as seamless and effective as possible. From identifying skill gaps with precision analytics to a platform for online learning and development, Engagedly can help you cultivate a culture of continuous growth and learning.
You’re not just preparing your workforce for the future. You’re shaping the future of work itself. Equip your team with the skills they need to excel, and watch as they drive your business forward.
In the fast and digital world, the sphere of learning and development is changing every day, incorporating many possibilities for organizations to empower their employees with the necessary skills and knowledge. Among the prominent platforms are Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Learning Experience Platforms (LXP), which are key tools in realizing the modern workforce’s learning demands.
The LMS is usually a focal point for storing and transferring course materials, tracking progress, and monitoring evaluation. However, an LXP model is a learner-centric design and provides personalization and user recommendations, social learning features, and user-generated content curation.
An LMS excels at providing structured training programs and content delivery. At the same time, an LXP is more flexible and engaging, with the possibility of customized learning based on individual choices and requirements.
Here, we will learn and uncover the nitty-gritty of LMS vs. LXP functions, focusing on their key capabilities, merits, and the situations in which deploying them is suitable.
What exactly is an LMS? Essentially, an LMS serves as a tool for crafting training programs within an organization. Its core functionalities encompass content delivery, monitoring study progress, and generating insightful reports.
LMS platforms excel in various areas such as compliance training, offering structured learning paths, and facilitating centralized administration. They streamline employees’ learning experiences while granting administrators control over both materials and learners’ progress.
Now, let’s delve into the realm of LXPs. How do they differ? LXPs prioritize user-centric approaches more than LMS platforms. At the heart of an LXP lies the creation of personalized learning experiences tailored to foster professional growth. Leveraging innovative features, LXPs directly target learners, providing them with dynamic and engaging learning environments.
Key highlights of LXPs include their adeptness in fostering self-directed learning, curating content, and seamlessly integrating social learning aspects. Recognizing the pivotal role of autonomy in the learning journey, LXPs foster an environment conducive to lifelong learning. Users are empowered to select content that resonates with their interests while also participating in collaborative group learning experiences.
LMS and LXP differ in their approaches. Let’s understand how.
Focus:
LMS: LMS platforms typically operate under a top-down approach, wherein administrators take the lead in dictating the learning content and structure.
LXP: In contrast, LXPs embrace a bottom-up approach, empowering users to steer their learning journey by engaging with personalized experiences tailored to their needs.
Content:
LMS: Content within an LMS tends to adhere to a structured format, often following predefined courses and modules.
LXP: LXPs differentiate themselves by offering curated and personalized content that caters to individual preferences and learning objectives, thereby fostering a more engaging and relevant learning experience.
User Control:
LMS: Learning paths in LMS systems are typically admin-assigned, guiding learners through predetermined sequences of courses and assessments.
LXP: LXPs prioritize user-driven learning paths, granting learners the autonomy to explore content aligned with their interests and skill development goals.
Data & Analytics:
LMS: Data analytics in LMS platforms predominantly focus on tracking compliance and monitoring course completion rates, offering insights into regulatory adherence and training effectiveness.
LXP: On the other hand, LXPs place greater emphasis on analytics that capture the learning experience itself, identifying skill gaps, measuring engagement levels, and providing valuable feedback to enhance the overall learning journey.
LMS solutions facilitate swift and seamless implementation of mandatory training, ensuring employees promptly access regulatory information and certificates. Administrators benefit from the LMS’s centralized content management and tracking functionalities, effortlessly monitoring compliance progress and mitigating risks to uphold regulatory standards organization-wide.
Efficient Onboarding for New Employees:
LMS platforms expedite the onboarding process by leveraging standardized training modules and easily accessible resources for new hires. Organizations with structured onboarding pathways consistently equip all employees with essential knowledge, expediting their assimilation into the company culture and accelerating productivity.
Streamlined Management and Reporting:
A cornerstone feature of LMS platforms is their centralized management capabilities, enabling administrators to efficiently manage, update, and disseminate training materials. Robust reporting tools empower administrators to gain comprehensive insights into learner progress, course completion rates, and overall training efficacy, facilitating informed decision-making and continual improvement efforts. Currently, an estimated 73.8 million users are leveraging Learning Management Systems (LMS).
Cost-effective Dissemination of Standardized Training:
Through LMS solutions, organizations can significantly reduce training expenses associated with traditional classroom-based methods. The ability of LMS platforms to deliver standardized training materials to remote locations minimizes costs related to instructor-led sessions, travel, and printed materials, resulting in substantial long-term cost savings.
The learning experience platform market is projected to witness a robust annual growth rate of 25.3% between 2020 and 2026 on a global scale, indicating a significant surge in demand for innovative learning solutions.
Enhanced Employee Engagement and Motivation:
LXPs prioritize user engagement, crafting interactive and immersive learning experiences that captivate employees’ attention and ignite motivation. Through dynamic content delivery, gamification elements, and multimedia resources, LXPs stimulate curiosity and enthusiasm, elevating overall engagement levels among learners.
Cultivation of a Culture of Continuous Learning:
With personalized learning paths and access to a diverse array of resources, LXPs foster a culture of continuous learning within organizations. By empowering employees to seize ownership of their development journey and pursue learning opportunities tailored to their interests and career aspirations, LXPs instill a growth mindset and promote lifelong learning.
Personalized Learning Paths and Skill Development:
LXPs harness advanced algorithms and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized learning recommendations, aligning content with individual learning preferences and skill gaps. Through adaptive learning pathways and targeted skill development initiatives, LXPs enable employees to bolster their competencies and effectively achieve their professional goals.
Facilitation of Social Learning and Collaboration:
By seamlessly integrating social features such as discussion forums, collaborative projects, and mentorship programs, LXPs cultivate a dynamic learning community where employees can learn from each other and collaboratively tackle challenges, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
Instead of relying on a single training system, you can try a blend of both to cater to different employees’ needs. Here are the benefits of a blended approach:
This blended approach ensures that organizations can cater to diverse learning preferences and requirements, offering a more holistic and adaptable learning experience for employees.
Learners benefit from access to a wide range of curated content, personalized learning paths, and collaborative learning opportunities, resulting in higher levels of engagement and knowledge retention.
The integration of LMS and LXP enables organizations to create targeted skill development pathways that align with organizational goals and individual learning objectives.
Here’s how LMS and LXP can complement each other:
Content Delivery and Management: LMSs focus on structured learning content delivery, such as courses, quizzes, and assessments. LXPs emphasize informal learning experiences, including user-generated content, videos, articles, etc. Integrating an LXP with an LMS enables organizations to offer a broader range of content options to learners, catering to different learning preferences and needs.
Personalized Learning Paths: LXPs often use AI and machine learning algorithms to provide personalized learning recommendations based on individual interests, preferences, and learning history. By integrating this functionality with an LMS, organizations can offer tailored learning paths within a structured learning environment, enhancing users’ overall learning experience.
Social Learning and Collaboration: LXPs facilitate social learning and collaboration through features such as discussion forums, social feeds, and peer-to-peer learning tools. Integrating these social learning capabilities with an LMS enables learners to engage with content more interactively and collaboratively, fostering knowledge sharing and peer support within the structured learning framework.
Integrating LMS and LXP offers organizations a powerful solution to optimize their learning initiatives and drive meaningful outcomes. By harnessing the strengths of both platforms, organizations can create a dynamic and adaptive learning environment that caters to their employees’ diverse needs and preferences. Therefore, this blended approach enables organizations to maximize the impact of their learning investments, enhance employee performance, and foster a culture of continuous growth and development.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can organizations measure the effectiveness of their chosen learning platform?
Organizations can measure effectiveness through various metrics, including course completion rates, learner engagement levels, skill acquisition, and feedback from learners and stakeholders. Additionally, tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to business objectives can gauge the impact of learning initiatives on organizational success.
Can an LMS be used as an LXP and vice versa?
While some LMS platforms may incorporate features of an LXP, they often lack the depth of functionality and focus on the user experience that a dedicated LXP offers.
Similarly, an LXP may integrate basic LMS functionalities, but it may not fulfill the comprehensive requirements of managing formal learning processes and compliance training as effectively as an LMS.
How does an LXP enhance employee engagement and motivation?
LXPs prioritize user engagement through personalized learning experiences, gamification elements, and social learning features. By offering tailored content and fostering collaboration, LXPs ignite curiosity and enthusiasm among learners.
Gamification is a powerful tool for enhancing employee training and development. Studies have shown that 89% of employees report that gamification enhances their sense of productivity in the workplace.
It allows new employees to progress at their own pace, choose their learning paths, and receive targeted feedback based on their performance, which can cater to diverse learning styles and preferences.
This personalized approach enhances the effectiveness of training programs by ensuring that content is relevant, engaging, and impactful for each participant. So, let’s explore how gamification can revolutionize your organization’s training programs.
Understanding Gamification in the Workplace
Gamification is more than just a buzzword; it’s a dynamic approach that infuses game design elements into training programs. By incorporating features like points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges, gamification transforms mundane learning experiences into engaging, interactive tasks. Imagine turning compliance training into an event where employees eagerly tackle challenges and earn rewards.
The concept of gamification isn’t new. It draws inspiration from game theory, behavioral psychology, and good old-fashioned fun. Remember those gold stars you received in elementary school for taking a spelling test? That’s a basic form of gamification! Organizations worldwide are leveraging this approach to boost employee engagement and knowledge retention.
The Need for Enhanced Employee Training
Our workplaces are evolving faster than ever. Remote work, hybrid models, and rapid technological advancements demand adaptable employees. Employees can benefit massively from new forms of corporate training that address the issues in a modern workplace. Traditional training methods struggle to keep up with these changes. Enter gamification—a fresh approach that aligns with modern work dynamics.
Learning isn’t a one-time event; it’s a lifelong journey. Gamification encourages continuous learning by making it enjoyable. When employees actively participate in their development, they become more agile, innovative, and resilient.
Let’s face it: PowerPoint presentations and lengthy manuals don’t always cut it. Employees zone out, and knowledge retention suffers. Gamification injects life into training, making it memorable and impactful.
Benefits of Gamification in Employee Training
Gamification has many benefits across various industries and can be a valuable tool for problem-solving.
Here, we will cover a few of the significant benefits gamification has for employee training:
Increased Engagement and Motivation:The reward system in gamification makes learning enjoyable. Employees willingly dive into training modules fueled by the desire to earn points, unlock achievements, and climb leaderboards. It’s like turning work into a captivating game.
Real-time Feedback and Performance Tracking: Gamified platforms provide instant feedback. Employees know where they stand, identify areas for improvement, and adjust their strategies accordingly. No more waiting for annual reviews!
Enhanced Knowledge Retention: When learning feels like play, information sticks. Gamification taps into our brain’s reward centers, reinforcing memory pathways. Say goodbye to forgettable training sessions.
Collaboration and Team Building:Competing with colleagues in friendly challenges fosters teamwork. Whether it’s solving puzzles or collaborating on virtual quests, gamification strengthens bonds among employees.
Fueling Healthy Competition: Within the gamification of employee training, leaderboards emerge as powerful motivators. Suddenly, learning becomes a race—a friendly competition where you strive to climb higher, earn more points, and secure your spot at the top. But it’s not just about bragging; leaderboards foster healthy competition.
Implementing Gamification: Best Practices
There are a few best practices to take into account when deciding to implement gamification in a company. Below are a few best practices that can aid in the implementation of gamification into employee training
Assess Training Needs and Objectives:Understanding your organization’s unique requirements before diving into gamification. What skills do employees need? What goals should they achieve? Align gamified content with these objectives.
Design Engaging Modules:Create bite-sized, interactive modules. Use storytelling, scenarios, and relatable characters. Remember, learning should be fun, not a chore.
Choose the Right Tools:Explore gamification platforms and tools. Look for user-friendly interfaces, customization options, and analytics capabilities. Your L&D team will thank you.
Integrate with Learning Management Systems (LMS):Seamlessly blend gamified content into your existing LMS. This ensures a cohesive learning experience and easy tracking of progress.
Challenges and Considerations
Leveraging gamification for employee training and development can be highly effective, but it also comes with its own set of challenges and considerations. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
Resource Intensiveness: Developing a comprehensive gamified training program can be resource-intensive. It requires careful planning, design, and possibly the integration of new technologies or platforms.
Robust Design: Successful implementation of gamification in training requires thoughtful design. It’s not just about adding game elements to existing programs; it’s about integrating them to align with learning objectives and organizational goals.
Employee Buy-In: Not all employees may immediately embrace gamified training. Some might be resistant to change or skeptical about the effectiveness of gamification. Ensuring employee buy-in and addressing any concerns is crucial.
Effective Communication: Clear communication about the purpose and benefits of gamification is essential. Employees must understand how gamified training will enhance their learning experience and contribute to their professional growth.
Navigating the Platform: Employees should receive proper training on how to navigate the gamified training platform. This includes understanding game mechanics, earning points, and unlocking achievements.
Gamification Platforms to Get You Started
The following platforms can help you set up your employee training and development. These platforms will help gamify your training and keep employees engaged.
Engagedly’s gamification features add an engaging element to the workplace. The platform helps to increase engagement and motivation among employees. Engagedly incorporates points, badges, and leaderboards to create friendly competition in the workplace.
Employees earn points by completing tasks that are aligned with company values. This can help encourage participation and recognition within a company. Engagedly’s feature set creates an engaging work environment, enhancing employee motivation and satisfaction.
The platform also has a gamified HR platform that provides valuable insights for data-driven decisions. The implementation of gamified goal-setting ensures seamless alignment between individual and company-wide objectives.
Brame
Brame is a gamification marketing platform that empowers businesses to engage with customers. With Brame, you can create interactive experiences using their no-code builder that can increase employee engagement.
This platform has leveled up promotions, loyalty programs, and data collection by incorporating gamified elements. Brame enables businesses to stand out, generate high-quality leads, and increase customer loyalty by leveraging features like points, badges, and leaderboards.
Brame can also be used in employee training and development. When applied to employee training, their gamification tools can help shorten the time it takes for new employees to get up to speed with new information on projects, and they can be used to help verify employees’ skills.
EdApp
EdApp enables users to develop engaging training modules seamlessly. Their cloud-hosted authoring solution facilitates the creation of comprehensive courses spanning various subjects such as diversity and inclusion, leadership, and anti-bullying training.
With an extensive array of more than 80 interactive e-learning templates, games, and quizzes, EdApp ensures employees a dynamic and enjoyable learning experience. Users can integrate gamification features like drag-and-drop, sequencing, and true or false, among others, to enhance engagement.
Incorporating leaderboards fosters healthy competition, while customized achievements offer personalized rewards aligned with training objectives. EdApp’s platform is readily accessible with a free initial setup, effortlessly catering to diverse training needs.
Gametize
This enterprise-level gamification platform streamlines employee onboarding and training. Gametize helps transform learning materials into engaging e-learning courses.
You can choose from an extensive library of game templates, categorized by employee engagement, learning and development, talent acquisition, and health and fitness topics.
Final Word
Gamification holds immense potential for enhancing employee training and development in the modern workplace. Engagement, motivation, and collaboration in gamified training programs empower employees to acquire new skills, drive performance, and contribute to organizational success.
As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation and adapt to evolving workforce dynamics, gamification will undoubtedly shape the future of employee learning and development.
When employees embrace gamification in training, organizations can unlock possibilities and create a thriving culture of continuous learning and growth. As we embark on this journey towards a gamified workplace, let’s harness the power of play to unleash the full potential of our workforce and drive sustainable business success.
Embracing failures, whether small setbacks or a complete startup shutdown, has become an inherent part of the entrepreneurial journey. Startups are often associated with challenges and setbacks, but the key lies in maintaining the right mindset and unwavering belief in your business. In the face of failure, viewing it as an opportunity for growth becomes essential. A growth mindset, characterized by an eagerness to tackle challenges and see failure as a stepping stone to personal development, is crucial for entrepreneurs. This post explores the significance of acknowledging mistakes in the startup journey and outlines strategies to cultivate a growth mindset, enabling entrepreneurs to glean valuable lessons from failures.
What is a Growth Mindset?
A growth mindset involves approaching tasks with the belief that continuous improvement and perpetual learning are fundamental. Those with a growth mindset understand that progress is achievable through dedication, effort, and strategic decision-making. Individuals embracing this mindset are proactive and demonstrate effective decision-making skills, unfazed by setbacks or obstacles that may arise.
Despite variations in natural abilities, interests, personalities, and other traits among individuals, the growth mindset asserts that everyone has the capacity to develop and advance.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs possess a development attitude but struggle with the motivation to act on it. To ensure the success of a startup, constant motivation and innovation are essential. Maintaining a growth mindset is crucial, even in the face of failure. Let’s delve into the various methods of cultivating a growth mindset.
Embrace Failure
Embracing failure is a crucial step towards success in any business. It’s important to acknowledge that both success and failure are part of the process. Rather than allowing failure to discourage you, view it as an opportunity for growth and learning.
When you make a mistake, take ownership of it without making excuses or pointing fingers. Analyze the factors that contributed to the failure, understand its impact, and identify key lessons learned. Develop an action plan to rectify the error or prevent it from happening again. Lastly, let go of any regret or guilt and focus on the positive aspects of your experience.
Creating and supporting a work environment that values constructive criticism is crucial. Encouraging open communication among stakeholders, mentors, and peers fosters a culture that emphasizes growth and progress. Feedback enables learning from mistakes, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and enhancing performance.
Actively seeking and acting upon criticism and guidance demonstrates a commitment to personal and professional development. It opens up opportunities to learn new approaches and gain new perspectives by listening to others with an open mind.
Focus on the Things You Can Control
Cultivating a positive and passionate mindset can significantly enhance not only your personal well-being but also positively influence those in your immediate surroundings. It is crucial to redirect your energy away from unproductive pursuits, such as passing judgment on colleagues or engaging in discussions about aspects like the national economy over which you have no direct influence.
Numerous startup failures can be attributed to external factors, despite everything else being seemingly perfect. Hence, it is paramount to focus your attention on facets within your control. Channel your efforts into daily improvements in both your personal and professional realms. By concentrating on manageable aspects of your life, you pave the way for a more resilient and fulfilling journey toward success.
A growth mindset thrives on a commitment to continuous learning. Acknowledge that the journey of entrepreneurship is dynamic, and staying informed is key to adaptation and innovation. Actively seek out new knowledge, trends, and industry insights. Engage in professional development opportunities, attend workshops, and stay connected with industry networks. Embracing a mindset of continuous learning not only enhances your skill set but also equips you with the agility needed to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of startups.
Nurture Resilience and Persistence
In the realm of startups, resilience and persistence are indispensable companions on the path to success. Recognize that setbacks are not roadblocks but rather stepping stones toward growth. Embracing a growth mindset involves understanding that challenges are an inherent part of the entrepreneurial journey. Cultivate resilience by bouncing back from failures with an unwavering determination to overcome obstacles.
Persistent effort in the face of adversity is a hallmark of a growth mindset. Instead of viewing difficulties as insurmountable, break them down into manageable steps and persistently work towards solutions. Understand that success often requires time, iterative processes, and a refusal to be deterred by initial setbacks. By nurturing resilience and persistence, you not only weather the storms of entrepreneurship but also pave the way for enduring success and continuous improvement.
