The need to engage with work forces to help drive the economy forward is receiving much attention. Many attempts have been made to define engagement (1) but put simply it is about connecting with employees and others associated with the organisation to produce an effective and customer focused firm that adapts successfully.<\/p>\n
Academic studies have concluded that there are certain characteristics present in engaged firms. However, the studies are not conclusive about whether those are the key causes or simply indicators. One fact is certain – engaging people is not a once only initiative but a continuous investment of time and energy by senior managers in the good and bad periods.<\/p>\n
The level of engagement oscillates over time whether in a new or existing company.\u00a0 In a new venture, it is hard work but easier to gel people together, to nurture the buzz, sense of challenge and ‘let’s go for it’ attitude amongst all staff.\u00a0 However as the organisation evolves, that first exhilaration begins to feel tarnished as things begin to change. From the management viewpoint, experience exposes ways in which more effective practices can be implemented e.g. better route planning in distribution but employees may experience that as changes for the worse.\u00a0 Adapting and improving is part of organisational life but connectivity can be undermined.<\/p>\n
How do you go about re-engaging employees and others who are vital to the success of the business?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n First consider your beliefs about your employees<\/p>\n Second beware of quick fixes. Managers often see a bonus scheme as a way to engage staff. Reward systems decay over time and so the original purpose becomes less effective and even counter productive. Watch for signs that engagement is dropping off e.g. increases in waste or errors, a lack of ideas being given or forthright views on issues to senior managers. When employees are engaged with the direction of the firm they want things to be right and will give voice to any waste or weaknesses.<\/p>\n Stand back and consider the following points about your organisation.<\/p>\n How will you measure the gains from investing time in re-engaging employees? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Engagement is not just about employee satisfaction. It is about how they perceive the business – are they proud of the services\/products given to customers? You can take stock of the degree of engagement via an employee survey. That should cover perceptions about:<\/p>\n Just asking such questions provides you with a rich source of information that you can work on to re-engage staff and see how improvement occurs. A recent report from Randstad (3) cites that many organisations are out of touch with what employees value about companies. For example, senior managers emphasised their employer brand and business values as their most attractive attributes but employees attach more importance to work that is meaningful and competitive remuneration. 44% of the employees surveyed stated that their skills were under utilised but 40% of the organisations surveyed alleged that the lack of skills was holding back innovation and development. Re- engagement may provide you with a competitive edge.<\/p>\n Hall marks of re-engagement<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n An organisation that is serious about engagement will practice many of the following:<\/p>\n The latter point is part of making sure that it is not all talk – employees and managers see that senior management is determined to address new revenue streams and fix issues to retain cust0mers and improve margins.<\/p>\n Those are just some of the hallmarks.<\/p>\n Engagement demands consistency<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Employees and managers notice who gets recognised or rewarded. Ensure your reward and recognition practices reinforce appropriate attitudes and actions<\/p>\n Engagement also necessitates making sure that your processes are effective and that poor performance is addressed. Managers need to address weaknesses amongst staff and processes in a fair but firm way. Staff respect managers who are consistent and that engenders their belief that they work for a reasonable employer.<\/p>\n However, employees also notice groups that are treated shabbily and such examples are a barrier to developing trust. A common example is the way in which temporary staff and young people are treated but that in itself is an article for another time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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