3 Tips To Redefine Employee Engagement In 2021

When we think of the term ‘employee engagement’, it refers to building a certain connection amongst employees and between them and the organization; be it through values, processes or people. Such is the connection that not only do the employees put their best foot forward, but also strive to work harder when faced with challenges or an uncertain situation. As businesses transition through 2021, a key challenge that most organizations face is a distributed or a hybrid workforce. With remote working set to grow further as per a 2020 Capgemini report, companies must reimagine the whole employee engagement experience and develop strategies that can help it to engage its employees in the current scenario. Here are 3 tips that organizations can incorporate in their functioning to engage their hybrid workforce.

1) Virtual Game Sessions

As the proverb says, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, likewise, using video conferencing applications such as Zoom or Google Meet just to catch up on work updates can be boring. Instead, companies can organize virtual game sessions periodically, wherein employees across teams can participate and play certain games such as Housie, Pictionary and Tambola amongst a few. Furthermore, companies could organize game sessions with team members and their families on an occasional basis

The primary purpose of such sessions is to facilitate conversation, activity and generate employee engagement amongst team members. These sessions can help foster the spirit of teamwork, agility and friendly competition which can be utilized while working on projects and other related requirements. Secondly, it acts as a breather and allows employees to relax and not just be thinking about work constantly.

While the work from home model offers productivity benefits, it also makes employees constantly available, which oftentimes has an impact on their moods and affects productivity at the end of the day. Organizing such activities reassures the workforce that the management does care about its employees and their well-being.

2) Learning And Development

The financial impact of COVID-19 has resulted in organizations reducing their L&D initiatives to stay afloat. However with the economy reviving in 2021, it’s prudent for businesses to provide opportunities for professional growth and development. As per a 2020 LinkedIn Workplace learning report, about 57% employees are likely to spend more time online, learning new skills or concepts that may be relevant to their field. As the pandemic has reduced operational roles and changed the way we work, organizations must enable employees to upskill themselves by offering online learning opportunities that help them grow both their soft skills and hard skills.

Some of the most sought after soft skills in 2021 are communication, time management, empathy and leadership, while hard skills are project management, marketing and writing. To foster learning and development these skills could be taught to different groups within an organization as not every individual possesses these skills. By providing learning opportunities of various kinds to different groups, it creates a sense of employee engagement while working remotely. This fuels both mental and professional growth.

3) Informal Conversations

As per a 2020, mental health survey, 7 out of 10 employees think that the pandemic has been one of the most stressful times in their career. This puts across a credible point that employers must prioritize its workforce’s mental well-being, apart from work. Organizations should proactively reach out to employees, just to hear them and understand the challenges they may be facing both at work and those at home that impact their productivity.

Additionally, leaders should be more interactive with the team, breaking past hierarchy. Empathetic leadership, a management requirement that puts employee well-being first, is key in running a business through rough waters. This means going the extra mile and paying attention to an employee’s holistic well-being.

To summarize, the above mentioned methods, demonstrate a significant shift in employee engagement in comparison to the previous times. The COVID 19 pandemic has been tough for business and employees alike, with each facing an unprecedented challenge in terms of working or adapting to the new methodology. As businesses move ahead in 2021, they must acknowledge the evolving engagement experience and adapt to it for future growth and development.

Are You Achieving Employee Engagement Or Employee Satisfaction?

When employees quit their jobs ‘voluntarily’, it not only affects the team dynamics, but also costs organizations in terms of rehiring and training expenses. While satisfaction will be enough to sustain an employee in their job, it is employee engagement that will help them unleash their true potential. Thus, simultaneously leading the organization towards success and excellence.

Have you always wondered whether your efforts are being channelized in the right direction?

What’s The Difference?

Engaging your employees leads to a higher level of productivity and business. Whereas, ensuring that your employees are satisfied leads to sense of sustainable continuity in the growth of the business. Engagement boosts collaboration on an everyday basis, while satisfaction impacts the employee’s long-term retention.

However, both factors are interdependent and have one thing in common – the employee’s happiness quotient. A key driver of engagement and satisfaction is determining how invested your employee is into the company – more emotionally, than logistically.

Employee Engagement Is A Departmental Initiative

From putting in place a set of activities, designing employee-friendly policies, equipping the leaders with well-structured trainings to upskill, to creating situations for cross-functional teams to collaborate, and ensuring that the camaraderie always thrives – these are some of the core functions (usually handled by the HR department) that determine how engaged an employee is.

One of the most implied mediums for HR to disseminate this, is to make customizations to existing internal communications strategy. Ensuring that there is transparent communication and clear expectations, HR strives to bring employees together for fun-filled sessions of bonding. A task that is however incomplete, without roping in the managers and leaders.

Employee Satisfaction Is EVERYBODY’s Business

A survey report by the Atlassian Corporation titled ‘Reworking Work: Understanding The Rise of Work Anywhere’ in October 2020, reported that 70% of people believe that their job satisfaction has improved as opposed to pre-COVID restrictions.

Right from providing the employees with occasions to be a ‘change maker’, to instilling a sense of pride and establishing a sense of belonging, from ensuring that each one gets ‘equal opportunities’ to develop and grow, to giving credit where it is rightfully due; each and every individual in the organization plays a role towards determining an employee’s satisfaction at the workplace.

The employee happiness quotient can be determined in multiple ways. Through focused group discussions, engaging pulse surveys, establishing a feedback mechanism, and providing opportunities towards developing one’s holistic well-being. Every individual in the organization across hierarchies and designations is responsible for contributing to an employee’s overall experience at the workplace.

The question then arises: Are you working towards achieving employee engagement or employee satisfaction?

Focus On The Big Picture

If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is the power and the value of synergizing. Organizations that have collaborated across industries, have witnessed a far stronger record of surviving the crisis with minimal damage. Even competitor brands such as McDonalds and Burger King have lived off each other’s support (in the most innovative way that one could fathom!)

Therefore, here’s what you need to channelize your focus upon:

Avoiding ambiguity in communications

Be it employee engagement or employee satisfaction, the key to a great employee experience is to ensure that your workforce knows exactly how much risk the business can afford to take. This not only accentuates a sense of ownership, but also motivates employees to go the extra mile.

Eliminating bias in decision-making

Make your employees a part of the process rather than expecting them to simply comply with the outputs. Put out the options on the table and train your future leaders to think like a CEO. Establish a portal to receive feedback about everyday operations and let HR determine whether efforts are being over or under compensated.

Reframe from causing career stagnation

Despite the fact that the pandemic has hit business badly, organizations are still investing in upskilling the employee. Interactive learning sessions hosted digitally by senior leadership can ensure that employees have the chance to upgrade their working styles.

Amazon, Walmart, PepsiCo supported their employees by providing medical and financial aid but have also invested in their mental well-being. True HR effectiveness can be determined by the kind of ‘employee experience’ that its workforce enjoys. Employee engagement as well as employee satisfaction are integral aspects of this experience. While both aspects can be mapped on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, one must remember that the two are very much interdependent and incomplete without one and other. There has been a shift in the paradigm of employee experience, and it must be acknowledged. Only a synergized effort will build a seamless employee experience.

Do Your Initiatives Enhance Employee Engagement Or Achieve Targets?

When was the last time that the HR team did an organization wide pulse survey, to derive quantitative sentiment analysis from it, and make people-centric decisions with an ‘employee first’ approach? Employee engagement is not just a task, but a strategy that directly impacts the business.

In order to retain your existing workforce, while keeping the productivity and performance levels high, as well as attracting new talent that will add value to the organization, having a resilient and agile employee engagement strategy is the mantra.

Prioritising Your Employee Engagement Strategy

Employee engagement is the culmination of HR practices that help keep the employees aligned to the company’s vision through values. Building a culture of appreciation across the floor that is driven top-down will only add to the overall acceptance levels.

Well-being has today become a need of the hour. What are your employees feeling? Are they ‘happy’ working remotely, or is it only adding to their burnout levels? Are they able to avail all the perks, take enough leaves, and schedule frequent breaks during work hours? All this while ensuring that they log in and out on time? Are they open enough to approach your in-house counsellors and speak about their problems? And most importantly, are your managers trained to handle a situation when someone walks up to them to discuss a ‘mental health problem’?

According to the LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index the pandemic has led to about 39% of the Indian working professionals experiencing an increased level of stress and anxiety.

The concept of ‘wellness’ has existed since the early 1800’s. But it is only today, that the health and wellness industry in India has grown to become a 20,000 crore industry.

When companies talk about wellness initiatives, it has to be a very holistic approach. Implementing workshops for employees in isolation with activities like Zumba classes, mindfulness sessions, and breathing techniques, will not really work. Yoga does not solve a cry for help!

However, organizations can only be an enabler. It can provide the necessary resources, design a customized framework, and set up employee-friendly policies. But until the people themselves take the onus of reaching out for help, the efforts are bound to be futile.

The Change And Impact, Both Start Small

Begin with identifying the influencers in your team and train them to disseminate their personal experiences with key takeaways and learnings. Conduct basic team building workshops for employees that comprise sensitization towards respecting the diversity, and being inclusive.

The HR team may not be as equipped to handle escalations and problems alone. But tapping into the right resources that already exist, and moulding them will definitely be a helping hand. By doing so, you are also creating a legacy that is people-centric and ensures peer learning. This will further add to the frequency of cross-functional teams collaborating and build team accountability.

Make It Special To Make It Count

Rather than targeting numbers and chasing results, invest in the journey. Showcase success stories of the transformation and get your management team to begin with it! In these uncertain times, holding onto employee loyalty through the virtual world is getting difficult. The lines between personal and professional are blurring and employee expectations are drastically evolving.

When you lack physical presence and the personal interactions, how can employee engagement levels be defined with precision based on digital conversations? In a situation like this, building a sense of pride is imperative. Strive to attain quality participation and then, focus on amplifying the quantity.

In the quest of achieving numbers and quarterly targets, organizations tend to miss the finer things that make a difference. A random catchup call from the manager to employee, a townhall where everybody logs in only to talk about something new that they have learnt during the lockdown, a small gesture of appreciating your peer with a ‘Thank you’ email – These are the smaller and simpler things that really matter.

With numerous economic challenges surrounding us, employees are worried about staying ahead of the curve and keep proving their worth. Making it mandatory to partake in an employee engagement initiative will only be an add-on. Instead, aim to build two or three sustainable initiatives that people have a liberty to participate in. Let it not just be something that gets classified as the ‘flavour of the month’. Make employee well-being a part of your CORE strategy rather than a mere tick off your checklist.

Just as companies take a personalized approach towards its customers, similarly, there must be a personalized approach for employees as well. For only a seamless employee experience can help achieve the numbers and derive the desired ROI.