Why is a Growth Mindset Important?
Individuals who embrace a growth mentality are more likely to accept criticism and feedback constructively, using them to enhance their work. Microsoft serves as an example that further supports the effectiveness of a growth mindset. After Satya Nadella took on the role of CEO in 2014, he initiated a cultural shift within Microsoft that prioritized growth, focusing on becoming the leading platform for cloud computing, AI, machine learning, and other cutting-edge technologies.
The following explains the significance of a growth mindset for your success:
Boosts Your Motivation
Having a growth mentality means embracing the notion that nothing is too difficult or unattainable. It recognizes that progress can be made at any point in the journey. With a growth mindset, you’ll be motivated to work harder and achieve your goals, with your cheerleader.
Achieving success in work often relies on your willingness to embrace new responsibilities and step out of your comfort zone. If you doubt your capabilities in a specific task, you will naturally encounter challenges in managing multiple tasks simultaneously, which may lead to giving up or delegating work that you could have completed independently.
On the contrary, adopting a growth mindset and having confidence in your abilities will likely motivate you to take on additional duties and responsibilities. Emphasizing the positive aspects of your skills and expressing your belief in them can also inspire others.
Greater Cooperation and Communication
Cultivating a growth mindset can help a team collaborate and communicate more effectively. It enables group members to be open to one another’s opinions despite differences. Team members with a growth attitude are more likely to explore things, ask questions, look for opportunities for growth, and support a positive growth culture.
Additionally, a growth mentality fosters mutual respect and trust among team members. They are more inclined to contribute to the group and take responsibility for their job when they believe in their abilities.
Enhances Endurance
Facing and learning from failures is crucial for both individual and professional development. We may build resilience by embracing a growth mindset, which empowers us to take on obstacles confidently and improve on our mistakes. By adopting this strategy, entrepreneurs can improve their ability to recover from setbacks and discover the drive and determination needed to run a startup.
Building a growth mindset within your startup entails creating a team of individuals who align with your vision and embrace the growth potential even in the face of failure. Embracing startup failures as opportunities for advancement and prosperity is a key aspect of cultivating a growth mindset. Individuals and organizations that foster a developmental mindset are better equipped to tackle obstacles and exert additional effort to achieve success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a growth mindset important for an entrepreneur?
A growth mindset is crucial for an entrepreneur because it fosters adaptability, resilience, and a willingness to learn from failures. Entrepreneurs with a growth mindset view challenges as opportunities for development, embrace learning, and believe in their ability to improve. This mindset helps them navigate uncertainties, overcome obstacles, and ultimately contributes to long-term success in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of entrepreneurship.
How does a growth mindset help in overcoming obstacles?
A growth mindset helps overcome obstacles by fostering a positive attitude toward challenges, promoting resilience, and viewing setbacks as opportunities for learning and improvement. It encourages adaptability and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
How does a growth mindset help in personal development of a leader?
A growth mindset aids a leader’s personal development by fostering a continuous learning attitude, resilience in the face of challenges, and a proactive approach to improvement.
Crafting effective surveys requires a nuanced understanding of the questions that drive insightful responses. In this comprehensive guide, we navigate the diverse landscape of survey question types, providing you with the essential knowledge to design surveys that uncover meaningful insights. Whether you’re a seasoned researcher or new to the world of surveys, this blog is your gateway to understanding the intricacies of question types.
From the expansiveness of open-ended questions, allowing respondents to share their perspectives freely, to the precision of closed-ended questions, offering structured options for quantitative analysis, we delve into the purpose and strategic applications of each. Uncover the art of framing questions that are clear, concise, and tailored to your specific goals, whether it’s market research, employee engagement, or cultural understanding.
Types of Survey Questions
Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended survey questions allow respondents to provide detailed, free-form responses rather than selecting from answer options such as multiple-choice questions. These questions are valuable for capturing in-depth insights, opinions, and personal experiences. For example, if you’re trying to conduct market research, you might ask customers: Can you describe the challenges you face when looking for products/services in this category?
Open-ended questions are valuable for uncovering detailed customer needs or employee viewpoints. They reveal areas for improvement that might have been overlooked.
Closed-ended questions provide respondents with predefined options to choose from. These questions are useful for collecting quantitative data and can be easily analyzed. Closed-ended questions include nominal, rating scale, yes/no, and Likert scale types of questions.
Closed-ended questions are highly effective for initiating surveys because they’re quick and easy to answer. This aligns with the foot-in-the-door principle. Once respondents commit to the first question, they’re more likely to engage with subsequent open-ended questions.
Closed-ended responses are easy to quantify and serve as benchmarks. Rating scale questions, in particular, help gauge the sentiment of the target audience and track progress over time. So, for example, you can monitor employee happiness with rating scale questions and identify any negative trends. Here are some common types of closed-ended questions:
Rating Scale Questions
Respondents are asked to evaluate a topic in light of a predetermined dimension scale when using a rating scale. Typically, the question is accompanied by answer choices that can be scaled to any desired range (1 to 10, 0 to 100, etc.) For example, you can evaluate employee satisfaction with a particular policy by asking,
‘Please rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied you are with ABC changes in policy.’
Nominal Questions
Nominal questions offer respondents various options for answers without using numbers, and these choices are distinct from one another without any overlap. Essentially, they are like multiple-choice survey questions. They comprise three or more extensive, mutually exclusive answer choices. You can ask for a single response or multiple responses.
These questions produce data that is simple to analyze, intuitive, and flexible to employ. A good survey question example here would be asking a customer,
‘How did you hear about our website?’
So, if they heard about it from multiple sources, such as friends, websites, family, etc., they can click on multiple options.
Likert Scale
The Likert scale is commonly a 5- or 7-tiered measurement that gauges a respondent’s level of agreement with a statement or the strength of their response to a particular matter.
This scale is structured symmetrically: the middle value (such as ‘3’ on a 5-point scale) represents a neutral standpoint, the lowest value (always ‘1’) signifies a strong positive or negative perspective, and the highest value (like ‘5’ on a 5-point scale) denotes the contrary strong view. An example would be asking your employees,
‘On a rating scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicates ‘Very Dissatisfied’ and 5 indicates ‘Very Satisfied,’ please rate your level of satisfaction with our company’s current performance management system.’
Yes/No Questions
Dichotomous questions, or ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, offer a direct choice between two options. They’re ideal for quick segmentation of respondents. For instance, if you want to pinpoint obstacles to using your product, a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ survey on your pricing page can be followed by further inquiries from those who answered ‘no’.
These questions are effective icebreakers. The minimal effort required for a yes or no answer often encourages respondents to engage further, providing additional responses or contact information. For example, as a part of customer experience feedback, you might ask:
‘Did you find our interface easy to use?’
Matrix Questions
Matrix questions are structured in a table format. The questions are listed on the left side of the table, and the answer choices are displayed across the top. This format resembles a grid and is an extension of multiple-choice questions. With multipoint scales, respondents can pick only one option for each parameter, while multi-select allows them to choose multiple options.
Demographic Questions
Demographic questions collect details about a respondent’s background or income. When used effectively, these questions help you better understand your target customer audience. Demographics lets you group people based on characteristics and preferences, providing deeper insights into your data. Common demographic questions inquire about age, gender, and occupation.
What are Good Survey Questions?
Good survey questions are clear, concise, and relevant. They successfully gather precise and important data while giving respondents a comfortable experience. Well-crafted questions also consider the context of the survey, ensuring that the gathered information aligns with the overall objectives and provides meaningful insights for decision-making.
Additionally, incorporating a mix of question types enhances the survey’s depth and captures a more comprehensive understanding of respondents’ perspectives.
The question must be simply worded and easy to understand. Avoid jargon, technical terms, or convoluted language that could confuse respondents.
The question should be directly related to your research objectives. Irrelevant questions can frustrate respondents and lead to inaccurate data.
Questions should be specific and focused, addressing one concept at a time. Vague or overly broad questions can result in ambiguous responses.
Questions should be phrased neutrally, avoiding bias that could sway respondents’ answers. Biased questions can lead to inaccurate or misleading data.
Use language suitable for your target audience’s age, education level, and cultural background.
Keep the wording and formatting of similar questions consistent to minimize confusion and ensure reliable data collection.
Before distributing the survey, test it with a small group of respondents to identify potential issues, ambiguities, or unclear wording.
For online surveys, use clear formatting, appropriate font size, and spacing to make the question visually appealing and easy to read.
Consider the sensitivity of certain topics. If asking personal or sensitive questions, ensure that respondents understand the purpose and importance of those questions and provide options for skipping if needed.
Avoid double-barreled questions. Don’t combine two separate questions into one. Each question should address a single issue to ensure clear responses.
Questions that suggest a preferred answer or assume certain facts can bias responses. Keep questions impartial to get genuine feedback.
Avoid using double negatives in questions, as they can confuse respondents. Opt for positive phrasing whenever possible.
Keep questions concise—just one or two lines at most. Also, be aware of survey fatigue. This happens when respondents lose interest due to repetitive questions or a lengthy survey.
Summing Up
Effective business decision-making relies on pivotal surveys that encompass various question types, ranging from open-ended to closed-ended, such as rating scales and yes/no queries. To ensure accurate results, questions must be crafted with clarity, neutrality, and consistency in mind. Striking a balanced approach between closed and open questions is essential, and careful consideration of the survey length’s impact on participant engagement is vital during the drafting process. This thoughtful approach maximizes the survey’s effectiveness and enhances the quality of the insights gathered. By following the essential dos and don’ts for survey creation, you can create insightful surveys that yield invaluable data for informed business strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What purpose do surveys serve in an organization?
Surveys serve multiple purposes in an organization, from gathering employee feedback to gaining insight into customer satisfaction. They contribute to various aspects of understanding and improvements in a business. They are also a valuable tool for market research.
Q2.What makes a survey question effective?
Unbiased, clear, and simple wording makes survey questions effective. Surveys should match your organizational or departmental goals, be specific, and use language suitable for the audience. Avoid double-barreled questions and biases while maintaining consistency in formatting.
Q3. Is there an ideal length for surveys?
Yes, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, but shorter surveys with 5 to 10 questions tend to be more effective, considering people’s short attention spans and the need for engagement.
As the corporate world is evolving for the better, the dimensions of project management are also witnessing major overhauls. The progression of the contemporary business world is quite synonymous with rampant digitalization. With technology at the helm, both companies and projects are now going remote. Having said that, it is time that project managers undertake the objective of incorporating project management skills desired for the future.
It is an undeniable fact that, alongside transformations in the corporate world, the competition is also growing at a swift pace. Ultimately, it all boils down to the parameters of skills that are meant for future success. Organizations will look to invest in people equipped with skills relevant to the future. So, irrespective of whether you are already working as a project manager or you aspire to be one, the last thing you would want to do is to be complacent about your skills.
No matter how skilled you are at present, to succeed in the long run, you need to upskill yourself. It will help you build competencies in alignment with how the corporate scenario is shaping. You need to invest in your skills today so that you can relish great success in the future.
Having said that, this thoughtful blog sheds light on the pivotal project management skills that are salient for future success. So, let’s elaborate on the verticals of project management that you need to focus on keeping your future career ambitions in mind.
Salient project management skills for future success
1. Virtual collaboration skills
Remote project management is the new normal in this revamped business world. It is quite evident that more and more businesses will take the remote or hybrid route in the coming years. In fact, a Gartner CFO survey concludes that by 2025, 74 percent of employers might shift their employees to permanent remote work. Clearly, the remote working culture will thrive at a greater momentum in the near future.
As a project manager, you need to work on skills that are crucial to successful remote project management. Speaking of the prerequisite skills for remote project management, virtual collaboration skills will hold the key. You will have to collaborate virtually with your team members and coordinate with much greater efficiency.
It is noteworthy that as per SalesForce, 86 percent of employees cite ineffective collaboration as the principal reason for project failures. In remote project handling, the vulnerabilities of project mismanagement will be even higher. Having said that, your virtual collaboration skills have to be flawless and should set an ideal template of collaboration for other team members to follow.
Your effectiveness at collaboration in the remote setup will have a critical role to play in the success of projects. Moreover, you also need to work on your adaptability skills to get used to the latest project management tools and software that will drive remote project management.State-of-the-art project management tools hold the key to the future of project management and you ought to briskly adapt to the latest tools in practice.
2. Open communication
Effective communication is and will always remain the key to organizational success at all levels. But in remote projects, the significance of open and elaborative communication will be much greater than ever before. Clear descriptions and instructions need to be communicated across digital channels with great effectiveness.
Thus, you need to further optimize your communication skills to attain the anticipated future success. The focus needs to be on open communication such that every team member understands project details, instructions, roles, and key performance indicators with precision.
Besides, you need to espouse the art of continuous feedback sharing to manage team performance. Needless to say, for this purpose too, you would require excellent communication skills. Projects will have the best chance of succeeding when faultless communication happens at all levels. It will ensure that team members are on the same page and have a sense of direction.
Being at the helm, open and transparentstrategic communication will be your responsibility. In fact, when it comes to communication skills, there will always be a scope of improvement, no matter how proficient you are. This is one skill for which you should commit yourself to consistent learning. Also, you ought to bolster your communication skills with active listening and attention to detail.
3. Effective cost management
You may otherwise have great abilities to manage and motivate teams, but if you are not very effective at cost management, it can turn out to be a roadblock in your career advancement. Cost is a key concern for organizations and the idea often is to deliver successful projects in accordance with lean budgets.
Therefore, to attain greater success as a project manager, you need to consolidate your budgetary planning skills along with a 9/80 work schedule. You need to learn how projects can be budgeted in an efficient manner while also taking contingencies into consideration. In the ultimate sense, your value as a project manager will be viewed in terms of your ability to deliver excellent projects at low costs.
The lower the cost of projects, the greater will be the profitability of an organization. Coherent to that, the greater will be your career advancement. In fact, in the coming years, project costs will be a key criterion for the success of businesses. It will emerge as an even more important differentiating factor for businesses to compete with each other.
The onus will be on the project managers to stick to the designated budgets. In fact, you should be the one suggesting smart cost-cutting ideas to your employer without compromising on project quality.
Download the case study to know how Experian saved time and money when they shifted to Engagedly.
The demand for emotional intelligence is growing at an exponential pace in the contemporary corporate world. In the coming years, we will see the relevance of EQ in the workplace amplify further. To substantiate, as perPR Newswire, more than 65 percent of people think that EQ in the workplace is either equally important or more important when seen in contrast to IQ. To add, 95 percent of HR managers believe that it is important that employees have EQ.
EQ is the ability of an individual to manage and control their emotions in an effective way to produce positive outcomes. Besides, people with high EQ are also proficient in steering the emotions of others in a positive direction to lead them to the desired results. It is an exceptional skill to have and certainly, there is a dearth of people with high EQ.
If we look at most people around us, they are vulnerable to being overdriven by negative emotional influences. It is common for people to feel overwhelmed by their emotions at times and end up making regretful decisions. However, such mistakes cannot be made when you are leading projects that are crucial for your organization. Emotional intelligence is highly quintessential for people in leadership roles.
As a project manager, you need to channel the emotions of your team in the right direction, such that their emotional influences do not interfere with the progress of the project. Also, you need to be empathetic towards your team members and respect their emotions.
In an empathetic team culture, they will be able to sideline their emotional insecurities and focus on their tasks. It is noteworthy that empathy is one of the most prominent traits of a high EQ. In fact, EQ in itself is a spectrum of different skills, each of which is essential for career success. The key components of emotional intelligence besides empathy are listed below.
Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Intrinsic motivation
Social Skills
As you can see, each of the above skills defines the modern-day core competencies of managers and leaders. This explains why employers and recruiters are now inclined toward hiring managers that promise exemplary emotional intelligence. EQ is a skill that can make you stand out from others. In fact, going into the future, it will emerge as one of the most imperative career skills for success and advancement. You have to make sure that you work on this crucial aspect of skill-building.
5. Critical Intellect
Jumping to conclusions without assessing the available information and verifying facts can be disastrous, isn’t it? This coming from a project manager can undoubtedly spell trouble for any organization. As a project manager, you will always have the added responsibility to examine the details and information in an intellectual way. In simpler words, you will need excellent critical thinking skills to perform with great efficiency.
Given the fact that every project is of key significance to an organization, you cannot simply choose to run through things. You need to act with attention to detail and critically evaluate all project details to streamline processes and set the course of action for a given project. Critical intellect is in direct correlation with responsible and appropriate decision-making.
Moreover, another trait of critical thinkers is that they take everyone’s perspective into account before making decisions. From the perspective of project management success, it is imperative that project managers promote inclusiveness in decision-making. When you lead a team, you need to give each team member a strong sense of cohesion and belonging. You can do that best when you have distinguishable critical thinking skills.
The more critical your thinking gets as a project manager, the more optimized the outcomes you will be able to produce in terms of successful projects. It is an essential skill for people in leadership and managerial roles as it directly impacts their ability in terms of team management and intellect.
Besides, being a critical thinker, you will have a more productive and intelligible approach to resolving conflicts in your team. Conflicts among team members are a common phenomenon, and conflict resolution is one of the key metrics for evaluating project managers. For success across all these metrics, you need to be an extraordinarily critical thinker.
6. Creativity
Creativity is the foundation of stellar innovation and exceptional problem-solving abilities. Project managers need to be at the best of these capabilities at all times and hence, creativity becomes quintessential for future success. In fact, LinkedIn Learning infers that creativity as a career skill is of utmost significance across all domains. Moreover, as per IBM, a majority of CEOs are of the opinion that creativity will be the single most important factor driving future success.
Having said that, to prosper your career in the competitive domain of project management, you need to complement your expertise with class apart creativity. You would need to innovate at different stages of projects to optimize the process and the ultimate outcome. Along similar lines, you will have to navigate through challenges to ensure project success. Needless to say, almost all projects involve some complicated challenges that you need to overcome swiftly.
As long as you have a strong creative intellect, you can deal with project complexities in an impressive and brisk manner. Besides, you will also have to overcome team management challenges in addition to project complications. This explains why organizations will prioritize project management candidates that display exemplary creative intellect. It is time you pay greater heed to the development of your creative and problem-solving skills.
7. Resilience
Project managers are no less than leaders and leaders ought to display great resilience. If you envisage enormous success as a project manager over the coming years, you need to supplement it with resilience. It is your ability to withstand adverse situations, pressing problems, and challenges that will establish your worth as a leader.
Your team members will look up to you for support and guidance during adversities. You ought to inspire them to embrace the challenges and bring out the best in them. Besides, you need to model for them how one can sustain productivity and focus when things are not going right. For that, you need to have a character with distinct resilience and conviction.
We all witnessed how things began to fall apart at the advent of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Those who were resilient enough to face such an unexpected challenge did far better in terms of coping than others. Resilient leaders were at the forefront of damage control that businesses had to bear in the face of the pandemic.
To continue, organizations would not be much interested in appointing project managers that crumble under pressure or challenging scenarios. They will rather be on the lookout for resilient and motivated leaders who can embrace challenges and keep their team morale high in a crisis. Interestingly, contemporary organizations are striving hard to build resilient workforces. So, if resilience is a key trait of your personality, you will, by default, have a competitive advantage.
