HOW TO STAY CONSISTENT WITH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Employee engagement isn't a one-off initiative—it's an ongoing commitment that requires practical and consistent implementation.

HR departments will regularly think and roll out engagement strategies – but they don’t get properly translated to employees… (or they do, but over time things go back to normal). And that’s one of the biggest challenges – embedding these initiatives into the fabric of day-to-day operations.

UNDERSTANDING THE EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE

Before delving into strategies, HR professionals must step into the shoes of employees. It's not enough to have abstract engagement concepts; employees should feel and be aware of tangible efforts made for their well-being and job satisfaction.

So how can you turn these ideas into daily practices that employees experience and appreciate? Keep reading for 3 tips on how to stay consistent with employee engagement.

1. COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY

HR professionals can often be viewed as far away, distant figures to employees – detached from the daily work experiences of employees.

Not only does this lead to a lack of trust from employees, but also a lack of awareness for you. If you're not amongst employees, you won't know what bothers employees. Engagement strategies need to be just as relevant as they are strategic. If your strategy doesn't stem from understanding employees, your employees will never be on the same page with you.

This also means transparency. This is crucial. If you encourage transparency from employees so you can make changes, you also need to do the same. This could simply be through keeping employees in the loop of things you're looking to improve. When employees know you care, that instantly will help engagement.

2. RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

If there’s one thing you can do regularly that boosts engagement, healthy culture and peer-to-peer relationships – it’s recognition.

The reality is that employees thrive on recognition and acknowledgement and can quickly feel invisible without it. And no, this doesn’t mean big celebrations, promotions and vouchers to showcase appreciation, it starts with implementing day-to-day acknowledgement that goes beyond the big, formal applause.

One way of doing this could be through semi-regular acknowledgements such as:

• Employee of the month

• End of quarter/ year awards

• Birthday celebrations (we get each employee a cake, card, and balloon)

But if you want to truly make an impact on employee satisfaction, don’t overlook the small things. Don’t overlook that compliment or small show of appreciation – it goes a long way. Some ways of implementing this could be through:

• Encouraging managers to show appreciation regularly

• Internal channels where small wins are shared

• Highlight individual or team efforts in meetings

When recognition becomes a habitual part of the work culture, it won’t just help employees feel valued by you and their managers, but also by their colleagues.

3. INVESTING IN EMPLOYEE GROWTH

Employees who see continuous opportunities for growth and development are far more likely to stay engaged.

Progression is seen as this big and formal component of HR where employees know it’s there but only come across it once a year or so. But the good news is: you can ensure professional development is an integral part of the company's culture without thinking every meeting has to be a promotion. In fact, if you want employees to develop in their roles, that annual performance review won’t be enough… and 90% of HR leaders say annual reviews don’t even provide accurate results (The Washington Post).

So if you want your employees to constantly feel as though they’re moving forward:

• Provide accessible training programs

• Offer mentorship opportunities

• Give clear career progression plans

• Regularly communicate about skill development

• Encourage and work with employees to set career goals (and support them in achieving them)

When employees know that their company is consistently invested in their professional growth, it creates a sense of loyalty and commitment.

- Written by Tim Macmillan

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