Employee engagement has always been important to the success of any company. But, the landscape has changed for so many of us. Never before have we had to deal with so much change. Employee engagement has taken a hit in recent months for so many reasons and its vital business leaders are aware of what needs to be done to keep teams engaged.
The key thing that pins together employee engagement is communication. But when many of us are working from home and your team is distributed, keeping communication going has been a challenge. This isn’t just the technical side of things – who would have thought Zoom would see such a resurgence? Lots of teams now know how to communicate and are getting to grips with what to communicate. However, how many of you are thinking about the WHY? Getting this right could be the key to a highly engaged and successful team.
The why isn’t just important for your existing teams either. It can help make sure that you also recruit the right people going forwards and communicating the why can also have a huge impact on business. Let’s find out more –
What is employee engagement?
You’ve heard the phrase, it’s not something new, but what does it actually mean? If you think that it’s just making sure that you team are happy and don’t want to leave, then you have some work to do! Employee engagement is making sure that you have everything n place to enable each and every member of your team to give their best each day. There should be a focus on making sure that your team is committed to the business goals and values. And then on top of all this there is making sure that everyone has an enhanced sense of well-being. Lots to take in!
It is our responsibility to make sure that each and every employee feels fulfilled, supported and connected. But how do you do this in the current climate?
What is your why? The secret to successful employee engagement.
Keeping any workforce engaged is hard work! Trying to keep everyone pulling in the same direction isn’t an easy task. And it just got a whole lot more complicated! Your why can help.
We all know what we do as a business and how we do it. That’s the easy bit. But teams are not motivated by what and how. Teams are motivated by why you do what you do. And, why they do what they do. Maybe it’s time to review your values? Has your focus changed since lockdown? Great business leaders with an engaged team all have something in common – they inspire their teams. Start by making sure that your team know your why. Does it match their why. In other words, do your values resonate with and reflect those of your team. You will only know this if you communicate this both internally and externally. Your values need to be reflected in everything you do. Not just in your sales approach but in your culture and who you hire.
When we focus on the why and have teams that buy into our why, trust emerges. This is the foundation of employee engagement.
What else can you do? Here are 3 quick tips that you should consider.
Embrace remote working and flexibility
Trust your team! But, make sure that you have monitoring in place. Don’t assume that everyone is kicking it back and taking it easy. Your team should be committed and still achieving the same results – if not better. Empower your team to choose hours that work for them (as long as they work for the business of course!) and monitor the outcomes. Try it and see if you get better results – you may be surprised!
Don’t forget about wellbeing
We all talked about work/life balance before lockdown. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because your team are remote working, they achieve a work/life balance. This is less likely to be the case! Committed employees are putting in longer hours and burnout is on the rise. Make sure that you continue to care for your teams wellbeing. At the time of writing this, gyms and fitness clubs are still closed and this will be having an impact on those that use these places not only for fitness, but as an escape. Take time to understand what you can do to help look after the wellbeing of your team.
Encourage feedback
Feedback needs to be 360 for successful employee engagement. Feedback should not only come from the top down! It’s important to speak to your team members individually as well as in team meetings. Give them the opportunity to share how they are feeling. You can learn a lot from open, informal conversations with your employees. How do they feel? What are they struggling with? What can you do to help? Don’t guess what your teams need, simply ask!