To recapitulate, the corporate world is undergoing some paradigm shifts, and corresponding to that, the perception of prerequisite career skills is also changing. Speaking of project management specifically, as the trend of remote projects thrives further, project managers will need new dimensions of upskilling for future success. If you want to give yourself a competitive advantage over others amid the growing competition, the essential project management skills mentioned above will pave the way forward. To get to know more of the soft skills a project manager should possess and how to hone them, read this article by Toptal.
Want to know how Engagedly can help you manage your tasks better? Request for a live demo.
Jessica Robinson is a charismatic corporate leader, a selfless educator, and a versatile content creator. Despite a management degree, her vision behind blogging is not only to follow her passion but to create more informed societies. Her selflessness reflects in every piece of her work on The Speaking Polymath.
Businesses consistently achieving optimal results share a common trait: a robust learning culture. The influence of your learning culture extends across all facets of your organization, influencing efficiency, productivity, profitability, and employee satisfaction. Prioritizing the establishment of a robust learning culture within your team is crucial for ensuring their success. In this guide, we will define the concept of an employee development learning culture, delve into its significance, and present a set of techniques to actively cultivate a learning-centric environment in the workplace.
What is Learning Culture in the Workplace?
A Learning Culture in the workplace refers to an organizational environment that encourages and values continuous learning and development among its employees. It goes beyond formal training programs and incorporates a mindset that promotes curiosity, experimentation, and knowledge-sharing.
In a workplace with a strong learning culture, employees are empowered to seek new skills, adapt to changes, and contribute to the collective growth and innovation of the organization. This culture fosters an atmosphere where learning is viewed as a continuous, integral part of the work experience, ultimately contributing to improved performance, employee satisfaction, and overall organizational success.
Cultivating a learning culture is indispensable for sustained business excellence, as it profoundly influences various facets of an organization, from strategy and creativity to employee engagement and retention. The significance of a learning culture in the workplace is multifaceted, and here’s why:
Enhances Operational Efficiency
Operating within a learning culture empowers team members to embrace diverse perspectives and continually seek opportunities for knowledge exchange. Such practices not only contribute to the overall well-being of an organization but also lay the groundwork for its future success.
High-performing organizations typically boast comprehensive learning cultures, in stark contrast to those with less engaged employees. Robust learning cultures promote creativity, adaptability, and flexibility, making these organizations more open to embracing change and less apprehensive about taking calculated risks.
Sparks Creativity and Fosters Innovation
Learning cultures serve as incubators for creativity by encouraging employees to broaden their knowledge and skills through diverse and innovative learning methods. Employees are inspired to translate their learning into action through avenues such as peer learning, reverse mentoring, conferences, presentations, networking with professionals from other organizations, and exposure to cross-industry job scopes.
In environments that prioritize continuous learning, innovative thinking becomes the norm. Businesses consciously fostering a growth mindset consistently outperform competitors, showcasing the tangible benefits of embracing a culture of learning.
Foster a learning culture to shape future leaders and establish a robust succession plan within your organization. A strong learning culture not only attracts top talent but also fosters employee engagement, retention, and overall well-being.
Integrating mentorship and leadership development programs into your learning culture sets the stage for talented individuals to step into future leadership roles, ensuring a seamless transition.
Enhancing Client Satisfaction
Engaged and capable employees exude confidence, passion, and motivation, leading to heightened consumer engagement, stronger connections, and trust both internally and externally. In an environment that prioritizes learning, employees are empowered to interact with consumers, addressing feedback positively and constructively. This commitment to continuous improvement significantly contributes to elevated client satisfaction levels.
How to Implement Learning in Your Workplace?
Embarking on the journey to establish a culture of continuous learning within your workplace requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. Here’s a comprehensive process for how to effectively implement learning initiatives in your organization:
Assess the Current Employee Learning Culture
It’s important to comprehend your organization’s current learning environment before taking any developmental action. Organizations may need to review their learning systems regularly. This is especially necessary when a significant portion of the workforce is connected remotely, putting an emphasis on digital and social learning.
Creativity and reliability are key when organizations assess their learning environment, especially when dealing with intangible and challenging-to-measure forms of learning, such as social and informal learning. During this evaluation process:
Collect organizational information on present teaching methods.
Ensure the staff is comfortable with and adopts the learning opportunities and methods.
Establish focus groups and other methods of gathering qualitative employee input to understand how and when individuals learn and the obstacles to their learning.
By gaining a clear understanding of your current standing, you can leverage existing strengths and address any deficiencies in your business’s learning culture effectively. This proactive approach ensures a more adaptive and responsive learning environment, essential for the dynamic needs of today’s workforce.
Encourage and Promote Employee Learning Culture
In order to promote employee learning, management needs to communicate new opportunities and support independent training. The way leaders behave greatly influences how employees embrace a focus on learning. Active involvement and participation from managers are crucial for building a strong learning culture within organizations.
To facilitate learning, make educational resources easily accessible to staff members whenever and wherever they want to learn. Create a virtual library of materials that align with employees’ desired learning goals.
It’s important to acknowledge that building a perfect learning culture takes time and may involve some trial and error. Organizations should be adaptable and willing to adjust their learning strategies to better suit their workforce.
Reward Continuous Learning Culture
Mastering new skills can feel like an uphill battle, but when hard work is recognized, motivation soars. That’s why celebrating learning victories is an essential strategy for fostering lifelong growth. We recommend implementing company-wide programs to honor your team’s dedication. These can range from simple shout-outs for exceptional performance to more enticing rewards like prizes or coupons.
Furthermore, many successful businesses acknowledge their employees’ learning achievements during weekly or monthly meetings. Additionally, organizations may encourage staff members to block off dedicated training time on their calendars each week. By doing so, employees can enjoy guilt-free moments away from their regular duties to focus on their own personal development.
Summing Up
A supportive learning environment encourages employees to grow personally and professionally and experience high engagement and transparency. Employees with abundant learning opportunities are open-minded, curious people interested in learning new things. They frequently want to impart their knowledge to others, creating a group or business of lifelong learners. Learn the advantages of supporting your employees’ professional growth and how to foster a collaborative workplace culture that promotes creativity.
Engagedly LXP offers a robust platform designed to revolutionize the learning experience within your organization. With a commitment to cultivating a culture of continuous growth and development, our Learning Experience Platform (LXP) goes beyond traditional learning management systems. Book a personalized DEMO to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is employee learning culture important?
A robust employee learning culture is essential as it ensures continuous skill development, keeping employees relevant in a rapidly changing professional landscape. Additionally, it fosters adaptability, engagement, innovation, and productivity, contributing to an organization’s long-term success and competitiveness.
2. What are the characteristics of a learning culture?
A learning culture is characterized by traits such as a commitment to continuous development, openness to new ideas, a shared emphasis on knowledge sharing, encouragement of innovation, and a supportive environment that values learning from both successes and failures. Additionally, effective communication, collaboration, and a focus on individual and collective growth are hallmarks of a thriving learning culture within an organization.
3. How does employee development contribute to overall workplace productivity?
Employee development enhances overall workplace productivity by equipping individuals with new skills and knowledge, enabling them to perform tasks more efficiently. Additionally, it fosters a motivated and engaged workforce, leading to improved job satisfaction and a positive impact on the overall efficiency of the organization.
Across all professions, burnout and stress levels have reached an unprecedented peak. Over the last decade, workplace stress and burnout have seen a notable surge, garnering more attention than ever before. A staggering 89% of workers have reported experiencing burnout in the past year alone, with these figures continuing to rise. The primary contributors to workplace burnout are identified as financial pressures and health concerns.
In response to this escalating issue, numerous companies have made substantial investments in prioritizing their employees’ mental health and overall well-being. Notably, four out of five HR executives affirm that their organizations place significant value on mental health and wellbeing initiatives.
The repercussions of burnout extend beyond individual well-being, impacting the willingness of stressed and fatigued employees to embrace new processes, collaborate with team members, fulfill job responsibilities, and remain committed to the company. During challenging periods, leaders must skillfully convey changes to a burnout-affected workforce, not only to ensure their immediate engagement but also to cultivate a lasting commitment to the organization.
Identifying Burnout in the Workplace
Burnout is a term used to describe a state of chronic stress and exhaustion that can result from prolonged exposure to demanding or overwhelming work conditions. It’s often characterized by feelings of emotional and physical depletion, a decline in productivity, and a sense of detachment from one’s work. Employees who feel overworked, undervalued, or lacking in motivation are particularly vulnerable to burnout.
Key signs and symptoms of burnout can include:
Decreased productivity: difficulty concentrating, completing tasks efficiently, and meeting deadlines.
Emotional and physical tiredness: feeling drained, depleted, and lacking energy.
A lack of attention: becoming easily distracted and having difficulty focusing on work.
Negativity: Developing a cynical or pessimistic attitude towards work and colleagues.
Declining job quality or health: experiencing health problems such as headaches, insomnia, or digestive issues.
Increased absenteeism: missing work more frequently due to illness or stress.
It’s important to note that burnout can affect employees at all levels, including managers and those in leadership positions. The symptoms of burnout can develop gradually, so it’s crucial for managers to be aware of the signs and take proactive steps to address them. Organizations should consult with certified medical professionals to develop strategies for recognizing, preventing, and addressing burnout in the workplace.
The three stages of burnout are typically defined as:
Low-risk stage: Employees are still actively engaged in their work but may experience low levels of stress that are generally manageable.
Moderate-risk stage: Employees may find it more difficult to concentrate, experience increased fatigue, and have a more negative outlook on their work.
High-risk stage: Stress becomes overwhelming, leading to significant performance declines, frequent absences, and difficulty completing daily tasks.
Common Causes of Burnout at the Workplace
Burnout doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s often the result of specific factors present in the workplace environment. In this section, we’ll delve into the most prevalent causes of burnout, helping you identify potential triggers and take proactive steps towards creating a healthier work culture.
Unjust Treatment in the Workplace
When someone feels unfairly treated, it affects their motivation and work performance, resulting in burnout. Unfair treatment can be evident in one employee receiving credit for a group effort. Alternatively, management may routinely approve an employee’s deadline extensions while reprimanding another employee’s well-deserved leave approval. Receiving unjust treatment results in stress, depression, low employee morale, and more, causing burnout in the workplace.
Role Ambiguity and Conflict
Role conflict, when people are asked to fulfill activities irrelevant to their job role or reach incompatible goals, is a major cause of employee burnout. Burnout is also influenced by the high ambiguity or uncertainty surrounding goals and tasks.
Excessive Workload
A demanding workload is a top reason for burnout. Your staff members feel pressured and worn out if they have endless chores to perform without enough time. The situation worsens if this unachievable workload continues daily or on most workdays.
Burnout can also result from monotonous labor. In an ideal world, you should only work as much as you can handle, as continuous work overload results in fatigue and reduces your motivation.
Absence of Reward or Acknowledgment
While monetary rewards and perks can certainly motivate employees, genuine recognition and appreciation for their efforts are equally important in preventing burnout. When employees feel their hard work is noticed and valued, it boosts morale and fosters a sense of belonging. This intrinsic motivation is crucial for sustained engagement and productivity.
However, it’s important to ensure that recognition is sincere and authentic. Empty praise or misleading incentives can have the opposite effect, leading to resentment and demotivation. Additionally, avoid singling out individuals for praise within a group setting. This can create feelings of humiliation and envy among other employees, potentially exacerbating existing conflicts and contributing to burnout.
Weak Connections
Stronger connections lead to stronger employees. When people feel like they belong to a community, they are more engaged, productive, and less likely to experience burnout. A positive workplace culture is essential for attracting and retaining top talent, and it all starts with building strong connections between employees.
Achieving impactful company results relies on engaged employees who are motivated, loyal, and focused. Engaged staff members contribute to increased growth, performance, morale, and productivity. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize high-level workplace improvements to minimize or prevent burnout. Offering individual support may also be necessary to address staff burnout. To prevent workplace burnout in the team, consider implementing the following actions:
Acknowledge Employee Contributions
Recognize and appreciate the staff’s collective teamwork and individual contributions. It is crucial to make employees feel valued in order to prevent burnout. Showing gratitude for their efforts individually showcases appreciation. Furthermore, publicly acknowledging their hard work within the organization and advocating for them with the board when needed.
Implementing reward programs could further engage employees and foster a sense of value. Consider conducting a poll to gather insights on preferred incentives. Potential rewards may include paid time off, complimentary meals, gift cards, or promotional items.
Prioritize Employee Well-Being
Prioritizing employee well-being is a paramount strategy for fostering a healthy and sustainable work environment, aimed at preventing workplace burnout. Recognizing the importance of mental and physical health in the professional sphere is not just a matter of compassion; it’s a strategic imperative for organizational success.
By implementing initiatives that focus on employee well-being, such as flexible work hours, mental health resources, and stress management programs, companies can significantly reduce the risk of burnout. A workforce that feels supported and valued is not only more productive but also more resilient in the face of challenges. Cultivating a workplace culture that prioritizes the holistic well-being of its employees not only enhances job satisfaction but also contributes to the long-term success and sustainability of the organization.
Give Employees an Achievable Workload
Burnout occurs when workers continuously put in extra work hours each week. Additionally, many workers find it difficult to distinguish between and balance their personal and professional obligations when working from home.
Simple policy adjustments can have a huge impact. For instance, you can restrict the number of daily meetings and instead focus on duties. Leaders might set an example by refusing to respond to emails or texts during off-hours. Additionally, they must calculate the time needed for each activity on a worker’s project list before allocating a project. These adjustments may reduce job overload and, thus, workplace burnout.
Fostering a positive workplace culture is a vital strategy to reduce employee burnout and cultivate a thriving work environment. A positive culture is characterized by open communication, mutual respect, and a sense of camaraderie among team members.
Leaders play a pivotal role in setting the tone by acknowledging and appreciating employees’ contributions, providing constructive feedback, and creating an atmosphere that values work-life balance. Encouraging teamwork, recognizing achievements, and fostering a growth mindset contribute to a positive culture that energizes employees rather than drains them.
Additionally, organizations can offer wellness programs, flexible work arrangements, and mental health support to demonstrate a genuine commitment to employee well-being. By prioritizing a positive culture, companies not only enhance job satisfaction but also build a resilient workforce better equipped to handle challenges, ultimately reducing the risk of employee burnout.
Provide Feedback & Transparency
Insufficient feedback and a lack of transparency from management often contribute to employee burnout. Employers can empower their staff by acknowledging their strengths and providing opportunities for skill development.
Regular check-ins and progress meetings benefit both managers and staff. These interactions not only allow employees to voice their concerns but also foster an inclusive workplace. When employees feel valued and appreciated, their engagement increases, leading to a reduction in the likelihood of burnout. By prioritizing open communication and transparency, organizations can create a culture that supports continuous improvement and personal growth, contributing to a healthier and more resilient workforce.
A psychologically safe workplace means creating a welcoming space where team members can freely share their thoughts and take reasonable risks without worrying about negative consequences. Suppressing genuine emotions and pretending to be someone else all day leads to burnout, creating unnecessary tension.
In a psychologically safe setting, organizations focus on building mutual trust, practicing active listening, acknowledging and rewarding employees, and fostering open communication within the team. It’s essential to understand that psychological safety goes beyond just being optimistic or assertive; it requires a team effort that everyone, including leadership, actively supports and demonstrates. Prioritizing a psychologically safe environment not only reduces the risk of burnout but also cultivates a culture that values authenticity, innovation, and the well-being of each individual.
Summing Up
In summary, combating workplace burnout requires a holistic approach. Recognizing its signs, understanding its root causes, and implementing effective strategies are vital for a healthier work environment. From acknowledging employee contributions to fostering a positive culture, each step plays a crucial role in preventing burnout.
Providing manageable workloads and ensuring a psychologically safe environment are key factors in this effort. Prioritizing open communication and transparency further contribute to a workplace that values its employees. As organizations navigate change, these practices not only address burnout but also set the stage for ongoing success, creating a workplace where individuals thrive and contribute to lasting achievements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How can leaders promote a positive work culture to prevent burnout?
Leaders can foster a positive work culture by recognizing and appreciating employee contributions, promoting work-life balance, and encouraging a collaborative and supportive atmosphere. Establishing a culture of gratitude, celebrating achievements, and promoting a growth mindset contribute to a workplace that values employee well-being.
Q2. What role does communication play in reducing employee burnout?
Effective communication is crucial to reducing burnout. Leaders should maintain open channels for feedback, actively listen to their team’s concerns, and transparently communicate organizational changes. Providing clarity on expectations and acknowledging accomplishments fosters a supportive work environment that combats burnout.
Q3. What practical steps can leaders take to ensure manageable workloads?
Leaders can implement practical steps such as setting realistic deadlines, delegating tasks effectively, and avoiding constant overtime expectations. Limiting unnecessary meetings, providing resources for skill development, and encouraging breaks contribute to creating a balanced and achievable workload.
Pulse surveys are powerful tools for gaining real-time insights into employee sentiment and understanding how your workforce is truly feeling. By regularly collecting anonymous feedback, organizations can identify areas of strength, pinpoint potential issues, and make informed decisions that drive positive change.
However, choosing the right pulse survey topic can be challenging. With limited questions and the need for concise responses, organizations need to ensure they’re capturing relevant and actionable feedback. Let’s delve into the key considerations for selecting the best pulse survey topic to ignite your workforce and drive meaningful improvements.
Importance of Pulse Surveys in the Workplace
Pulse surveys offer a powerful way to engage employees, improve morale, and drive organizational success. This section delves into the key importance of pulse surveys, demonstrating how they can transform the employee experience and contribute to a thriving workplace.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
By empowering employees to voice their opinions and concerns, pulse surveys foster a sense of value and belonging. This, in turn, revitalizes the work environment, elevates morale, and contributes to a more positive and fulfilling experience.
Reduced Employee Turnover
High employee engagement, spurred by pulse surveys, directly correlates with lower turnover rates. When employees feel heard, valued, and involved, they are more likely to remain loyal and committed to the organization. It results in higher productivity and profitability for the organization.
Enhanced Communication
Pulse surveys provide a platform for open dialogue and feedback, paving the way for a more collaborative and trusting work environment. By actively listening to employees and incorporating their suggestions, organizations can create a culture of transparency and inclusivity.
Quick and Cost-Effective
With a limited number of focused questions, pulse surveys are swift to complete and require minimal resources. This makes them a time-efficient and economical solution for gathering valuable insights from a large group of employees.
Strategic Decision-Making
The real-time nature of pulse surveys enables organizations to gather timely feedback on specific initiatives or changes. This information is invaluable for making data-driven decisions, refining strategies, and ensuring that organizational direction aligns with employee expectations.
Tips for Choosing the Best Pulse Survey Topic for Your Organization
The major purpose of conducting pulse surveys is to uncover trends and patterns and improve employee involvement levels. The feedback received encourages employers to take proactive efforts toward enhancing the overall work environment. Selecting effective pulse survey topics involves thorough planning and consideration of many factors. Here are some guidelines to help you create a successful pulse survey that offers insightful information and aids in goal achievement
1. Set Definite Goals
Start by clearly defining the objectives of your pulse survey and outlining the specific insights you want to gain, aligning them with your company’s overarching goals. This clarity guides the determination of an optimal sample size and the formulation of relevant questions.
