Employee engagement is one of the main focuses of a company’s people management, as it underpins the structured growth of an organization. Without people truly involved in the success of the activity, results will never be compatible with the company’s productive potential.
However, engagement is not an easy point to achieve. In addition to some employee resistance, company boards do not always understand its business value. Therefore, in this post we will bring some tips to seek effective employee engagement and its proper appreciation. Stay tuned!
6 steps to generate employee engagement
1. Know the profile of your employees
The success of engagement lies in the communication between company and employee, and for this, it is necessary to understand the profile of the interlocutors.
Currently, the labor market encompasses several different generations of professionals. In addition to this diversity of beliefs and behaviors, each sector also attracts different styles of individuals.
An information technology company, for example, has more creative professionals who are closer to technologies and innovations. Meanwhile, manufacturing sectors still concentrate more traditional professionals who, although also included in the digital era, still operate and value other means of communication.
By conducting a survey on organizational climate and employee profiles, a company can understand the best way to communicate with its collaborators.
2. Choose more efficient communication channels
Knowing the employee profile, communication channels can be chosen with greater precision. This does not mean that any of them need to be excluded, but the manager will understand, within their possibilities, which ones are most appropriate for each situation. Some possibilities are:
Communication through Corporate TV, wall newspaper, and magazine
Corporate TV is an efficient tool that reaches the entire audience of a corporation, with the ability to transmit videos, images, and animations. Its content can be better assimilated by employees, as it allows for greater interaction, besides making communication more dynamic and attractive.
To transmit occupational safety best practices during SIPAT (Internal Week for the Prevention of Accidents at Work), for example, the company can create a video schedule that reports dangerous situations and how to avoid them.
Just like a television channel, Corporate TV must have programming designed by a specific sector, according to the company’s purposes, strategically considering peak viewing hours and which types of content are most engaging for its audience.
Newspapers posted on bulletin boards are ideal for ensuring that important information is widely disseminated throughout the company, even for those employees who have little or no habit of accessing computers.
Magazines are tangible communication channels for larger companies that have branches in multiple locations. Because they have many relevant events in different points, they concentrate such information in this print medium, which, due to its need for more elaboration, should not be used for urgent communications, but is great for maintaining a more uniform level of knowledge about the company among all employees.
Communication via intranet and newsletter
A more dynamic type of communication, the intranet can gather various company information, whether for important announcements that will affect the workday or for motivational information, such as success stories of other employees.
The newsletter should also not be used for urgent communications, as it will not always be read in the first hours of the day. On the other hand, it is very efficient for updating the team on the progress of a project, for example.
Social media and chats
Companies also use social media and internal chats, whether or not associated with the intranet. They serve to bring sectors and teams closer together regarding everyday work matters.
3. Set goals that interest everyone
Setting goals for employee engagement can attract the attention of other managers and decision-makers, because the information and its potential results will be described quantitatively, which is more tangible.
With this, a company’s chief financial officer can value investment in employee ergonomics campaigns, for example, because they will understand through numbers that the business return will be visible.
It must be remembered, however, that engagement goals must be compatible with employee demands and their capabilities to achieve them, or they may have the opposite effect.
4. Recognize and reward good results
An employee’s engagement with the company’s objectives needs to have an emotional bond. They need to understand that pursuing better results will be as good for them as it is for the company.
Therefore, creating reward plans for employees is a way to forge a bond with the company’s objectives and show that there are also individual benefits. As a result, the employee will feel that they are making a difference in an organization.
5. Provide tools for the team to evolve
In addition to the personal purpose that will make the employee pursue the company’s objectives, it is also necessary to offer the tools for them to achieve these results.
Feedbacks, coaching, and growth opportunities within the company through internal recruitment are good tools that help professionals evolve in their careers. They must be done privately, focusing on the skills and difficulties of each professional. When well executed, feedback and coaching direct collaborators to improve their current performance and also demonstrate the company’s interest in helping them develop.
Internal recruitments are also fundamental for employee engagement. They show the team that there is a possibility of growth within the company and that, for this reason, they can and should strive harder.
Using such tools makes the company retain talent and reduce turnover, keeping a qualified and integrated team for longer.
6. Analyze the success of employee engagement
Like any planning and project that must be monitored, employee engagement must also be constantly evaluated for its effectiveness.
With metrics already defined, it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of actions, observing even each of the communication channels. If adjustments are needed, metrics and employee feedback will be the best sources of information.
Employee engagement is directly linked to internal communication, not just extra remuneration and awards. When done well, employees have a much stronger feeling of belonging to an organization, which is essential for engagement.
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