Employee Engagement: How to increase engagement
In our previous blog post we looked at defining employee engagement, the importance of it in change management and how improving employee engagement needs to be a priority for leaders in change management.
In this post we share some tips on how to improve employee engagement.
The most important part of employee engagement is THE VISION. If you want your employees engaged in their work, they need to know what they are working for AND feel a part of it. Most organisations know how to share the vision and goals of the organisation but fail to make the employee feel a part of it.
By working with your people, businesses can foster a culture of staff who are working alongside the business to achieve the end goal. They see the value in working with and not against the company. They understand that this kind of alignment with the business allows them to grow and nurture their own skills whilst remaining an active and engaged team member.
Increasing employee engagement is a direct result of the company’s investment in them. This means ensuring they have the necessary training to be able to successfully fulfil their role, as well as making sure that they have the right equipment to perform their daily duties.
It is vital to ensure that employees have the correct tools they need to succeed in their roles. This is one of the most important drivers of employee engagement but may be one of the most overlooked. Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report refers to it as providing an “enabling infrastructure” and lists it as the top driver of engagement globally.
Creating a culture that fosters continuous development does more than help workers build the skills they need to do their jobs. It also communicates that the organisation values its employees and believes in their potential. An equipped, trained and mentored employee will naturally engage in their work and the company.
The second component of increasing engagement is the time spent with the employees.
Some things are caught and not taught. Vision is caught. An organisation can share the vision in a meeting to raise awareness but mere telling and sharing information about the vision is not going to get employees vested in it. Only through spending time with them, will they get to experience the real passion behind the vision or the goal. It is important to get social. Engaged workers feel emotionally invested in their jobs.
A simple way to help employees care more about their workplace is to nurture and encourage closer connections to colleagues. As employees begin to become invested in the vision and show more engagement, it is important to recognise them proudly and loudly.
Every organisation needs engaged employees because that is the key for change management to function in greater success.
Contact us on info@harmonisingchange.co.za for more information on how we work with teams to build successful change management strategies.
Contact Harmonising Change here.