Articulating clear goals is crucial, as they shape both the structure and evaluation of your survey. What do you want to uncover through this survey? Which specific aspects of your organization’s dynamics are you seeking to assess or enhance? Answering these fundamental questions provides a coherent blueprint for an effective pulse survey. Common objectives for deploying pulse surveys include the following:
Obtaining feedback before, during, or following change
Identifying areas for improvement
Tracking progress and performance
2. Identify the Participants
Focus on one or two critical areas of interest in pulse surveys to avoid overwhelming respondents with a multitude of topics in a concise poll, which may diminish their willingness to provide honest feedback. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully consider your survey audience.
Decisions at the departmental level may impact a limited number of employees, whereas broader issues may necessitate input from the entire organization. Therefore, choose the pulse survey participants based on the following criteria:
The entire workforce, if the topic requires feedback from all employees.
Specific teams or departments, such as finance, HR, sales, operations, etc.
Particularly distinctive individuals, such as recent hires or remote employees.
3. Modify the Survey Format
Different survey questions elicit distinct responses and insights. Open-ended questions yield qualitative insights and valuable comments, while closed-ended inquiries provide quantitative responses.
Each question type has its limitations and serves different objectives. To seamlessly integrate quantitative and qualitative questions, it’s crucial to identify the information required to achieve the project’s goals.
Opt for a diverse array of question formats to create a blended survey, fostering a spectrum of insights. Incorporate questions with multiple choices, rating scales, open-ended responses, and quantitative data. The selection of formats can also be influenced by the timeline. If immediate results are necessary, opt for forms with multiple-choice questions for swift completion. Conversely, if the results can be delayed by a week or more, encouraging detailed responses can provide more comprehensive insights for management.
4. Use a Pulse Survey Tool
One of the main objectives of a pulse survey is engagement. With the help of a pulse survey tool, you can make your survey even more interesting. Invest in a user-friendly survey creation platform with advanced features like analytics, reports, question libraries, templates, and a dashboard-like user interface.
A pulse survey tool like Engagedly comes with robust tracking and sharing functionalities and dozens of top pulse survey topics to help you get started. It removes uncertainty from the process and enables you to put together innovative surveys that are interesting and can be filled up in just a few minutes.
5. Involve Employees
Engage your staff in choosing the topics for the pulse survey. Ensure your chosen topics are quantifiable, doable, and within your control area. Organize focus groups, feedback sessions, or anonymous suggestion boxes to get employees’ opinions on the topics they think should be covered in the surveys. This boosts survey participation and relevance while promoting transparency.
6. Set the Questionnaire Based on Urgency
Assess the significance and urgency of each prospective pulse survey topic based on employee feedback, organizational priorities, and current challenges. Determine the subjects that are most relevant to your objectives and have a big impact on employee engagement and productivity. Addressing the most immediate issues guarantees that the survey’s findings produce useful information and actionable suggestions.
Summing Up
Pulse surveys offer a valuable and accessible tool for organizations of all sizes to gain real-time insights into employee sentiment and drive positive change. By aligning your survey topic with strategic objectives, prioritizing actionable data, and actively engaging your workforce, you can unlock the full potential of pulse surveys.
Remember, the most effective pulse surveys are not one-time events but rather ongoing dialogues that foster trust, transparency, and a culture of continuous improvement. By regularly collecting feedback and acting on the insights gained, organizations can create a more engaged, productive, and ultimately successful workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What questions do I ask in a pulse survey?
You must carefully choose the questions to keep the survey brief, easy to fill, focused, and interesting. If you use pulse survey builder software, the task is well handled because the system provides a large library of questions. However, if you are manually constructing the survey, you must be careful that attention doesn’t drift from the central topic. Examples include:
How satisfied are you with the newest work-from-home regulations?
Do you think your employer gives you the recognition you deserve?
Do your responsibilities allow a work-life balance?
Q2. How frequently should a pulse survey be conducted?
Overusing or underusing surveys can reduce employee engagement and trust. To reliably measure change, pulse surveys should be sent either once a month or once a week. You can send short surveys weekly or bi-monthly. Longer surveys can be sent out once a quarter or biannually.
Q3. Why is a pulse survey used?
A pulse survey is used to quickly gather feedback on specific topics, such as employee satisfaction, engagement, and performance. It provides organizations with timely insights to make informed decisions and address key areas of concern or improvement.
The reasoning, arguments, and tools you use to decide which things to focus on and complete first are known as prioritization skills. Prioritizing one assignment could entail devoting more time and energy to others, even if you finish and deliver them all at once. When obligations seem limitless and time is scarce, skill prioritization becomes crucial. It enables the most efficient and effective utilization of your time, freeing both you and your team from less critical tasks that can be deferred.
Mastering prioritization allows you to bring order to chaos, significantly reduce stress, and navigate toward successful outcomes. This proficiency is particularly crucial when managing reprioritized work, demanding careful oversight to ensure recalibrated priorities align with overarching goals. Failing to acquire and apply this skill may result in being overwhelmed by conflicting requests.
When deciding what tasks to focus on and guiding your team, you must consider the importance, time needed, scope, and order of tasks.
Factors That Influence Task Priority
Choosing which tasks to prioritize involves considering some criteria. Let us expand on these factors for a better understanding:
Urgency
Although it may seem apparent, the urgency with which tasks must be finished significantly impacts their priority. Tasks based on time-sensitive variables or those with specific deadlines usually rank higher on the priority list.
Impact
The priority assigned to a task is profoundly shaped by the potential advantages or drawbacks associated with completing or postponing it. Tasks garnering high priority are those capable of delivering substantial benefits or preventing significant issues.
Dependencies
The execution of certain tasks is contingent upon the completion of others, indicating interdependence among them. Consequently, prioritizing immediate tasks that serve as prerequisites for future ones can effectively mitigate potential workflow bottlenecks.
Needs of Clients or Stakeholders
Activities that directly affect clients, consumers, or stakeholders may be given priority since satisfying their requirements and standards is essential to preserving goodwill and client satisfaction.
Level of Effort
It is wise to focus on tasks that carry equivalent business impact but require less effort. Allocating more time and resources to tasks demanding greater effort but offering relatively less significance to the company may not be the most efficient use of resources.
Why are Prioritization Skills Important?
Let us look at some reasons to understand the importance of skill prioritization:
Resource Optimization
Resources such as money, employees, time, and equipment are limited. Therefore, resource optimization is a smart option. It could entail delegating tasks to employees according to their skill sets or giving them the required tools or training.
Prioritizingskills for productivity thus involves assigning resources to people and projects with the highest return on investment.
Prioritizing skills is highly important for surviving and thriving in a competitive workspace. They are required to meet deadlines and complete time-sensitive tasks. A good time manager keeps the team from burning out by not attempting to do everything simultaneously.
Stress Reduction
The sensation of overwhelm and uncertainty often arises when numerous tasks compete for your attention. In such moments, the potency of prioritization emerges as a valuable ally, alleviating some of the mental burden. Effective prioritization not only serves as a stress-relieving tool but also provides a structured pathway to address tasks coherently.
Quality Control
Efficiently prioritizing tasks helps team members dedicate sufficient time and attention to projects. This results in greater quality outcomes. Rushing through jobs can lead to errors and poor quality.
Professional Growth
Employees with good prioritization skills get more challenging tasks and rewards for performing well under pressure. Thus, they benefit from more opportunities and assignments. They have more chances for professional growth. This practice will motivate other employees to learn this essential skill and fulfill their tasks on time.
It’s important to note that not all tasks require short-term prioritization. Organizations can sustain their competitive edge and adapt to changing market dynamics by assessing long-term goals and distributing resources accordingly. Strategic planning and prioritization skills can help with long-term planning.
Adaptability
In the dynamic landscape of fast-paced firms, adaptability is paramount as the workplace continually presents new challenges. Those equipped with prioritization skills can adeptly navigate these challenges, seamlessly integrating them into their existing workload without losing focus.
Useful Skills Prioritization Frameworks
Here are some tried and tested frameworks that you can use in your workplace to help employees prioritize tasks:
The MoSCoW Method
It stands for “Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won’t Have.” This strategy is mainly used for project management. This framework’s various priority levels are:
Must Have: The activities in the Must Have category are essential to the project’s success. These must be finished before touching on other tasks.
Should Have: Items significant but unnecessary for the project’s success fall under the “Should Have” category. These tasks can be postponed if needed without compromising the project’s success.
Could Have: Tasks that are essential but not urgent are considered could-haves. “Could Have” duties include planning for upcoming projects or training for professional growth.
Won’t Have: Tasks that are not necessary and can be put off or removed completely fall under the “Won’t Have” category.
Urgent-Important Matrix, or Eisenhower Matrix
This concept divides jobs into four quadrants according to their priority and urgency:
Important and Urgent: Start working on these chores right away.
Not Urgent But Important: Put off some chores until later to avoid them becoming urgent.
Urgent But Not Important: Assign or find ways to reduce the time spent on these assignments.
Not Important and Not Urgent: Consider skipping or putting off these duties.
The Kano Model
A prioritization framework called the Kano Model assists team managers in ranking product features according to how they affect customer satisfaction. The model divides features into performers, delighters, and must-haves.
Must-Haves: Features that consumers demand from a product or service are known as must-haves. These are the basics that a product or a service is expected to have.
Performers: Performance features improve customer happiness and the overall customer experience when implemented correctly. However, these features may not be necessary.
Delighters: These are unanticipated features that excite and delight clients while setting your product apart from rivals.
Based on how each feature affects customer happiness, managers can first prioritize which items to work on using the Kano model. Managers can then decide where to allocate their efforts for the greatest impact by examining customer input and determining which features fit into each category.
RICE Ratings
It is one of the most popular and successful systems for task prioritization. The process involves evaluating tasks based on effort, confidence, impact, and reach.
Reach
This first aspect of RICE scoring describes how many users or people are impacted by doing a specific task. By analyzing its scope, managers can assess a task’s capacity to influence the organization’s objectives positively. High-reach tasks often have a greater impact on performance. They are prioritized over tasks with lower reach scores.
Impact
The possible advantages of a task for the company or project are called impact in this context. Considering immediate and long-term consequences when utilizing RICE scoring is imperative. Prioritizing tasks with higher impact scores over those with lower scores is advised.
Confidence
Since confidence evaluates the degree of ambiguity surrounding the possible impact of a project, it is an important part of the RICE rating system. A high confidence score denotes a high degree of certainty in the project’s ability to produce the intended results. Prioritizing such projects with a high confidence score is wise. Managers can make data-driven decisions and efficiently allocate resources by including confidence in the RICE score process.
Effort
The labor, time, and materials needed to finish a job or project are all considered forms of effort. Projects with lower effort scores may occasionally be prioritized because they can be finished quickly and effectively.
ICE Rating Method
The ICE scoring model is one of the most often used frameworks for prioritization among managers. This methodology assists in task prioritization according to ease, impact, and confidence. Applying the ICE model in a group context is simple. It finds time-efficient, high-impact, low-effort jobs that balance long-term and short-term objectives.
A task’s impact, confidence, and ease scores are multiplied to get the ICE score. With this approach, managers can ensure that resources are used effectively while concentrating on the most important tasks that improve team performance.
Summing Up
Prioritization stands as a critical practice for numerous reasons, encompassing resource optimization, time management, stress reduction, and quality control. The art of prioritization entails the judicious selection of tasks, considering factors such as urgency, importance, impact, stakeholder needs, effort, and strategic alignment. A plethora of effective prioritization frameworks are available to managers, serving as valuable tools to ensure tasks align seamlessly with goals and resources, thereby fostering successful outcomes.
Experience the power of effective performance management with Engagedly! Discover how our platform might help your organization streamline goal setting, feedback, development, and more. Request a demo today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you demonstrate prioritization skills for employees?
Demonstrating prioritization skills for employees involves setting clear expectations, establishing task priorities, providing guidance on time management, offering resources and tools for task organization, and leading by example through effective prioritization in your own workload.
What is the purpose of prioritization?
Spending time on the vital tasks that will matter in the long term and directing your efforts toward goal achievement is the purpose of prioritization. When you prioritize effectively, you’ll feel less reactive and more focused and intentional.
How can the ability to prioritize help with resource optimization?
Allocating scarce resources, such as time, money, personnel, and equipment, to assignments that provide the most value or return on investment helps with prioritization skills. It results in increased efficiency and productivity.
A LinkedIn report suggests that 94% of employees surveyed feel that providing learning and career development opportunities encourages them to stay longer with the organization.
With the advent of the great resignation, it can be deduced that the current workforce isn’t the same as it was three years ago. People are quitting their jobs in search of more fulfilling career opportunities, and thus, the way talent management used to work has to evolve.
Businesses must realize that prioritizing retention and attracting top talent is paramount to organizational success. From offering opportunities to work remotely to providing pathways for career progression, businesses should shift their focus on adopting employee-centric initiatives to improve the appeal of their work environment to current and future employees.
Old-school talent management practices boast of training employees as one of the best practices for talent management. However, the contribution a robust career development provides to the company’s success is invaluable. This blog aims to understand the significance of employee career advancement opportunities, its benefits, and best practices.
The Concept of Career Development
Career development is an intra-organizational mechanism that shapes employees’ career paths. The process aims at planning, preparing for, and advancing an employee’s career over time. It involves coaching, mentoring, skills development, networking, and setting and achieving career growth goals.
The process of career development is crucial for both employees and employers. It includes the continuous upgradation of the skills and competencies of employees to meet the job’s current demands. Additionally, it provides organizations with a workforce ready to handle challenges head-on, thereby successfully navigating the complexities of the evolving work landscape.
Benefits of Career Development for Employees
A survey by Gallup found that 87% of millennials feel professional growth plays a pivotal role in creating a robust employee experience. Employees who lack opportunities for career growth and guidance in setting their career goals often experience burnout, leading them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Employees need to feel valued, that their goals and development are essential, and that their employer cares about them achieving those goals. Here are four ways career development benefits an employee and the organization.
Boosts Productivity
When employees are assigned definite goals and given access to resources that help in achieving those goals, they learn new skills and, in turn, improve their productivity. Employee engagement also increases when employees are given a practical training ground to exercise what they have learned. Consequently, what employees learn can be passed on to their team members, contributing to the team culture.
Helps Employee Retention
Talent retention is one of the biggest challenges that labor marketing is facing today. Providing employees with career development opportunities is a great way to invest in talent because it communicates to them that they are important. A survey by Better Buys reveals that professional development can improve retention rates by up to 34%.
Attracts Top Talent
A LinkedIn report regarding hiring trends highlights that employees consider organizational culture as one of the core factors while looking for a job. They feel that career development is one of the major factors in determining an organization’s culture. To attract and retain the best talent, an organization must offer incentives that its counterparts don’t.
Increases Profitability
One of the most important benefits of an employee development program is the potential to increase an organization’s profitability. Employee career development boosts engagement, thereby creating a collaborative and productive workforce.
Engaged employees align their personal goals with the organization’s vision and values. This alignment not only encourages retention but also drives up profits and productivity. When team members prioritize their roles and find fulfillment in working towards a shared goal or vision, the organization’s profitability can significantly increase.
Following are the seven strategies employers can use to promote the development of employees:
Take an interest in employee career goals
Make sure you communicate frequently with your team members. To assist employees in seeing their future with the firm, managers must describe a possible career path for them within the organization. This involves determining the precise benchmarks for success and the supplementary resources workers may need to use along the way. Open, direct communication between managers and employees regarding career trajectories is crucial. Showing a personal interest in an employee’s career goals becomes even more important when managing a remote team.
Regular on-the-job training and education programs should support employee learning and development. Employers should encourage team members to enroll in appropriate business courses and online learning portals to boost their professional development.
A survey by Zippia reveals that 92% of employees feel well-planned learning and development plans can positively impact employee engagement. Apart from nurturing individual needs and honing specific talents, it’s crucial to keep employees updated on broader industry advancements.
Hosting lunch-and-learn events via video with either external or internal guest speakers is a convenient and affordable strategy. Moreover, give your staff the time and freedom to attend professional events.
Implement mentoring and job shadowing
Job shadowing is a training program wherein new hires learn tasks by following and observing an experienced employee who has been performing the role for some time. Encouraging a formal mentoring program or job shadowing can help workers grow personally and professionally.
Senior employees can share their well-earned knowledge and advice with less experienced peers. In turn, they can gain from emerging personnel’s new ideas and technical know-how.
Promote job rotation across departments and levels
Job rotation promotes employee growth and reduces employee turnover and stress. The practice creates an atmosphere that fosters fresh thoughts and perspectives on the work being done by the organization and further helps improve employee satisfaction and engagement.
Support employees’ work-life balance
Encourage your staff to work efficiently, be as productive as possible, and take time out for extracurricular activities. Being proactive about the health of your team members can help reduce their stress.
Organizations can boost employee morale by implementing flexible work policies that improve work-life balance. Assist employees in prioritizing work, managing personal responsibilities, and even partaking in professional development events that can enhance their careers.
Recognize and acknowledge good performance
Employees’ roles become more meaningful when their contributions to the company’s mission are recognized. Additionally, it increases their desire to take on more responsibility and move up the organizational ladder. Hence, give regular feedback on employees’ performance and let them know how their work impacts the organization daily. Highlight the company’s progress towards important goals and appreciate employees for their contributions to the company’s success.
Succession planning aids in retaining top talent by providing career development opportunities and a clear path for advancement. Have a succession plan in place for all the key positions in the company. It helps motivate employees to learn new skills and work on new projects needed for career advancement.
Examples of Career Development Programs
Organizations implement several career development programs to accelerate employee development. Below are some of the real-life examples of career development programs undertaken by organizations to support employee growth:
Workday employs a skill-based HR strategy to help staff members identify and develop certain skills. Using exclusive technologies like Career Hub, they link people with opportunities to work in various teams and departments.
Randstad has successfully implemented a global mentoring program for its employees. It has established a university for its internal learning management. The in-house LMS (Learning Management System) provides employees with an extensive catalog of courses related to workplace compliance, business development, etc.
Heineken adopted the reverse mentoring program to help senior leaders connect with junior employees and gain new skills and experiences. Additionally, Heineken’s diversity and inclusion program (DE&I) gave its employees the tools they needed to embrace the culture of the various countries it does business in.
Embarking on a career growth journey involves cultivating a deep sense of purpose while being vigilant in seizing opportunities as they present themselves. Here are some proven strategies for fostering career advancement:
Expand the job description of an employee to allow them to learn more.
Offer promotions to let the employee move up within the current organization.
Offer more responsibility and a better job title.
Facilitate employees in forging meaningful connections and expanding their professional networks by enabling participation in conferences and meet-ups aimed at enhancing their networking capabilities.
Allow employees to contribute to the decision-making process.
Summing Up
As workplace dynamics continue to evolve, businesses seeking to retain talent and improve their bottom line will need to pivot. One of the most powerful strategies to adapt to an evolving marketplace and retain talent is to build a strong and resilient career development program.
