Essential activities to ensure your people are engaged

Talent management  and engagement are current buzz phrases and in this context employee engagement seems to be climbing up the agenda again.

The environment in which we operate is changing at so many levels at a political, environmental, social, technological, economic and legal. These changes mean we need to find ways of both changing and yet providing some level of stability or consistency.

Recently, several requests have been made on social networking sites asking for tips to increase employee engagement. I have contributed to these and thought that this list worth sharing with readers of this site and blog. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Here are my top 10 activities for developing and sustaining some level of employee engagement:

1. Communicate WITH people
2. Tell your people what the vision is
3. Tell your people what their roles is
4. Tell your people how you are doing (good & bad)
5. Tell your people when you catch them doing the right thing
6. Tell you people when they do things right
7. Ensure your people who is responsible for what (delegation)
8. Tell your people you will back them up & help them develop (grow)& learn
9. Tell your people the customer is critical
10. Show your people you care about them as a human being

and by “tell” I mean by voice not e-message! Make sure the fully understand – i.e. check their understanding – communication is a 2 way process. Do they know what “success” looks, feels and sounds like?

Bonus tips:

11) Communicate..communicate..communicate..
12) Catch people doing a good job & praise them

Its not about doing these things once and ticking a box…. its about repetition, repetition, repetition and consistency.

Simples ;)

Is Employee Engagement Rocket Science?

For me employee engagement is not rocket science – its psychology. We are human beings and as a human we have several basic needs. Maslow has given us a basic tool to use, and that is great, but as an employee, many are through most of the pyramid, assuming work is reasonably stable, so we need to look deeper.

Dr Yasmin Davidd has an interesting approach to this

He suggests six human needs:

1. Love & connection
2. Certainty
3. Uncertainty
4. Significance
5. Contribute
6. Growth

While some may not buy in to the model, we need to realise that as our society becomes increasingly fragmented, work as a structure and psychological “crutch” and system is increasingly important. If we want to attract the talent we need, and more importantly retain that talent, we need to ensure that we do what is necessary to meet peoples basic needs.

People need to feel that they “belong” and are “loved” in the workplace. We need to feel that we are part of the workplace tribe.

They need to feel and believe that they know what is expected of them on a day to day basis. Some welcome the challenge of problem solving and uncertainty.

We all need to believe that the role we play is significant. The tale of when in the US the Kennedy administration first committed to putting a man on the moon, there were rumours that some at NASA weren’t dedicated to that vision. President Kennedy needed to beat the Russians, which required everyone at NASA be totally committed to that goal. He visited NASA to ensure that the goal was clear and understood by everybody. Upon entering one of the buildings, he met a janitor and asked, “How are you?”, The janitor replied, “I’m doing great. I’m putting a man on the moon.”  This janitor didn’t see himself as just someone sweeping floors, but as someone who was involved in the vision laid out by President Kennedy. Looking at the Kennedy speech from 1961 when he proposed the lunar mission. He said, “In a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon … it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.” This clearly showed that everyone had their part to play.

Now was this story true? Does it matter, As long as every individual understand their contribution.

When people have contributed – then they need growth. Some only a little, others a lot.

What do you think are key ingredients for engagement?

See our other posts on Employee Engagement:

https://rapidbi.com/employee-engagement-morale-boosters-ideas-tips/

https://rapidbi.com/10-tips-for-engaging-employees-on-networks/

…. its often the little things that count… thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon