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Smart HR

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Why should organizations equip and empower employees their employees? Because an engaged employee is connected, driven, productive and has “bought in” to your company and its mission. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) cites studies that link employee engagement to workforce performance, customer satisfaction, productivity, absenteeism, turnover and support of the organization. All these factors can have a measurable impact on the bottom line and companies are taking note. Gallup polled a random sample of 30,628 full- and part-time U.S. employees working for an employer from January to June 2018.  The percentage of “engaged” workers in the U.S., meaning those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace, was 34%, tying its highest level since Gallup began reporting the national figure in 2000.

Employee Engagement vs Employee Satisfaction

Both employee engagement and satisfaction are important yet distinctly different measurements that provide valuable information about a workplace. In simple terms, employee engagement occurs when an employee is committed to doing what is necessary to help the company achieve its goals. Employee satisfaction is how content an employee is performing his/her work. While engaged employees are satisfied with their jobs, satisfied employees are not necessarily engaged with theirs. Think in terms of employee performance. A satisfied employee will likely meet performance expectations while an engaged employee will likely exceed performance expectations.

What Makes an Employee Engaged?

David MacLeod and Nita Clarke have conducted extensive research into employee engagement. According to their report, Engaging for Success, there are four enablers of engagement that can help companies assess the effectiveness of their engagement approaches.

Strategic Narrative

What is it?
Your company’s story, with a beginning, middle and future. The story must be meaningful and include the people responsible for its history and who will enable it to fulfill its mission going forward.

How do I get it?

  • Tell the story of who your company is in the context of human relationships, not what it does. The story must be authentic and compelling to move employees to live it.
  • Think in terms of your shared purpose. What outcome are you and your employees working towards?
  • Involve your team in building the story using their words and language so they have a stake in it and believe in it. Employees are far more likely to “co-own” the narrative if they have played a role in its creation. This genuine collaboration drives engagement.
  • Keep it clear, simple and focused.
  • Use internal communications as a forum for reinforcing key messages from the narrative. Put it on your website and intranet.
  • Hold company leaders accountable for how they integrate the narrative into their management practices.
  • Recognize employees in a public and meaningful way who contribute to the narrative.

Engaging Managers

What is it?
Managers who focus on and coach their employees, treating them respectfully and as individuals.

How do I get it?
Ensure you and your managers:

  • Set clear objectives for employees that show how meeting those objectives supports the overall mission of the company.
  • Provide regular, thoughtful, honest and constructive feedback on employee performance.
  • Acknowledge employee successes and contributions in a public and meaningful way.
  • Discuss employee professional development and ensure the availability of the resources and tools needed to enable the development.
  • Model the behavior you want from employees.
  • Act in your employees’ best interests putting their welfare first.

Employee Voice

What is it?
An employee’s views, opinions, suggestions, concerns and feedback.

How do I get it?
Put mechanisms in place that allow and encourage communication between the staff and you such as:

  • Online employee engagement surveys. These surveys are specific to your company and examine every aspect of an employee’s experience to determine what serves as a motivator and demotivator. They produce actionable insights that can lead to a more productive workplace.
  • Graffiti boards. Create a shared space where employees write or visually represent ideas about a topic. Employees can build upon others’ ideas and comments.
  • Frontline forum. Gather a representative group of frontline staff to listen to and discuss issues of interest to employees.
  • Crowdsource decisions. Allow employees to jointly make decisions on suitable topics and issues by discussing it among themselves and providing a unified answer or vote individually on the issue.
  • Show you are listening. Remind employees of previous conversations and topics of interest and explain how you used their feedback in an actionable way. Employees will feel heard and be more inclined to speak up in the future.
  • Close the loop. Not every suggestion can be implemented. Always close the loop with employees whose ideas don’t come to fruition. Be clear, whether by email, staff meeting or other communication channel that their input is valued, and explain the reasons their idea wasn’t used.

Organizational Integrity

What is it?
The company’s values are reflected in day-to-day operations. Promises made are promises kept.

How do I get it?

  • Say what you mean and do what you say.
  • Establish, enforce and reinforce behavioral expectations with staff.
  • Establish a zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory and harassing conduct.
  • Be consistent and fair in all employment actions.
  • Share credit where credit is due.
  • Show support for employees and teams even when mistakes are made.
  • Be respectful of others’ ideas and perspectives.
  • Be quiet and actively listen to employee concerns, ideas and suggestions.

Engage with Smart HR For Help To Equip And Empower Your Employees

In addition to the suggestions above, by reaching out to the HR experts at Smart HR, you can help make equip and empower employees a top priority at your company in 2020. Smart HR has assisted over 80 clients in a multitude of industries and can bring that experience to your organization. From measuring employee engagement at your organization to presenting you with innovative ideas for making your employees’ voices heard, we can help. During an intake call or onsite meeting, Mark Stevenson, Smart HR’s President and CEO, will let you do the talking as he actively listens to your specific needs and then formulates a strategy for reaching your goals on equip and empower employees. Rarely do two companies have the exact same issues. You will get the personalized service when working with Smart HR that differentiates us from other HR service providers. Call us today!