A good performance management system is one method companies can use to help employees understand their goals and contributions to the business’s overall growth. Engagedly offers a great performance management solution for a more accessible user experience. The all-in-one platform ensures employees have a robust career development plan that they can create in collaboration with their managers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What does an effective career development program include?
An effective career development program incorporates tailored training, mentorship, and opportunities for skill enhancement, aligning individual goals with organizational needs to foster professional growth and advancement.
Q2. How does career planning differ from career development?
Career development encompasses career planning and management. Career planning is part of career development. It includes identifying and implementing actions to achieve certain career goals.
Q3. What initiatives can organizations take to build an employee’s career path?
Building an employee’s career path needs to start from the onboarding process itself. Learn about each employee’s career goals, including their skills, education, experience, and other qualifications. Define professional development levels and assess the skill gap that needs to be addressed to help employees advance to each level.
Crisis management is a shared responsibility that extends from the boardroom to the field. A better understanding of crises can help an organization’s members prepare for any eventuality. Learning about crisis management training can help you understand its significance and determine whether you want to take such a course. This article discusses the definition of crisis management training, why it is important, what the best leaders do in times of crisis, how to adapt and lead in a crisis, and some frequently asked questions related to this field.
What Precisely is Crisis Management Training?
Crisis management training is preparing professionals to assist organizations during a crisis. The training can include a discussion of various scenarios, such as natural disasters and financial recessions, that may have a significant impact on the health of an organization. Crisis management training can include specific instructions on how to handle specific situations.
What is the Significance of Crisis Management Training?
Crisis management training is important because professionals’ ability to effectively handle business-related crises can have a significant impact on long-term organizational success. The overall goal of this training is for an organization to provide tools, knowledge, and practical skills to employees who are not experts in crisis management so that they can effectively manage crises if they occur. There are various approaches to crisis management training, which vary depending on organizational needs, company culture, and available resources.
7 Things Best Leaders Should Do in Times of Crisis
Because of the vast amount of change and the prevailing uncertainty, a static system will not work for leaders in the current state of affairs. Instead, leadership in crisis management requires a methodical approach that is agile, current, and accurate. They cannot rely on their previous leadership abilities to navigate these unprecedented times; they require a new compass. This results in the need of highly trained coaches who specialize in crisis and recovery leadership.
When there is a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity, people look to their leaders for answers. Here are seven strategies that effective leaders employ in these situations:
1. Provide a Specific Direction
Even when visibility is low during a crisis, leaders owe their people a clear sense of direction. Their focus can be on the short term, which, when combined with regular updates, allows them to respond to constant and rapid change.
2. Concentrate on People
Leaders must consider the human factor more than they have in the past. They must lead people as individuals. Leaders must offer proactive support, encouragement, and engagement to their employees because they are worried and uncertain.
3. Discover a Coach
Leaders must rediscover their humanity and bring it to the workplace — for many, this is the first time. They must discover in themselves the “soft areas” that allow them to connect with their team members beyond the crisis. This magnitude of change is nearly impossible to achieve without assistance or direction, which is where coaching can help.
4. Be Open and Honest
Leaders can inspire trust in times of crisis by providing transparent and frequent information about what they know and don’t know. Employees will develop the trust that is currently lacking in the world if the right information is provided at the right time.
In such times, leaders can also inspire hope, but it must be open-ended and without a deadline. No one knew in the beginning how long the pandemic will last, so offering a timeline (“it will be over by the summer”) would have been a mistake. If that timeline is incorrect, it could harm morale and psychological resilience.
5. Foster self-leadership
Leaders must set an example by pushing themselves beyond their concerns and uncertainties. Leading others in a crisis is difficult and almost unethical without self-leadership.
Self-leadership in turbulent waters is a process that begins with leaders deciding to stand up for their principles or values. They go beyond their limitations and difficulties to convey those principles and values, and they chart a clear course and vision for themselves. Only then can they provide that direction to those they lead.
6. Concern for Their Colleagues
Leaders must assist their team members in overcoming their fears so that they can return to being successful employees. They must legitimize people’s concerns rather than dismiss them. Great leaders such as Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela are examples of this leadership trait.
7. Develop Your Leadership Skills
True leadership in crisis guides others from where they are to where they know they can go. Employees grow and develop with the right leaders, reaching new heights of achievement. Not everyone who is promoted to management is a true leader. Real leaders constantly learn and grow, and they recognize the greatness in themselves and others.
Going through a crisis is a rite of passage for any aspiring leader. After all, being a good manager is easy when everything is going well, but your ability as a leader is truly tested when there is a true crisis.
While leadership in crisis management is high on a manager’s priority list, it is also one of the most difficult areas to navigate. As a result, it’s not surprising that a company’s crisis preparation can range from $60,000 to $500,000. (depending on the industry and location). Unprepared companies in a crisis can spend millions of dollars on mitigation while losing hundreds of millions in reputation and shareholder value.
The real problem with crisis management is that it is so unpredictable. You never know when or how a crisis will occur. Think about the Covid-19 pandemic. We would have laughed if someone had told us in 2019 that the world would be in a two-year lockdown with a massive shift to remote work.
Meanwhile, according to a Spiceworks survey, while 95% of organizations have a crisis recovery plan in place, 23% never test the effectiveness of that plan. And, among those who do not test their plans, 61% blame a lack of time, while 53% blame insufficient resources.
As a result, it’s safe to say that most leaders are not only mentally unprepared to cope with a crisis, but they also don’t know how to manage their workforce in a high-risk situation.
How to Be an Effective Crisis Manager
A leader is expected to play various roles depending on the stage of a crisis. For example, in the early stages of a crisis, when its nature is ambiguous, you will be expected to be a problem solver and propose various solutions. Later on, when the facts and figures become clearer, you will be expected to shift gears and make difficult decisions.
The elephant in the room is how to be a better leader all through the leadership in the crisis management process. That is, how can you be a leader who efficiently assists your team in addressing a crisis without them eventually despising you? To put everything in perspective, here are a few pointers on how to be a good crisis leader:
1. Recognize the issue
Leaders may refuse to acknowledge that they are in a crisis, refuse to inform their people about the reality of the situation, make poor decisions, and thus become ineffective crisis leaders. Don’t use your usual strategy of sweeping the problem under the rug. Nobody likes being kept in the dark, and your employees are no exception.
Respect your employees and communicate the situation as it is transparently. However, you should knowbe aware that transparency does not imply negativity. Even if you have bad news to give, don’t get too caught up in it. Inspire your team to consider the big picture rather than what will happen in the short term. Discuss the next steps with your team, the risks involved with the action plan (if any), and what can be done right away to combat the issue.
2. Remove the red tape and minimize friction points
During a crisis, there is no time or space for lengthy deliberations. Limiting the number of friction points should be one of a leader’s top priorities during a crisis. A friction point can be anything that slows down decision-making, from an unnecessary hierarchy in the approval to a lack of emergency funds.
Besides encouraging self-leadership, leadership in crisis management can decrease bureaucracy by appointing a small group of team leaders to speed up decision-making. As a leader, you don’t have the luxury of second-guessing yourself, so for effectively managing a crisis, it all boils down to:
Making a no-nonsense priority list- You don’t want your employees squandering their time and effort on the wrong activities. Record your priorities early in the crisis, get your whole team on the same page, and leave some wiggle room for future changes to the plan.
Allow your front-line decision-makers complete autonomy- While there will almost certainly be mistakes made, this is an unavoidable part of the process.
Prioritize the decisions with the least impact first- To be honest, making the wrong decision, especially under duress, is all too common. That’s why it’s a good idea, to begin with, the decisions that won’t have a big impact and then move on to the ones that will. This ensures that your employees understand what is at peril while also having trust in themselves.
3. Don’t lose sight of your empathy along the way
Your employees may require you now more than ever. Taking care of your people is one of the most crucial things you can do during a crisis.
Not only does leadership in crisis management necessitate empathy for those affected, but it also necessitates the ability to pin down the source of problems by asking the right questions to the right person at the right time. Empathy is the equivalent of saying to your employees, “I care about your happiness and well-being,” but making sure they don’t interpret it as a sign of weakness on your part.
Employees are more committed to their employers when they believe they are more than just a cog in the machine. Empathy allows you to respond to your team’s needs with openness rather than distrust. It’s all about finding a happy medium between compassion and the real world.
The true challenge, however, is to be empathetic while still ensuring that team goals are met. Here are a few pointers to help you balance your empathetic and managerial sides:
Create a strong recognition culture- Purposeful recognition, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on the morale of your employees. Even the simple act of saying a sincere “thank you” can give your employees the boost they need, especially during times of crisis.
Hold informal check-ins once a week- Every week, set aside at least five minutes for one-on-one time with your employees. Make these meetings more unique by inviting employees to share their highs and lows from the previous week. Make certain that these conversations cover both the personal and professional elements of your employees’ lives so that you have a complete view of their mental health.
Make sure you have a mental health plan in place to assist employees who may need assistance.
Begin advocating for attainable goals and productivity standards- Dealing with a crisis not only jeopardizes your well-being but also that of your employees. In such circumstances, it is common to experience burnout, stress, and anxiety. It is your responsibility as a leader to foster a positive and uplifting environment in which employees believe they do not need to burn out to accomplish something. You can begin by using the SMART goals framework to help your team members understand what goals are achievable.
4. Develop a strong and adaptable communication strategy
A full-fledged crisis response will necessitate significant involvement and assistance from multiple internal organizational teams. As a result, whatever plan you ultimately implement will almost certainly be thorough, multilayered, and integrated throughout the organization.
However, for such a thorough plan to be successful, your internal teams must be conscious of what, when, and how their respective parts are expected to be carried out. Only if you have a solid communication plan in place to cope with such high-risk situations will you be able to do so.
This is where having an adaptive communication toolbox can assist leaders in cutting through the noise and assisting the team in collaborating effectively throughout all stages of the crisis. It also helps to have prior communication training for you and your team, in addition to having a clear communication strategy. While this may seem obvious, anyone who has been through an organizational crisis understands how different communication in a crisis is from communication during a project launch.
The need for crisis management in an organization arises from the imperative to effectively respond to unexpected disruptions and challenges. It provides a structured approach to handle crises, protect stakeholders, maintain business continuity, and safeguard the organization’s reputation. Crisis management helps mitigate the impact of unforeseen events, ensuring a coordinated and strategic response to navigate through uncertainties and recover swiftly.
Q2. What is the difference between crisis management and crisis leadership?
Crisis management encompasses the entire process of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a crisis. It involves strategic planning and coordination. On the other hand, crisis leadership specifically focuses on the actions and decisions of leaders during a crisis, playing a crucial role within the broader scope of crisis management.
Q3. What are the most critical crisis-management abilities?
The most critical crisis-management abilities include effective communication, quick decision-making, strategic planning, adaptability, and the ability to coordinate and lead teams under pressure. These skills are essential for successfully navigating and mitigating the impact of unexpected challenges and disruptions.
It’s no secret how corporate training is vital for every business. In fact, 68% of employees regard training and development as a critical policy in an organization.
The statistics don’t lie:Nearly 95% of employees will stay in a company that offers learning opportunities. Meanwhile, companies that invest in training earn a 24% increase in return on investment (ROI).
But of course, you don’t just offer training to your employees. There’s a need to plan, strategize, and optimize your programs. One way to do so is to harness the power of today’s technology.
In this article, we’ll share with you how to leverage technological resources for corporate training. Read on to learn how to use them to your advantage and for the benefit of your employees.
To optimize your corporate learning management, what better way to proceed than harnessing the power of modern technology? Digital tools and technological resources used for training can streamline processes, facilitate better learning, and aid both mentors and trainees.
As such, many businesses invest in software technology for their training programs. The proof is in the numbers: The global training software market could grow from $52.7 billion in 2020 to $115.49 billion by 2028. It’s projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.34%.
But how do you make the most of technological resources for your business? Below are ways to leverage technology for your corporate training.
To invest in LMS, establishing an e-learning platform is the first step to take. With the help of technology, here are learning resources you can develop for your training:
Online Courses: Tap your training department to create different courses for various processes that trainees can access digitally.
Training Resources: Let them develop training materials that trainees and even employees can use quickly and easily.
Frequently Asked Questions: Add FAQs to your e-learning platform that all employees can access, especially your trainees.
Knowledge Base: Establish a go-to resource hub for all employees, including trainees looking for answers or needing to hone their skills.
Conduct Online Training Programs
Digital tools and communications technology have become such a game-changer in business. With the advent of globalization, they have paved the way for remote work. Think of the rise of the gig economy and the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
As such, Ryan Hammill, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ancient Language Institute, recommends conducting training online. “Since you have employees working in different parts of the world, train them via digital platforms. Leverage online tools such as Zoom, Slack, and Skype.”
That said, consider utilizing technology and conducting the following:
Webinars: Conduct seminars via the web to train your employees, no matter where they are in the world.
Online Workshops: Offer virtual workshops to enhance the knowledge and hone the skills of your remote employees.
Virtual Classrooms: Hold online training and onboarding via online classrooms for newly hired employees.
Create Video Content for Training
Did you know that videos resonate well with people? They are easily digestible and highly memorable for your employees. On the other hand, blocks of text can be boring and overwhelming for trainees looking to learn.
That said, here are video content pieces you can create for training:
Educational Videos: Produce clips about your company, department, processes, or tasks to educate your trainees.
Tutorial Clips: Create tutorials in the form of videos to assist and guide your learners during the training.
Interactive Videos: Consider clickable links, automatic quizzes, and other interactive clips for employee engagement during training.
Use Simulations for Practical Training
You might have heard of the extended reality (XR) technology. This technology provides people with immersive experiences. And using this applies to corporate training as well.
Linda Shaffer, Chief People Operations Officer at Checkr, suggests using simulations for practical training. “They enable trainees to hone their skills as if in real-life settings. Simulations allow them to practice and commit mistakes until they get better and better.”
That said, consider leveraging the following:
Virtual Reality: VR is a digital environment offering a fully immersive experience. It lets trainees immerse themselves in online platforms to learn more.
Augmented Reality: AR is a view of the real world, but overlaid with digital elements. It allows trainees to perform as if in actual settings but on online platforms.
Mixed Reality: MR is a combination of VR and AR. Combining the two creates an e-learning platform for an enhanced experience.
Conduct Interactive Assessments
Corporate training programs don’t only impart knowledge and hone skills. They also require evaluations to see if trainees have learned enough during the actual training. These assessments help you identify areas for improvement and make some necessary changes in your programs.
Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel, suggests offering interactive assessments using technology. “It’s time to go beyond the typical training evaluations. Make these evals creative, engaging, and fun so your trainees learn even better.”
As such, Han recommends the following:
AMP Email Quizzes and Polls: Send emails to your trainees, but embed them with interactive polls and quizzes using AMP technology.
Drag-and-drop Activities: Ensure your e-learning platform allows trainees to drag and drop elements for online assessments.
Interactive Diagrams: Use diagrams to simplify complex ideas for enhanced learning, but incorporate interactions in the evaluations.
Gamified Assessments: What better way to spice up your evaluations than turning them into fun and exciting games?
Role-playing Simulations: Consider using XR technology to simulate training interactions and allow role plays.
Consider Gamification for Training
The time has changed for the world of business. To make employees focused, productive, and engaged, you must provide them with the best experience. Gamification in the workplace is best for a fun learning experience. And this practically applies to corporate training.
Below are ways you can turn your training programs into exciting and engaging games:
Leaderboard: Let your trainees compete for the top position on your leaderboard based on key metrics.
Point System: Award trainees for taking up courses, completing tasks, answering quizzes, or playing games.
Achievement Badges: Recognize the trainees’ accomplishments with digital badges they can use online during the course of training.
Quests and Challenges: Allow trainees to play course-related games for education and entertainment rolled into one.
Gerald Lombardo, Head of Growth at Popl mentions, “Gamification in the workplace has become an essential tool for modern businesses. It not only transforms training into an engaging experience but also taps into our intrinsic motivation to compete, achieve, and learn. By implementing gamification elements like leaderboards, point systems, badges, and quests, companies can revolutionize their training programs and unlock the full potential of their workforce”.
Set an LMS in place
Earlier, we emphasized the importance of investing in LMS. However, we only covered establishing an e-learning platform for corporate training programs.
Anthony Martin, Founder and CEO of Choice Mutual, highlighted the value of LMS. “It isn’t just a digital platform used for corporate training; it also serves as the backbone of your programs. It allows you to organize training materials, assist mentors, facilitate trainees, measure performance, and improve programs.
The LMS goal is to provide both corporate trainers and employee trainees with a seamless and effective training experience. Here’s what to consider:
Training Courses and Materials: As mentioned above, create an e-learning platform with all these training resources.
Progress Tracking: Monitor the performance of every trainee and measure their development against the key metrics.
Process Improvement Plan (PIP): Provide struggling employees with PIPs as part of their training programs.
Final Words
Corporate training is crucial in business. It primarily aims to enhance the employees’ knowledge and skills. Along with this is to address performance gaps, increase workforce potential, ensure employee satisfaction, increase business productivity, and more.
Utilizing modern technology is one way to optimize your corporate training program. To maximize it, consider the seven practical ways to leverage technological resources. But before taking the plunge, review your current programs, understand your employee needs, and decide what digital tools and technologies to invest in.
Harnessing the power of today’s technology can kick your corporate training up a notch. Ultimately, that can bring out the best in every employee for the good of your company!
In order to foster productivity and innovation, it is essential for a workplace to cultivate a culture of idea-sharing. This involves creating an environment where employees feel empowered to share their thoughts and are receptive to new ideas. When employees feel comfortable expressing their views, they are more likely to contribute creatively and be more productive. To achieve this, consider implementing the following strategies to promote a culture of sharing idea in your workplace.
1. Encourage Employees To Share Their Ideas
Good ideas are the lifeblood of any successful organization. Without fresh ideas, businesses stagnate and eventually fail. That’s why it’s so important to encourage employees to share their ideas. When employees feel free to share their ideas, it helps create a culture of idea-sharing that can be a powerful engine for growth.
Of course, not all ideas are equally good, and it’s essential to have a process to evaluate and select the best ones. But even the act of sharing ideas can help to generate new and better ideas. So if you want to create a company culture of innovation, start by encouraging your employees to share their ideas.
2. Create an Open-Minded Environment
Creating an open-minded environment is essential for fostering a culture of idea-sharing. The best way to do this is to encourage employees to challenge the status quo and think outside the box. Employees who feel they must conform to a particular form of thinking are much less likely to share their ideas.
But if they feel like their ideas are welcome, they’ll be more likely to share them. One way to create an open-minded environment is to promote diversity in the workplace. When people of different backgrounds and perspectives come together, they bring a wealth of other ideas.
Another way to create an open-minded environment is to encourage debate and discussion.
Brainstorming is a great way to generate new ideas. When you bring employees together to brainstorm, they can share their ideas and build on each other’s thoughts. Brainstorming can also help break down barriers between employees, making it easier for them to share their ideas in the future.
If you want to hold a successful brainstorming session, you should keep a few things in mind. First, make sure everyone feels comfortable participating. Second, encourage employees to think outside the box. And third, ensure you have a process for evaluating and selecting the best ideas.
