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“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” – Sir Richard Branson, Owner Virgin Group.
Employee engagement has been the topic of discussion, both pre-COVID and amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Engaged employees are motivated, happy, satisfied, and find fulfillment in their job. It results in higher productivity of the employees and the success of the organization. But employee engagement is not a one-time activity and needs to be worked upon. Before diving into the ways to improve employee engagement, let’s take a look at its definition and importance.
When you would search for the term ‘Employee Engagement’ you would probably get multiple definitions for it, but Forbes defines it very simply and precisely. As per Forbes, employee engagement is the emotional commitment that an employee has towards the organization and its goals.
But often, employee engagement is ignored and not given enough priority by organizations. A recent study by Gallup(a global analytics and organization consulting firm, providing solutions to problems of the organization) highlights some significant statistics on employee engagement which reflects its importance and shows why it shouldn’t be ignored.
Also Read: The Importance Of Employee Engagement In Healthcare
It is crucial to keep your employees engaged and motivated now more than ever for the obvious reasons. Here are five key employee engagement practices or strategies that can be followed, not only during this pandemic but also once employees are back to work.
According to Harvard Business Review, employers who invested in the well being of their employees saw three times the return of their money spent.
One factor which continues to be a high priority for all organizations is employee well-being. Not only physical health but mental health also needs to be given equal importance when employee well-being is in conversation. With the pandemic being around for almost a year, it can be pretty usual for everyone to feel stressed and anxious. When organizations care for the well-being of their employees, it results in improved employee engagement and increased productivity. It is because when employees are mentally and physically healthy, they remain motivated and there is reduced absenteeism.
Also Read: Work Stress? 5 Easy Ways To Tackle It
Feedback drives employee engagement and helps in their continuous improvement. Both positive and constructive feedback are known to help them grow and keep them motivated. Encourage frequent check-ins and share regular feedback by connecting with your employees over an email or a video call.
Also, encourage your employees to share any feedback or concerns which they might be facing while working remotely.
As mentioned earlier in the article, it has been quite some time now that everyone is working from home. But not everyone has still adjusted to this, and with multiple distractions at home, employees are likely to get disengaged. One of the best ways to keep them motivated and improve employee engagement is by rewarding and recognizing your remote employees for their wins. It will show the employees that you not only care for them when they are working from office but also when they aren’t. Moreover, any form of recognition is said to have a long-lasting effect on the employees and improve manager-employee relationships.
Also Read: Employee Rewards and Recognition For An Engaged Workforce
As per LinkedIn 2020 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay with a company if they invested in their training and development.
Apart from employee recognition and feedback, professional development and career training have a significant impact on employee engagement. With the economy not being so stable currently, it would be a sign of relief when they see that organizations are investing in their development. Employees will appreciate the efforts and will stay with the organization for a longer time.
“We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post.
Organizations are no longer focussing on strict 9 – 5 working hours; instead, they have started providing flexible working hours to their employees. Flexible working hours give employees a sense of control by choosing when, how, and where to work. It improves their work-life balance and gives them a chance to attend to personal commitments in between work.
Although some of the customer-centric job roles are finding it hard to have flexible working hours, it has already become the new normal for others and is there to stay.
Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Engagement? Then request for a live demo.
