“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” – Doug Conant
An organisation without employees, this is beyond imagination. But that’s what is happening to many of the organisations now.
How…?
Do you think an organisation with disengaged employees is truly an organisation which impacts its bottomline?
No...such a workplace of disengaged employees is more like a workplace without employees. For an organisation to succeed, mere presence of the employees is not enough, but the employee engagement is what mostly matters.
“When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.” – Betty Bender
The line speaks volumes. Very often we tend to drop off the aspect of engagement though it greatly contributes to the success. Thus, we often miss greater things that can happen when we focus on smaller things. When we give importance to small things, they can be solved in a simple way, otherwise they turn big and cost much. It is rightly said, “Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly, will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily”
Employee Engagement is the sense of commitment with which the employees contribute to the growth and success of an organisation, while in the process they also enhance their own selves to become completely competent. Employee engagement has become the most important aspect that needs much attention of the corporate executives now, as it’s been slightly neglected earlier. It is a key without which one cannot unlock the door of success. It was also proved that an engaged environment is highly productive than the one which is not.
Employee engagement can be measured in various ways like polls, surveys and personal sessions with each employee and it can be enhanced only when the data collected through surveys and other ways is looked into and valued.
Now let's look at some of the ways in which employees can be more engaged and turn productive.
Be open to inform or communicate
All employees will have a desire to know about the organization they are working for, and that cannot be ignored. Being the agents of sustainability and spending life’s much time with the organisation, they expect to have the right to information on every aspect of the place where they are working and contributing their physical and intellectual capabilities. This can happen when governing body trust their employees and trust gives back trust in most cases. So building trust is an essential element to initiate open communication between the employers/executives and employees.
Don't play favourites
This often happens but it never works out. Favouritism always creates an air of discomfort in the organization, that most of the employees get demotivated. It’s healthy to be consistent in your relations with your employees and never let them down by playing favourites, as its impact may not be immediate but gradually it will harm the employee morale. Have an all equal approach towards all your employees, for every employee is sensible enough to analyse the way in which he/she is being treated.
Show but don’t say
The very common thing that happens with managers or executives is they always give responsibilities, but they don’t take. They dump duties on the staff without a clear reflection on what has to be done. But the employees always love to work with people who show them the things and stay along with them, take risks at times and motivate constantly to achieve results. Right strategy involves exemplifying things to keep employees in a comfort zone.
Tactful handling
Executives/Employers must be tactful in dealing with employees. They should act according to the nature of each individual and make the most of their potential. It is really important to be wise enough and handle risks to plan a solution that never harms the repute of the organisation. Hence have a complete knowledge of all your employees and their attitudes to deal accordingly. Know the fact and use tact to set everything in its place.
Be slow to anger and swift to appreciate
Appreciation and recognition of employees efforts is something which an employer/executive cannot do without. Sometimes though work becomes complex, employees strive without giving up, in such cases appreciation in any form can fetch employee satisfaction. And at times things may go wrong, what would one do then?? Shout and Howl? Never is it going to help. Always be slow to become angry. Don’t assign work to your mouth, but let your mind work on it and avoid making things more complex than they are.
Let your managers have skills rather than ills
Not all but some managers are the source of demotivation in workplaces. They may appear normal, but their impact on the employees make situations bitter. So always ensure your managers are not tricky, unpleasant but genial, responsible and right leaders.
Give an ear to your employees word
It's good to give an ear to your employees ideas and suggestions. If the ideas are beyond implementing or unsuitable, bring out the facts and dismiss it in a pleasing way, but if they are valid, there’s no loss to implement them.
Above all, a truly engaged workplace will reach the heights of success, however tough things may be, it also leads to employee satisfaction and retention, thus look into all the information collected in various ways to measure employee engagement. Research, Restrategize, and Recapture the engagement that is lost.
This is not at all trivial, for “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel.” – Sybil F. Stershic
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