4. Reward Employees for Sharing Their Ideas
To encourage employees to share their ideas, you must ensure they’re rewarded. This doesn’t mean you have to give them a raise or a bonus every time they come up with a good idea. But it does mean you should recognize and reward employees willing to share their thoughts.
This could be done through a formal awards program or simply by verbally thanking employees for their contributions. Whatever form it takes, rewarding employees for sharing their ideas will help to create a culture of idea-sharing in your workplace.
Employees who feel like their ideas will be met with judgment are much less likely to share them. That’s why it’s so important to have a policy of ‘no judgment’ in the workplace and this should be implemented from the time you interview a candidate. This doesn’t mean that you should never critique an idea.
But it does mean that employees should feel comfortable sharing their views without fear of being judged. One way to create a ‘no judgment’ policy is to have a designated space for employees to share their thoughts. This could be a physical space like a brainstorming room, or an online space, like a forum or chat room.
Another way to create a ‘no judgment’ policy is to encourage anonymous idea sharing. This way, employees can share their ideas without fear of being judged.
Conclusion
Fostering a workplace culture centered around sharing ideas is crucial for driving innovation. The optimal approach involves cultivating an open-minded environment, conducting brainstorming sessions, and recognizing employees for actively sharing their ideas. The implementation of a ‘no judgment’ policy further encourages a free flow of ideas. Follow these strategies to establish a robust culture of idea-sharing in your workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why is it important to share ideas at work?
Ans. The culture of idea sharing at the workplace helps you to broaden your reach with your network of connections. Sharing ideas with your coworkers helps them to gain knowledge, which can be used in their work.
Q2. How do you reward employee ideas?
Ans. Some ways to give rewards to employee ideas are:
Lunch with the boss
Company apparel
‘Thank you’ meeting
Certificate of achievement
Recognition in front of peers
Spot awards
Hand-written note
Q3. How do you create an open-minded environment in the workplace?
Since the Great Resignation, many employees have left jobs that no longer serve their needs or value their effort. One commonality of these inefficient workplaces is poor internal communication, causing confusion, frustration, and stress. When management crosses lines or expectations aren’t properly managed, things get muddied. It can become expensive and exhausting to lose workers to poor communication, so it’s important to consider some easy improvements.
Providing a workspace that communicates effectively and listens to its staff can take a bit of work. Thankfully, this process can be made easier through just a few changes to your business’s dynamic.
Utilize Specific Communication Methods
Between all of the apps and software available these days for communication, it’s simple to find one that works best for your company. Some popular choices include Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord. However, you don’t want to throw too many options at your staff.
One method will help streamline communication and ensure that nothing becomes lost in translation. Plus, it allows staff to refer back to messages, send media, and even create more informal channels, such as staff wins and pet photos, to build camaraderie.
With a constant influx of emails, it can be difficult to sort through them and respond to everything efficiently.
However, part of managing your inbox is ensuring communication doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Set aside time each day for emails, especially on projects or answers that require a swift reply. Set reminders for anything that can wait a day or two, and ensure any emails you send have all the information included so that nothing confuses your co-workers.
Pay Attention and Listen
Part of effective communication is active listening.
It can be quite defeating for staff to feel like their problems aren’t being heard or recognized, or their ideas aren’t valued. Pay attention to what people say and what isn’t being said, such as their body language during meetings and discussions. Create opportunities to listen to feedback, both positive and negative. Perhaps add an anonymous suggestion box or schedule a forum where everyone can share their ideas.
Provide Helpful Communication Resources
Apart from communication apps, having project management tools can also build a bridge of contact. These are useful in keeping track of projects, deadlines, and other pertinent information. Instead of employees having to chase down their co-workers to get updates, project management tools help to have a streamlined platform to detail new and old assignments alike.
You can also use them to send reminders, upload important media, and track working time on a specific task, all in one place.
Plan Meetings for Essential Business
For some, meetings can feel like a waste of time, especially when they don’t have to attend or you could easily convey the information via email. However, knowing you need to cover and collaborate on through a meeting is vital since you don’t want your employees to lose precious working time.
Decide which correspondence needs to be handled face-to-face in a meeting, such as discussing a new project that involves all hands on deck. Otherwise, save your staff a busy day of meetings so they can focus on other business.
Give Clear Expectations
Whether it’s for a certain role or task, giving clear expectations can help internally. It can be frustrating for employees to feel stumped on management expectations, work on the wrong things, or have to ask a supervisor what their role is constantly. Instead, set distinct goals and intentions from the get-go and have it written somewhere for future reference. This documentation will also let them feel open in communicating any potential questions or issues since you have established rapport, and they know to rely on you for precise instruction.
Many bosses and supervisors have an open-door policy that allows staff to feel comfortable approaching them with anything. These discussions can include work concerns or even personal matters causing issues. This type of trust and understanding lets employees feel respected and provides managers insight into their staff’s day-to-day. This trust can be crucial for a business to run smoothly while maintaining a positive internal communication environment.
Encourage Participation and Conversation
In grade school or college, certain activities may have involved participation points. Encourage participation by your employees through various methods. Engaged staff tends to perform better, so providing performance-based feedback, open discussions, and ways to earn perks will help build on your internal workplace communications.
Build on Relationships
One way to build on existing relationships is through team building. Slack channels where you can share memes and other casual correspondence are nice, but what about ways to strengthen those bonds?
Employees who trust their co-workers will be more likely to communicate openly, so planning a small retreat or after-work event can help. If you’re a remote-based business, plan a day for some activities via Zoom or Skype that teams can participate in, such as puzzles or virtual escape rooms.
Sharing with your employees the latest goings-on and happenings is important. Are there any updates they need? What about positive outcomes from recent projects?
Hosting periodic check-ins, whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, can be a consistent gathering to fill everyone in. These check-ins don’t have to be overly formal or take up much of the work day.
A weekly email can help loop everyone in on announcements, upcoming events, or other information to provide open communication.
Conclusion
There are many ways to improve internal communication at your workplace, and while you may not need to overhaul your current methods entirely, you should at least consider the above list on where to start. Technology is one area that can certainly help, between communication apps, project management tools, and performance management.
Other practices involve active listening, open communication policies, and relationship building. So how will you use these to focus on enhancing your company’s communication?
All of us have passed a personality test at least once. We want to know which career path to choose, why we behave in one way or another, or what skills will help us in the future.
For example, is it reasonable to stay in a stressful environment when you better work with numbers and databases, not with people? That’s why personality tests exist. They illustrate where you’re the most productive and what makes you, you.
Knowing your predispositions isn’t just useful for you to know when applying for a job. It’s also helpful for recruiters and companies (when they hire Magento developers, designers, copywriters, office managers, etc.). Will the candidate perform well in a leadership role? Are they team players or individualists?
Figure out everything right from the start. It will help you predict whether the person fits the company. If not, there is a high chance they’ll quit at the first opportunity, even if they don’t plan it now.
So, if you want to not just “close” the position but find the most appropriate person, this article is for you. It outlines some of the most popular personality tests to gather your dream team.
Is it Necessary to Include Personality Tests in the Recruiting Process?
When hiring someone, you analyze various criteria such as education, experience, and skills. You might ask questions about candidates’ habits and personal traits during the interview.
But a 40-minute job interview doesn’t give a complete understanding of a person. Some may be nervous to respond adequately; others may be overwhelmed and act too fidgety.
That’s when personality tests come in handy. They provide more unbiased information on the candidates’ characteristics and can reduce employee turnover. For instance, revealing that a person is focused and calm may make them more likely to succeed in bookkeeping than in sales.
However, tests differ in terms of effectiveness and preciseness. Therefore, you need to carefully choose the test to diagnose the needed qualities to build a productive team.
Personality tests are more widespread among Fortune 100 companies. To be exact, about 80% of them utilize MBTI tests (Myers-Briggs type indicator) to ensure efficient teamwork. Unfortunately, only 13% of all American employers rely on personality tests. But those numbers will rise as smaller companies follow the lead of the largest corporations.
3 Personality Tests to Find Perfect Candidates for Team Roles
1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test evaluates people’s preferences based on Jung’s ideas of psychological types.
Isabel Myers and her mother, Katherine Briggs, took Carl Jung’s theory and developed this test for women. By creating this assessment, they hoped to make people’s lives happier and healthier.
People are classified into one of 16 personality types after taking the test. Note that they’re equal and don’t imply any weaknesses or abnormalities.
This testing allows you to understand the personality better and fulfill the potential. As a result, you can bring maximum value with your work rather than taking an unsuitable role and ignoring your true capabilities.
The questionnaire considers four scales:
Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I), meaning how much social interaction people need and whether they derive strength from communication or from being alone;
Sensing (S) – Intuition (N), showing how people gather information. They may focus on facts (sensing) or prefer intuition;
Thinking (T) – Feeling (F), illustrating how people make decisions. If thinking dominates feeling, people will rely on objective data rather than emotions;
Judging (J) – Perceiving (P), denoting how adaptable people are. The more people rely on judging, the less flexible they will be.
The Myers & Briggs Foundation states that this test is reliable and legitimate. However, the respondents’ results differ when passing the test a second time in about 40% and 75% of cases, so you can’t fully rely on them.
16Personalities provides a free test and analysis of each personality type (including workplace habits).
2. DiSC
Another personality profile test is DiSC. This technique appeared in the 20th century, thanks to psychologist William Moulton Marston. DiSC is an abbreviation standing for four main traits:
Dominance (D)
People with a high “D” score are decisive and result-oriented rather than process-oriented. Such people prefer fast movement, risk-taking, and getting what they want immediately. Their strengths are the ability to take responsibility, control the situation, and keep power in their hands. On the other hand, they can be impolite, inflexible, and act without reaching an agreement.
Influence (I)
The Influence personality is the most unpredictable, energetic, and extroverted team member. They are people-oriented and build connections with others. However, they can become unorganized, depending on people and ignoring details and duties. They can’t live without the approval of others. So they often react to pressure with verbal attacks.
Steadiness (S)
The Steady personality profile is quieter and more introverted. Such people are calm, patient, modest, and balanced. They are people-oriented and enjoy assisting others, collaborating, and establishing balance and harmony within a team.
At the same time, the desire to avoid disagreement may lead to unwanted results. They want to keep their relationships intact. That’s why they hesitate to speak up or draw attention, preferring to remain unnoticed. They may be afraid of change and look for stability and security. Indecisiveness may limit them.
Conscientiousness (Сompliance)
When the conscientious personality dominates, people pay attention to details, concentrate on the task and perform the work at the highest level. They are analytical, accurate, and cautious.
Such concentration on details may slow down the work. First, people with a high “C” score are usually perfectionists, which is unaffordable with strict deadlines. They expect everyone to adhere to their standards and everything to be flawless before finishing a task.
This test enables you to determine how team members will interact. Is it worth hiring a person where speed plays a role in decision-making? Will this person be decisive and communicative enough? Remember that there are no one-size-fits-all representatives. We are now talking about dominant character traits, but they can come with others.
You can take the free DISC personality test. It’s a short assessment based on 12 questions, so you can finish it in about 10 minutes.
3. StrengthsFinders
The third item on the list isn’t a personality test. The CliftonStrengths assessment is a performance-based tool. It aims to define your innate skills and the ability to apply them.
The Clifton StrengthsFinder serves to determine your talents. What natural predispositions influence your thinking, feeling, and behavior? The test relies on the idea that all people have 34 basic skills. Everyone is unique according to the degree of these talents.
In which sequence do they affect your personality? Some talents are especially strong, they come naturally, and you don’t have to put effort into doing something, i.e., communicating with large crowds. You constantly use such skills and are successful in them. Other talents are used extremely rarely and require significant effort. For example, you aren’t used to demonstrating emotions.
The Clifton StrengthsFinder is a set of 177 questions. You have a pair of descriptions on the left and right, such as “I am a sensitive person” and “I am a logical person”. You can click on the dots to choose the best-suited variant and the extent. A neutral response is also available.
You have to pick the right option within 20 seconds. Why? The reason is that the accuracy of the test results depends on whether you answer without thinking much. The next question will appear automatically after 20 seconds. The whole process takes 25-30 minutes to complete.
The test will define your top five strengths, explain their uniqueness, and suggest how to use them to your advantage. So it’s not just about looking for talents. It’s about harnessing the full potential. The assessment cost is $49.99.
Key Takeaways
Professional skills are still necessary when it comes to making the final decision. But how will the candidate complete tasks? Will the team be productive when it consists of leaders alone?
Strike a balance between various personality types. For example, a team of extroverted and creative people may generate innovative insights. But their energy may not often lead to actions to implement numerous ideas but remain on paper. So a successful business should maximize its effectiveness and employ people eager to follow instructions rather than create something new. That’s why you need to conduct personality tests.
They help you understand how a person will cooperate with others from the get-go. You can choose one of the tests I’ve provided above, such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DiSC, and StrengthsFinders or discover other ways to check a candidate during interviews, problem-solving tests, and teamwork activities.
This article is written by Art Malkovich.
Art Malkovich is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Onilab, a full-service eCommerce agency focused on Magento. Being a Certified Magento Specialist and Master Project Manager, he keeps up to date with the latest trends in SEO, SaaS, B2B, and technology in general. Art is a business development professional with hands-on experience in eCommerce, Magento development, and migration.
Are you still trying to decode the complicated challenge of employee engagement in your organization? Have you done well to reap the tangible business benefits of high employee engagement? As per Forbes, organizations with high employee engagement can drive 21 percent higher profitability. That does sound amazing for sure. However, it is also true that not all organizations have been successful in cultivating the kind of engagement that can effectively contribute to business success.
To substantiate, as per Gallup, not more than 36 percent of US workers are engaged in their work. This explains why organizations are now keen on looking at some novel and unique strategies for promoting greater engagement.
However, Cultivating strong workplace belongingness in employees can help you achieve exemplary levels of employee engagement. It is vital to ask here, what is workplace belonging and how can it help organizations unleash scalable engagement?
In this blog, we find answers to these questions that will help you understand how creating a strong sense of belonging among employees can be the key to employee engagement. To begin with, let us delineate the concept of workplace belonging.
Defining Workplace Belongingness
In the workplace, employees feel different kinds of emotions that reflect their commitment, behavior, and confidence. Among these feelings and emotions, the sense of belongingness that they feel for their organization is important for you as a leader to assess. In simple terms, workplace belongingness explains how accepted and valued your employees feel in the workplace.
When employees carry a strong sense of belonging, they manifest the belief that they deserve to be in the workplace and are valuable to the organization. Furthermore, this sense of belonging also influences the kind of emotional affection they feel for their employers and organizations. Simply put, when your employees feel a strong sense of belonging, they will have greater loyalty. Besides, they will see their individual success in correlation with organizational growth.
Now that we are on the same page regarding what workplace belonging signifies, let us understand its implications. The subsequent section elucidates the various ways in which workplace belonging can boost employee engagement.
5 ways workplace belonging can enhance employee engagement
Enhances confidence and performance
Let’s start this discussion with a simple question you must think about as a leader. Will your employees give their best unless they feel confident enough in the workplace? Needless to say, confidence is the foundation of exceptional performances. In fact, your employees’ self-belief and morale blend together to reflect the overall confidence that your organization carries.
But what do you think is essential for them to feel confident enough? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Your employees will feel optimistic when they feel valued in the organization. Confidence comes with acceptance and as a leader, it is your responsibility to make your employees feel accepted for their individuality, skills, talents, and opinions.
When you successfully promote that kind of confidence in them, performance levels are bound to go up. Can you perform exceptionally well despite the fact that you are not very confident about it? Certainly, the chances are quite bleak, to be fair. Having said that, you need to promote greater belongingness in your employees to channel their confidence in the right way.
The bottom line is that confidence and performance complement each other. When employees feel valued, they will feel the constant urge to raise the bar of performance and offer greater value to the organization.
To substantiate, Deloitte research reveals that a strong sense of workplace belonging among employees can increase their job performance by 56 percent. The report further highlights that workplace belonging can also lead to a 50 percent decline in employee turnover. Clearly, workplace belonging holds the key to workplace motivation.
Did you know that? Well, now you do and you must act on it to boost your company’s engagement scenarios.
Brings down absenteeism
Absenteeism is quite a realistic and credible metric of employee management, engagement, and satisfaction. Looking at the broader perspective, there could be multiple and subjective reasons for high absenteeism in an organization. Among these reasons, a desolate feeling of belongingness in the workplace is surely considerable. To explain, employees will only want to come to a workplace if they feel that strong sense of association and belonging. Otherwise, they can choose from a wide spectrum of excuses to make for not attending the office. Besides, when they have a strong sense of belongingness, they will understand their responsibility better. Consequently, they will not keep things hanging by taking arbitrary leaves.
Assessing further, there is a proven inverse relationship between workplace belonging and absenteeism. Research suggests that by promoting a strong sense of workplace belongingness, organizations can reduce sick days by 75 percent.
The lower the absenteeism rate in your organization, the higher will be the engagement. So, create a workplace people would love to be a part of on a daily basis. Give your employees a workplace that inspires the best in them every day. For that, it is essential to foster powerful feelings of belongingness among employees that enable them to contribute more proactively.
Promotes greater trust
As per Harvard Business Review, trust and employee engagement have a direct correlation. This correlation is explained through the following insights.
Employees in high trust companies exhibit 76 percent higher engagement and 50 percent higher productivity. Also, employees manifest 106 percent higher energy levels when trust is embedded in the natural virtue in the organizational culture.
In organizations that cultivate trust, employees express 29 percent higher satisfaction
In companies where there is high trust between co-workers, burnout rates are 40 percent lower and the stress levels are 76 percent lower.
It is amazing how a single virtue of trust can lead an organization to incredible things. What we need to figure out is the correlation between workplace belonging and trust. Acceptance is the basis of trust and this will always remain an undeniable fact.
When employees feel accepted, valued, and appreciated, they trust their co-workers with greater ease. This is how belongingness proves to be imperative for positive workplace relationships that can drive high engagement.
With high trust, people collaborate better and steer their organizations to new horizons of success. Are you willing to go that extra mile to create high trust in your organization? As a leader, you need to lead by example
Cultivates better inclusiveness
Inclusion and diversity are among the most significant trends in the contemporary workplace. Organizations are more eager than ever before to embrace the virtues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. However, for that, hiring a diverse workforce may not be sufficient.
To get the best out of your diverse workforce, you need to incorporate inclusion as a natural virtue into your company’s culture. This is where creating a strong sense of workplace belonging among your employees can be of great help.
When you foster an inspiring sense of workplace belonging, you include your employees in the decision-making process and empower them to share their perspectives. Or to look at it the other way, when employees carry that feeling of belongingness, they feel like contributing more. In this zeal to add more value to the organization, they come up with innovative ideas and creative insights that can be of great value to any organization.
In fact, in the highly competitive business world, you need to innovate at every level to sustain your competitive advantages. What better than a workforce that feels excited every day to bring innovative and creative ideas to the floor? You can literally draw great value from a workforce that does not shy away from taking initiative.
By promoting a greater sense of belonging among your employees, you can also inspire greater creative liberty among your employees. This creative liberty will become the basis of a massive hike in employee engagement levels.
All in all, creating a sense of belonging in your workforce can lead to greater inclusiveness in multifarious ways. Further, this increased inclusiveness will lead to higher engagement in the workplace in multiple ways.
Leads to a more resilient workforce
In the contemporary corporate world, the skill of resilience has immeasurable value. In the last few years, daunting challenges such as COVID-19 pandemic have tested businesses to their core. Organizations that were resilient enough to these changes survived, while others went out of business..
Resilience has become a sought-after skill in the modern workplace. It also complements engagement in a direct way. When employees are resilient, they stay upbeat even in the face of adverse challenges.
As a leader, You would want your employees to have exemplary resilience at all times. But what does it take to inspire resilience among employees?
Employees will give their best to stand by their organizations when there is a powerful sense of belongingness. Why would they want to face all kinds of challenges for their organizations unless they are convinced that they are a valuable asset to the company? Therefore, it is correct to say that by promoting belongingness among your employees, you can make them more resilient and hence, boost engagement.
Conclusion
To encapsulate, there are multidimensional benefits linked to encouraging a strong sense of workplace belongingness among employees. When you help your employees build a deeper connection with your organization, they feel valued and empowered to bring out the best in them. Especially, when it comes to a diverse workforce, working on fostering a sense of belongingness among employees seems far more essential. As a leader, your ability to inspire belongingness among your employees holds the key to driving high employee engagement.
Author’s Bio
“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” Wayne Dyer’s thoughts are well suited to Kiara Miller. She has been working as a content marketing professional at ‘The Speakingnerd’. Her passion for writing is also visible in the innovative joys of material she provides to her readers.
The relationship between managers and their direct reports is crucial to successfully running a company. And one effective way to achieve a positive relationship between them is through one-on-one meetings. A one-on-one meeting presents an environment to have honest talks on various topics, leading to a less stiff atmosphere between managers and their direct reports.
A crucial side of this meeting is asking the right questions to make the most of them. Asking the right one on one questions helps stir the conversation in the right and productive direction. This article will discuss the importance of one-on-one meetings and the type of one-on-one questions managers should ask.
Why conduct one-on-one meetings?
People, not robots, make up companies. Therefore, there should be a means to improve communication between employees and management. Fortunately, one-on-one meetings present managers with this opportunity. A study by SHRM found 89% of HR Leaders agree to ongoing check-ins and communication help retain and recruit better.
In this section, we will highlight the reasons for conducting one-on-one meetings.
Builds Trust
It takes effort to build trust, and it’s crucial to build trust between managers and direct reports to run a successful team and, by extension, a successful business. A Human Era at Work study revealed employees who trust their management also respect them. The study also found that when employees trust and value their managers, they were 58% more focused and 63% more satisfied with their jobs.
Improves Engagement
To get the best out of employees, they must be engaged. Employee engagement will improve with one-on-one meetings because it allows managers and direct reports to discuss issues they would not otherwise discuss during office hours. Direct reports feedback on the company, career progress, and current projects can help identify and rectify pressing issues. A study by Gallup backs up this point showing employees who have regular one-on-one meetings are three times more engaged and 21% more productive.
One goal of a one-on-one meeting is to understand your direct reports. It is getting to know them beyond the four walls of the office space or, in recent times, your laptop screens. Engaging with your direct reports as people and not employees helps improve your working relationship, which can help in raising teamwork. One-on-one meetings can also help to diffuse friction between colleagues by the manager becoming a mediator.
Reduces Staff Turnover
A study by salary.com shows that 23% of employees look for new jobs every day. Another research by Hogan assessment shows that 75% of employees state their direct boss is the worse part of their jobs. Holding one-on-one meetings can help reduce these figures, as one reason employees leave their workplace is due to lack of engagement.
One On One Questions to Ask Employees
When conducting a one-on-one employee meeting, the questions must explore the various areas of the direct report’s life. The questions you ask should cover their personal life, relationship with co-workers, career goals, the working environment, and feedback on management. Touching the various areas that affect your direct reports brings about an open meeting.
You can have a list of questions divided into separate sections to help you structure it. Also, while timing is essential, flexibility is much more effective because any question can become an issue that needs immediate attention.
This section will discuss the areas to ask questions and the type of questions you should ask your direct reports.
Personal Check-in Questions
Understanding the physical and mental health of your direct reports is crucial. Showing genuine concern and empathy can help break the ice and open up the floor for discussions. If this is the first one-on-one meeting, you can ask about their lives outside the workplace.
Questions about hobbies or what they find fun can help to ease tension. Who knows, both of you may enjoy similar activities.
If this is not your first meeting, you can ask follow-up questions from the previous conversation.
Questions to ask:
1. How are you feeling today?
2. What do you do over the weekend? / Do you have plans for this weekend?
3. How do you feel about your current work/life balance?
4. Do you have any hobbies you are passionate about?
Depending on the answers you receive to these questions, spend more or less time in this section. If the employee is not doing well mentally or physically, allocate more time to this section.
Career Goal and Progression Questions
A study by the Conference Board shows that only 57% of workers show job satisfaction, and for a typical worker who dedicates hours to their job, it’s a low figure. One good way to improve this figure is by understanding your direct reports’ career goals. Asking the right questions will allow you to help with advice, point them to books or other materials they need, and assist them in reaching their goals.
Many companies have lost excellent employees due to not understanding how their goals align with employees. Identifying the career goals of your direct reports can also help you assign projects they are interested in working on or projects that will help them develop their skill set.
Sample 1 on 1 career goals and progression questions to ask include:
5. What are your career goals? Have you put much thought into your career goals?
6. What can I do to help you achieve them?
7. What do you enjoy most about your work?
8. What skills do you think you need to develop? Do you feel you need more training?
9. Do you feel your current job role contributes to achieving your career goal?
10. Do you feel you can achieve your career goal with this company?
These one-on-one employee meeting questions will help you and your direct report clear the air regarding their career goals and progression. Their answers will highlight what you can do to help them progress in their career.
Workplace Environment and Condition
The workplace environment is vital in ensuring the success of a company. Employees are a significant source of feedback since they spend most of their time working and interacting in the office environment. A poor office environment can impede productivity, so it’s best to have feedback by asking one-on-one questions from your direct reports. Chances are you would receive a few.
Sample one on one workplace environment and condition questions to ask:
11. Are you happy with the current working environment?
12. What changes would you make to the current work environment?
13. Do you feel you can be more productive if we make changes to the work environment?
In a study by Gallup, managers determine how great or lousy a workplace turns out. The study states managers have a variance of 70%, suggesting they are vital in dictating the company culture. A positive atmosphere helps to foster teamwork and healthy work relationships. When managers promote a healthy culture, it improves employee retention and productivity.
One good way to determine if managers lead by example is by asking questions in one-on-one meetings with employees.
Sample 1 on 1 company culture and relationships questions to ask:
15. Is there any aspect of the company work culture you would want to change?
16. Do you feel the team works well together?
17. Is there anyone in the team you notably work well with? Why is this?
18. Is there anyone in the team you dislike working with? Why is this?
Managers Feedback
Managers need feedback from their direct reports. According to Gallup, managers provided with strength feedback showed a 12.5% increase in productivity and a 14.9% increase in turnover rates compared to those who didn’t receive such feedback. In short, managers also need feedback to improve, and a one-on-one meeting presents an opportunity for the managers.
Sample 1 on 1 managers feedback questions you can ask:
19. Do you feel I give enough feedback?
20. What can I do to support you better?
The aim is to make sure the employee is comfortable with your management style and get feedback on what you should do more or less. In this section, take the words of your direct reports in friendly spirit. If they are giving constructive criticism or observations they have made, it’s because they also want to see you grow. They could easily have kept quiet, spoken behind your back, or given a written complaint to HR.
Bonus 1 on 1 Questions
Managers and employees are busy individuals, and therefore they need to make every moment in the workplace count. On average, managers spend 23 hours in meetings during the week. That’s a lot of time spent in meetings, and because of this, it’s best to ask your direct reports about the effectiveness of your one-on-one sessions.
Do you feel these meetings are a good use of your time?
How as these one-on-one meetings helped you?
What do you think I should change about my approach?
Conclusion
Asking the right one on one questions in meetings with your direct reports is essential in getting the best from these meetings. The success of the one-on-one sessions is dictated by how well you can break the ice and have simple conversations, leading to more complex ones. As you question your direct reports, remember the aim is to understand your employees better, to provide adequate support.
Want to know how Engagedly can help you mange your remote employees better? Request us for a demo.
Teams that score higher in engagement are much more productive, creative, and innovative than their counterparts. Building great teams can be a bit tricky as the current work environments do not allow to gauge the non-verbal cues to understand the team members. It is therefore important to focus on team building activities that bring people closer and help them understand each other. While there are a bunch of activities that help in boosting motivation, productivity, and learning, it is crucial to involve the team in fun and creative activities too.
This article will discuss four creative team building activities that will help your team members come out of the silos and unite to bring more fun to the table.
Creative Team Building Activities
Here are four unique and creative team building activities for your employees that are fun guaranteed.
Team Building Activity 1- Two Truths And A Lie
This is one of the most engaging team-building activities for employees.
Recommended number of People: 10 to 15
Material required: None
Goal: To guess the true statement from other players’ set of statements and to make other players believe your false statements to be true.
How to play:
Step 1: Every player writes down three statements about himself (2 truths and one lie)
Step 2: Each player is asked to read those statements aloud to the group.
Step 3: Take a vote on which statement is a lie.
Step 4: The players who guess the false statement correctly get one point each. If no one is able to guess it correctly, then the player who wrote the statements wins the points.
Step 5: Continue steps (1 – 4) and the player with most points wins the game.
Team Building Activity 2- Back-to-back Drawing
Recommended number of players: Multiple teams of 2 people
Material required: Paper, pen and picture cards
Goal: To instruct your teammate verbally and help them draw the shape.
How to play:
Step 1: Divide your group into pairs, and have each pair sit on the floor back to back.
Step 2: Give one player from the pair a picture and the other, a pen and paper.
Step 3: The player who receives the picture, verbally explains the picture to his teammate and the teammate tries to draw the picture on the paper.
Step 4: On finishing, each pair compares their original shape to the drawing, and consider how they worked together, and where they could improve their communication.
Also Read: 5 Employee Engagement Activities On Budget
Team Building Activity 3- Acted Charades (Dumb Charades)
Another common, yet engaging team building activity for your employees
Note – The Engagedly team tried this out. It was a roaring success. 😉
Recommended number of players: 10-15 (two teams)
Material required: None
Goal: Convey the movie name given by the opposite team to your teammates by enacting and guessing the movie name correct when your teammate enacts.
How to play:
Step 1: A player from one team is chosen by the other team and given a movie name.
Step 2: The player enacts the movie name and tries to convey it to his teammates without talking or pointing out to any objects.
Step 3: If the team succeeds to find the movie name they win a point, if not the opposite team wins a point.
Step 4: Continue steps ( 1-3) The team with most points wins the game.
Team Building Activity 4- Winner/ Loser
Recommended number of players: Multiple teams of 2 players each
Material required: None
Goal: To change the negative perspective of your teammate to positive perspective
How to play:
Step 1: Both teammates write their bad experiences and share it with each other.
Step 2: Both partners, then tell the same story of their teammates, but relate the good things that came from the experience.
Just give these team-building activities a try. The goal is not to win, but rather to have fun and build team spirit!
Conclusion
Team building is critically important for organizations that are working in hybrid and remote working environments. As most employees are fixated to their systems throughout the day, it is important for them to be involved in activities that help them bring out their creative sides. The creative team building activities discussed in this article will surely help your team members have a great time. Share the activities that you enjoy the most with your teams in the comments sections below.
Want to know how Engagedly can help in managing and building highly productive and dynamic teams? Book a live demo to talk to our experts!
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek (Author, Start With Why).
In the era of digital transformation, changing technical landscape, and increasing competition, how do organizations keep their employees productive and aligned with organizational goals? The answer to the question lies in finding the organizational activities that contribute towards employee engagement. One of the ways that organizations use to understand the concerns and expectations of their workforce is through employee engagement surveys.
Introduction
Through the decades, HR managers have used employee engagement surveys as a core strategy to comprehend staff engagement levels, initiate behavior change, and drive higher output. Not only do the surveys help organizations to create an impact on human resource management, but they also provide employees with a medium to share their experiences and views on the practices being followed. Furthermore, with the data revolution and digitization, surveys have become more effective and process-oriented.
There has been a significant improvement in the engagement of US employees over the last decade, with an overall 36% of employees engaged in their work. (Gallup – Employee Engagement Report, 20211)
As the world is still reeling under the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, various aspects of employee engagement and productivity have changed in the last two years. Some progressive and innovative organizations have been making sincere efforts to keep their dispersed employees engaged and committed to the organization. Engagement surveys come in handy in such scenarios. They help in gauging employee engagement on different parameters and offer insights for leaders to take action.
Before we dive deeper into the intricacies of employee engagement surveys, let’s take a closer look at what employee engagement means to the organization and how engagement surveys provide actionable insights to leaders.
Employee engagement talks about the level of dedication, enthusiasm, and zeal that employees exhibit toward their jobs. Engaged employees are a real asset to the organization as they help in achieving organizational goals through exemplary performance. That’s the reason the majority of Fortune 500 organizations put great emphasis on employee engagement initiatives. Research has shown that some of the activities that help elevate employee engagement are reward and recognition, learning and development, diversity and inclusion, ownership, and employee experience.
By creating a workforce of engaged employees, organizations can become highly competitive and transform themselves into market leaders. Higher engagement is also linked to increased productivity, reduced turnover, effective leadership, higher ROI, and overall happiness of the workforce. Therefore, by working towards the engagement of employees, organizations can reap multiple benefits and can create a workforce of dynamic employees that is performance-driven and result-oriented.
Measuring Employee Engagement
Employee engagement surveys are a strategic technique that helps in measuring the motivation, commitment, and purpose of employees towards their job responsibilities and, thereby, towards the organization. The survey reveals important information regarding employee perceptions towards the organization. Such insights help leaders and managers make a shift in the workplace to enhance the overall employee experience.
Carefully designed surveys can help organizations understand how their employees feel about work, leadership, any barriers to engagement and higher productivity, the causes of low employee morale, and much more. Responsiveness of the organization towards employee feedback can help drive major changes in the organization. It leads to lower absenteeism, higher retention, better customer centricity, customer acquisition, higher revenue generation, and a satisfied workforce.
An organization undertakes an employee engagement survey to understand what factors lead to an engaged workforce and the hindrances to the process. Companies that are heavily invested in their employees are able to retain their best performers and build a brand that attracts job seekers. Let us try to understand the importance of conducting surveys and employee engagement in an organization through some statistics.
The number of engaged employees is significantly lower when compared to the overall workforce. In the US, the number of disengaged employees is just 64%, and globally, the number is down to 80%. (Gallup2)
Companies with higher staff engagement enjoy better productivity and profitability. The estimated productivity increase is over 20% or more. (Gallup3)
91% of the 1000 surveyed employees said that burnout affects the quality of work as well as their personal relationships. (Deloitte4, burnout report)
Gender diversity has a direct relationship with employee engagement. Employees who work under a female manager are more engaged than those working under a male manager. (Gallup5, Analytics and Advice for Leaders)
Country and age have a significant impact on employee engagement. US employees in the age group of 30-39 are less engaged than those in the age groups of 40-49 and 50+. (Sloan Center On Aging & Work6)
Employee engagement has a positive impact on all areas of an organization. Highly engaged organizations realize a 41% reduction in absenteeism, a 10% increase in customer ratings, a 20% increase in sales, and substantially lower employee turnover. (Gallup7)
90% of leaders think that engagement strategy has a great impact on business success, but only 25% have a strategy in place. (Muse8)
In the post-pandemic world, 8 out of every 10 employees would prefer employers that offer economic well-being. These include retirement plans, health, disability, and life insurance, paid family medical leave, and emergency savings programs. All the benefits have a direct relationship to employee engagement in the workplace. (Prudential9)
Employee Engagement Survey Purpose
Recent shifts in the global economy have put organizations at the forefront of employee engagement. To remain competitive in the current capricious circumstances, organizations need a highly engaged and productive workforce that can bring in results. Because of this, employee engagement surveys have gained prominence due to their ease of delivery, quick response time, qualitative and quantitative data, and feedback analysis.
It has been found in multiple studies that employees that actively respond to employee engagement surveys are enthusiastic about their jobs and want to share the feedback for the betterment of the organization. On the contrary, employees that do not respond to surveys are not engaged in their jobs. While there are multiple reasons for employees to not fill out the engagement questionnaire, some of the most prominent ones can be:
Dissatisfaction with their current role and responsibilities.
Lack of trust in the process of engagement surveys, i.e., they believe that feedback doesn’t matter in the current business environment.
Distrust in the management of the organization.
Lack of communication and interpersonal skills.
Employees are afraid to give their honest opinion.
An employee engagement survey serves multiple purposes for the organization in the following ways:
Drives Behavioral Changes In Employees
Psychologists have found that asking questions can prompt people to change their behavior. It is based on the fact that questions help people reflect on themselves. It helps with staying committed to a cause and changing personal traits and characteristics for future goals.
Coined as a “question-behavior effect,” the phenomenon was first published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology10. It states that asking questions about the future behavior of a person can speed up their process of being ready to change.
The same concept is used in employee engagement surveys. Questions prompt employees to understand their current behavior and the changes required to achieve their goals. The crux of the survey lies in initiating the behavior change process among employees.
Interacting with employees and taking their feedback sends a signal that their opinions matter to the organization. Sending out regular surveys and acting on them makes the workforce more engaged and dedicated towards their work. Let us look at the importance of hearing from employees using the below statistics.
86% of surveyed employees felt that people in their organization were not heard fairly or equally.
63% of employees felt that their managers ignored their voices in some way, which had a devastating effect on their performance.
Over 74% of employees felt more effective at work when their concerns were heard by the management.
Engagement is directly related to being heard in the workplace. Around 92% of engaged employees felt they were heard by more than 30% of disengaged employees.
The above statistics highlight the importance of hearing out the employees and taking appropriate action on that. Through employee engagement surveys, organizations can break the shackles and prompt their employees to share realistic feedback.
Predictor Of Employee Behavior
Employee behavior is central to the success of an organization. Much of how employees behave in their day-to-day lives predicts the culture of the company and ultimately drives results. Predicting employee behavior can result in multiple benefits for human resource managers. It helps in understanding the level of commitment of employees towards the organization and how long they are willing to serve them.
It has been observed that asking people in employee engagement surveys how long they are willing to serve the organization is twice as accurate in forecasting future turnover as a predictive analysis. Additionally, surveys also help in predicting the number of upcoming resignations. It has been found that employees who do not respond to annual engagement surveys are highly likely to leave in the next six months.
Employee engagement is critical to the success of an organization. By undertaking various engagement initiatives, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a dynamic workforce. Much research has shown that engagement is an indicator of progress, and companies with higher engagement indices do well, even in unprecedented situations.
Employee Engagement Surveys are a great tool to measure engagement at various levels of the organization. Let us look at some of its benefits.
Industry Benchmarks
Engagement is the result of multiple activities that an organization undertakes. The product of these activities vary across countries and industries. Consequently, organizations that are expanding to different geographies need to understand what engages their employees the most.
Knowing where the organization falls on the engagement spectrum provides a bigger picture of the organization’s policies and practices. With the help of employee engagement surveys, upper management can compare the organization with the industry leaders and focus their efforts on improving engagement.
Frequent surveying provides a glimpse of changing trends in employee engagement and experience. Thus, HR managers can understand which strategies are helping out the organization and which obstacles need to be removed.
Preventing Revenue Loss And Catastrophic Mistakes
An estimate by Gallup states that the US companies lose between $450-$500 billion12 due to actively disengaged employees. This is on top of the revenue loss due to the pandemic and the shift in the external business environment.
The statistics clearly indicate the importance of adopting employee engagement initiatives at all levels of the organization. The higher the level of employee disengagement, the higher the chances of making costly and catastrophic mistakes. Therefore, to prevent losing out on revenue, it is critical to hear employee feedback and take appropriate action to boost employee engagement in both the short and long term.
Employee Mental Health And Overall Wellbeing
Depression and anxiety are the leading causes of loss of productivity and employee engagement. It has a tremendous impact on the world economy; the world stands out on losing over $1 trillion every year due to a loss of employee productivity. (World Health Organization13)
Another survey14 by SHRM found that of 1,099 surveyed employees, around 40% felt exhausted, burned out, and despondent due to the alteration in their lives caused by the pandemic.
There is no doubt that the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of employees. Aggravated by the long working hours and stress of family and child healthcare, things have gotten even worse. Employee wellbeing has become a priority for employers, and organizations globally are investing heavily to counter the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of their employees.
But, how do organizations identify that their employees are stressed and in need of support? Employee engagement surveys offer insightful data to understand the employee’s wellbeing and the peculiar areas that are a cause of concern for them. Furthermore, employers can also focus on the departments or business units with highly disengaged employees and focus on their improvement to prevent breakdown.
Employee Turnover Data Analysis
The information collected in engagement surveys can be used to analyze the employee turnover data. By comparing the responses of employees with the turnover data, HR managers can comprehend the areas of employee experience that need improvement in order to contain attrition.
The process involves comparing the responses of employees who left the organization within 3–6 months of conducting the engagement survey. It reveals how employees felt about the organization and their overall experience before leaving. Furthermore, the perceptions of such employees can then be compared with the ones who stayed to gauge the reasons for employee turnover. Managers can then intervene in the areas that need improvement and strategize a plan to increase engagement and enhance the overall experience.
Connecting Engagement Initiatives To Key Business Results
Leaders throughout the world believe engagement to be one of the five most important strategies in creating a revolutionary organization. But the biggest challenge they are trying to solve is tying employee engagement initiatives to key business results. Having an engagement survey is not enough if it cannot produce the desired results. Therefore, to get the most out of the surveys, human resource managers need to develop them in accordance with the key business indicators, such as customer centricity, overall stakeholder value, company reputation, and brand building.
Such an amalgamation of business outcomes with employee engagement surveys helps in strategizing the operations across different departments. Furthermore, it can bring important insights that help in charting out how organizations utilize their employees in unprecedented situations, such as the sudden change in the business environment, regulatory compliance, new competitors, and changing customer expectations.
Creating an employee engagement survey is a tedious task. It requires months of planning to address the areas that the survey should touch upon, and the involvement of employees from every level of the organization. To yield actionable results from surveys, HR managers should consider forming a cross-functional team of experts to look into different aspects of survey creation. The following points highlight the extensive process of creating employee engagement surveys.
Define The Purpose of the Survey
Employee engagement encompasses various factors, and working on all of them in one go is not possible. Though it can be tempting to include multiple focus areas in the survey, it might confuse the employees and digress from the current state of the company. Thereby a result, providing inaccurate results.
At the time of discerning, it is crucial to identify three or four high priority objectives, especially where engagement and productivity are lacking. For example, if customer acquisition and retention, employee turnover, and decreasing sales volume are the areas of concern, then the survey should only focus on these factors.
Involvement Of Leadership
For the survey to produce any results, the involvement of leadership is a must. The dynamics of leader-employee relationships are not one-directional, and that’s why involving leaders in employee engagement exercises can give direction and purpose to the process.
In the initial phase of survey planning, human resources managers must reach out to organizational leaders to get their input on the objectives of the survey. This also ensures they have a vested interest in taking action on the survey results.
Review Previous Surveys
While designing an employee engagement survey, HR managers can refer to the previous surveys to inculcate best practices and improvise on the ones that did not work well. It can offer meaningful insights, such as which survey designs were liked by employees, the response rate, accuracy of results, core focus areas covered, actions taken on the feedback, timeframe adopted for the whole process, and the overall engagement score. Such action points will help in designing the survey to bring in better results from employees.
Consider The Timing Of Survey
The timing of the survey is of great importance in order to get a higher response rate and data accuracy. HR managers should consider the following do’s and don’ts when deciding on the timing of the survey.
Engagement Survey Frequency
The frequency of conducting a survey is of the utmost importance. Some organizations conduct surveys annually and then wait for a year to collect input from their employees. Much has already happened in the gap, and if their surveys are not accompanied by action, then it might result in disgruntled employees.
Therefore, human resource managers must conduct engagement surveys regularly in order to send a message that employees’ inputs are being valued.
Drafting Questions That Provide Actionable Results
Drafting good survey questions is time-consuming. It generally requires collaboration from multilevel, cross-functional teams to understand whether the surveys target the organization’s key objectives or not. The questionnaire must cover all the aspects that are relevant to the purpose of the engagement survey. The quality of questions has a statistically significant effect on the survey findings; hence, one must take the utmost interest and care while designing them.
The questions must be drafted in a manner that elicits an accurate response from the employees. Open-ended employee engagement questions must be included in the survey questionnaire. It helps employees voice their opinions and ideas. Furthermore, managers can analyze the collected responses and can dig into the areas that they would’ve never considered looking into.
Testing the questionnaire is also important to understand the relevance and accuracy of the collected data. Organizations use techniques such as focus groups, cognitive interviews, pretesting, and combinations of these to test the survey. Thereafter, the insights collected from testing are used to refine the questions.
Select The Best Employee Engagement Survey Template
An employee engagement survey template includes questions that measure the motivation and engagement of employees to perform their job duties. Additionally, the responses collected from the survey are useful in understanding the performance, competence, and satisfaction of employees.
A template comes in handy when conducting a survey, as it helps in gathering, organizing, and analyzing the data collected from employees. A good template should be customizable as per the needs of the organization and must highlight the areas that need improvement.
Designing Surveys to Inform Better Decisions & Drive Meaningful Outcomes
Survey design requires some art, but even more science. Some research estimates that employees are surveyed 1.5 times per year. Given this fact it’s important that we implement sound practices in the design of organization surveys that help inform key business decisions.
When it comes to survey design validity is essential, it determines what survey questions to use, and helps ensure that we are using questions that accurately measure the issues of importance. Validity ensures that we are measuring what we say we are measuring.
The Engagedly Team has spent time and effort constructing an engagement survey that is valid, supported by research, and reviewed by industry experts. Now our clients can confidently assess employee engagement within their organization in a few simple steps. This new product offering provides our clients with an easy-to-administer employee engagement survey built around evidence based practices. Additionally, we provide insights to better understand employee engagement within and across the company while highlighting key strengths and areas for opportunity as well.
Now more than ever we can all benefit from thinking more like a scientist by applying more rigor and critical thinking in the work that we do. At Engagedly that is our responsibility, to marry science and practice, wherever and whenever possible.
Once the engagement survey is created, it is time to get it rolling. There are a few things that managers need to consider before they decide to roll out the survey. Following the best practices for employee engagement surveys will help in getting accurate results. Some of the tactics to be followed are discussed below.
Communicate The Employee Engagement Survey Purpose
Effective participation in surveys happens only when employees are clear about the purpose of the survey. To encourage employees to participate in the survey, organizations need to clearly communicate the following to their employees:
What is the purpose of conducting the engagement survey?
What does the organization want to accomplish by taking feedback from employees?
What steps will the organization take upon completion of the survey and the anticipated results?
How will the survey help employees in their day-to-day activities?
The projected timeline of events starts with surveying and analyzing the results.
Emphasizing the importance of the survey to both employees and employers.
Maintain Employee Anonymity
It is important to keep the employee engagement survey anonymous. The reason behind this is that employees feel less anxious about the survey and are ready to provide open feedback without the fear of any retribution. Additionally, employee anonymity increases the likelihood of getting more responses.
By veiling the employee’s identity, surveys can prompt them to share their candid responses regarding the leadership styles, culture, interpersonal relations, support from managers, and other relevant areas that organizations want to mull over. Thus, it helps in gathering more responses with higher accuracy, leading to a better analysis of the data.
Commit To Taking Action
A sense of purpose is essential for an employee to work productively and contribute towards organizational growth. Without this, employers will lose their best talent to their competitors who value their employees more.
Taking action is the most crucial step in conducting a successful employee engagement survey. Employees value their employers more when they see their feedback is taken into consideration. Therefore, sharing key findings of the survey in a timely manner with the employees is important. By involving the workforce in survey findings, employers can make them feel valued and responsible for the solutions.
Please note that acting on survey findings also avoids “survey fatigue.”It refers to a lack of motivation to participate in assessments and can lead to fewer and (or) inaccurate responses. The fundamental reason behind survey fatigue, as found by McKinsey15 after reviewing 20 academic articles, is the perception that employers will not act on the results.
Often, employers do not tend to share the results or communicate with their employees after conducting the survey. This leads to an employee perception that employers do not value their responses.
On the contrary, sharing and acting on survey results leads to better response and participation from employees in future surveys. The below discussed best practices for employee engagement surveys will help in making surveys more effective and impactful.
Designing and conducting surveys takes a long time, and by not following the best practices, there is a good chance that it will not achieve its purpose. Asking questions that are ineffectively designed will lead to low response rates and inaccurate data. Thus, to avoid wasting time, effort, and money, it is pivotal to follow certain guidelines. The following points talk about employee engagement survey best practices that will help in designing and conducting surveys constructively.
Keep The Survey Short And Simple
Keeping the survey short and simple is an effective way to increase the response rate. The ideal number of questions to be kept in an engagement survey is around 75. And, it should not take more than 20 to 30 minutes for an employee to answer all the questions. Furthermore, try to avoid repetitive questions and confusing language. It may lead to vague responses if the employee is unable to understand the questions.
HR managers should also look into the previous surveys as well, to understand the optimal number of questions that got the highest response from employees.
Avoid Grouping Key Focus Areas
Grouping the key focus areas may confuse the employees and will result in uninterpretable responses. Avoid using double-barrelled questions regarding pay and benefits, growth and satisfaction, and learning and motivation. Even when the focus areas are closely related, grouping them will not be beneficial.
For example, an employee may find the pay satisfactory but not the benefits, or vice versa. In such a case, the surveyor will not be able to interpret the response, leaving no chance to create an improvement plan.
While building a questionnaire, managers should clearly segregate the categories and create questions around them. This will avoid any sort of confusion among respondents.
Involve Employees In Survey Design And Analysis
Before rolling out the survey to the whole organization, it is crucial to run it through a set of selected people to test its structure, consistency, and accuracy. It will help in redesigning unclear and ambiguous questions and will further refine the survey.
Involving heads of business units and departments in the design and analysis phases offers numerous benefits. They can highlight the areas that seem to be problematic and need to be addressed through surveys. Furthermore, they can help in laying down a strong foundation for examining the survey findings, leading to better analysis and actionable results.
Using Neutral Statements In Questions
The survey should have a mix of both positive and negative statements. Having plenty of positive statements such as “my manager understands my concerns” or “my team is quite responsive” will make the survey too rosy. Similarly, using too many negative statements will also subdue the intent of asking questions. Therefore, it is better to use neutral statements wherever possible, as they will elicit the best response from respondents.
Questions To Avoid
Management may want to include questions about age, gender, race, and other demographics to look into the trends or concerns of a group. For example, if women of color find the workplace to be responsible for their growth and development, or if employees in their 50s find the workplace more stressful. But such questions may raise one’s eyebrows, as employees might believe that management might use the data to target those specific groups. Thus, it is necessary to avoid or limit such questions in an engagement survey.
Another set of questions to limit is asking nice things about the management and focusing on the things that can be acted upon. Too many questions about management’s efficiency can put off the respondents. Instead, try to understand things from the employees’ perspective.
Question Behavior Rather Than Motive Or Thoughts
Questions about the thoughts, traits, and motives of an individual are disputable and will not provide any actionable data. The line of questioning should involve the observable behavior of the employee to understand their involvement and engagement. Thus, avoiding opinion-based questions in the survey will remove distortion from the results.
Another important aspect to work upon is removing personal bias from the survey. The questions should be drafted in a way that prevents any sort of bias from influencing the results. For example, asking questions about productivity and involvement of female employees can skew the purpose of the survey.
Include Some Verifiable Questions
Including questions with variable responses will help in establishing the validity of the survey. Such questions provide quantifiable data to understand if the responses collected are in line with reality. For example, a survey can include questions about the leadership of a particular department. The responses collected from the questions can be verified with objective measures like employee retention and overall departmental productivity. These measures will help in verifying the exactness of the collected data.
Another example could be asking questions about customer satisfaction from the client service department. The responses can be verified using metrics like call drops, frequency of calls from the same customer, and feedback submitted by the customer. The correlation of these metrics with the customer satisfaction index is a great measure to verify the survey responses.
What To Do With Employee Engagement Survey Results
The employee engagement survey forms the baseline for creating an action plan and implementing it across the organization. The real job starts after collecting the responses of employees in various key focus areas. Response data has to be thoroughly analyzed and subjected to various tests to check for validity and accuracy. To get the most out of the feedback results, management must follow the following steps to create a strategic action plan.
Share Employee Engagement Survey Results
There are multiple benefits to communicating employee engagement survey results. Firstly, it helps in building trust and shows employees that their responses are being taken into consideration. Secondly, it brings transparency to the system, which eliminates confusion, and thirdly, it creates a channel of communication between management and employees.
Sharing results with business heads helps them prepare to take action and hold discussions within the departments to find the root cause of the problems. Some issues will pertain to departments, and they can find the best solution by looking at the granular level of data.
The survey results usually provide insights about engagement, productivity, satisfaction, and other elements. Weaving them into a story will help employees understand the rationale behind the survey. Therefore, using a suitable medium like a presentation or an infographic, to highlight the results while narrating the importance of each focus area will be more effective.
Analyze & Identify Areas Of Concern
Analysis of survey results helps in finding the areas of concern and creating an action plan accordingly. Categorizing the results into different segments will help transform the data into actionable items. While some organizations rely on manual segmentation and analysis, some have transitioned to engagement platforms that come with tech-advanced algorithms to accurately analyze and interpret the data.
Such platforms help in providing a deeper understanding of every key focus area. For example, the survey results might show a positive organizational culture, but digging deeper into the data can reveal information about departments that are lacking support. Such an analysis is imperative for large-scale organizations with multiple business units and departments.
Facilitate Discussion Within Teams
Once the survey results are out, it is time to act on them and find solutions to the problems. By running post-survey meetings, organizations can ask people from different departments to brainstorm and come up with the right solutions. The purpose of these meetings is to involve people and give them an open channel to discuss issues and chart out an improvement plan.
Business heads or team leads must ensure that all employees participate in the process and establish a link between the survey results and employees’ perceptions. During the meetings, the problem statement must be clearly defined with the focus areas, and every employee must be given an opportunity to provide their thoughts on it. Through this process, employers can gather first-hand information directly from the employees who are facing trouble.
Make & Implement Decisions
The data gathered during engagement surveys and post-survey meetings helps in pinning down the problems. Leaders can utilize this information to create organizational-wide goals and cascade them to different business units.
Using Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle16 can help in streamlining the implementation process and providing observable changes and corrective actions to refine the processes. Introduced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming17 in the 1950s, PDCA is an iterative technique that helps improve business processes. It is used in designing and implementing decisions in the following manner:
Plan: It provides the framework for operations and is directly related to the goals and objectives of the survey findings.
Do: Also known as the action stage, the plan is set into motion and the insights are gathered for future evaluation. All the employees related to the focus areas to be worked upon are involved in this process. It may involve training, re-skilling, mentoring, coaching, and other significant activities required to improve staff engagement.
Check: Evaluating the action plan should be done in two steps. Once during the implementation process, as it helps in checking if the goals are correctly aligned, and twice at the end of the implementation to address the success and failure of the activities.
Act: At this stage, the reasons for the failure and success of the program are collected and used as feedback for running the next PDCA cycle.
Employee Engagement Survey Questions form the foundation of measuring engagement in multiple aspects. They should focus on solving organizational problems, get candid responses from employees, and intend to find the strengths and weaknesses of the organization.
Touching the core areas of engagement, such as satisfaction, leadership, culture, work environment, learning and development, organizational mission, and values, is imperative to have an overarching understanding of employee engagement. Let us look at some sample questions on different areas of engagement.
Sample Employee Engagement Survey Questions
Employee Work
I get a sense of accomplishment from my work.
I have access to all the tools and resources required to be productive at work.
The volume of work I have is manageable.
I feel my work is being valued.
Workplace Communication
My views and thoughts are taken into account while making decisions.
I can openly share my thoughts and experiences in my department.
I am well-informed about the organizational values and policies.
I feel the communication models used by the organization are effective and sufficient.
Organizational Culture & Strategy
I feel the organization is open to feedback and criticism.
The organization can adapt to the changing business needs.
The organization is equipped to meet the challenges.
New ideas and innovation form the core strength of any organization.
I feel that my job is secure.
Employee Manager
My manager encourages me to take action and initiative.
My manager provides honest feedback to me.
I need enough support from my manager to succeed in my role.
My manager is involved in my learning and development.
Leadership
I trust the leaders and their vision for the organization.
I see strong evidence of effective leadership in my business/unit head.
I see leaders committed to the organizational goals.
I am clear about the organizational mission and vision.
Learning & Development
I trust the process of learning and development being followed by the organization.
I have ample opportunities to grow and learn in my current job profile.
I get regular feedback from my manager.
The appraisal process is justified and helps me understand my quarterly and annual goals.
Employee Engagement
I am proud on the work that I do
I am immersed in my work
I find the work that I do provides me with purpose and meaning
Time flies when I’m working
I try my hardest to perform well on my job
I am fulfilled by the work that I do
Open Ended Employee Engagement Survey Questions
Open-ended questions provide deeper insights by encouraging employees to express their opinions and experiences. With the help of responses, it can become relatively easier to understand the cause of a problem. That’s why including such questions in engagement surveys is helpful. Check out the sample open-ended questions in the section below.
What improvements would you like to see in the organization?
Rate your overall experience on a scale of 1 to 10. Give reasons for the rating.
What changes would you like to see in the company’s policies?
What changes did you see in the organization since the last survey?
What strategies would you suggest the organization include for better work-life balance?
Final Thoughts
Much of the organization’s efforts in today’s world revolve around creating a dynamic, smart, adaptive, and engaged workforce. Organizations with a high engagement index are leading the way and utilizing various strategies for employee development.
Employee engagement surveys give employees a voice and assist employers in identifying areas for improvement. By considering employee feedback, organizations can dramatically improve their productivity and efficiency.
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