There are three key factors which are driving organisations to increasingly focus on employee engagement, according a research report.
These include the changing generational composition of organisations, a flatter world of work and the “gig economy”, which together, often make the acquisition and internal development of critical talent more challenging.
Social networks have also made it easier for job candidates to assess organisations as potential employers, according to the report which was conducted by Bersin by Deloitte.
“Organisations are turning to solutions to monitor employee engagement, solicit feedback, diagnose opportunities for improvement, enable change to better support employee engagement and even to enhance productivity,” said Robin Erickson, vice president, talent acquisition, engagement and retention research, Bersin by Deloitte.
Almost 90 percent of companies are re-evaluating their engagement strategies to account for changing workforce demographics and preferences, according to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016.
“This demand for new approaches is partly in response to the availability of new technologies and partly the reason vendor choices are growing so quickly,” said Erickson
New software and services that enable organisations to measure the mood of employees, manage peer-to-peer feedback, and improve work highlight a surge of innovation focused on keeping employees engaged, according to the report.
Erickson defined employee engagement as a collective measure of employees’ attitudes, attentiveness and intensity of effort related to their work and workplace.
Employee engagement has been linked to several positive business outcomes, which include customer satisfaction, retention, and employee productivity – all of which ultimately can affect the bottom line, according to the research.
The Evaluating Employee Engagement Measurement Options report found there is no single go-to approach for assessing engagement, however, organisations can start by asking why they are measuring employee engagement and how will the data be used.
“This demand for new approaches is partly in response to the availability of new technologies and partly the reason vendor choices are growing so quickly”
Knowing what the company needs and a familiarity with available measurement options are critical first steps, and measurement options tend to fall into three broad categories:
- Surveys, including annual and pulse, remain the most common approach to measuring employee engagement (currently used by about 40 per cent of global organisations, according to Deloitte research).
Short pulse surveys help organisations gather quick, frequent and timely information about employee opinions in the moment and make changes to address issues before they disrupt day-to-day functions. - Interviews, including stay interviews, exit interviews and focus groups, offer a more personal way to understand what keeps employees engaged through in-person communications.
- Internal and external data analysis, including text analysis, offers insights from the comments written by employees in response to open-ended questions. Social network analysis also offers insights into how employees interact with others.
There are five major elements and 20 underlying strategies that can work together to help make organisations “irresistible” in the quest for employee engagement, according to Bersin by Deloitte, which said these 20 factors fit together into a whole system of engagement in an organisation, one that is held together through culture.
- Make work meaningful. Perhaps the most important part of employee engagement is job-person fit. We need to make sure jobs are meaningful, people have the right tools and autonomy to succeed, and that we select the right people for the right job.
- Foster great management. The word management is used here – not leadership – to refer to the daily, weekly, and monthly activity managers use to guide, support, and align their people. Specifically, high-performing managers typically create simple goals, make sure they are clear and transparent, and revisit them regularly.
- Establish a flexible, humane, inclusive workforce. Given the nature of work today, if leaders want employees to engage with their organizations, they should give them a flexible and supportive work environment. In addition to benefits that help make work fit our lives and employee wellness programs, research also shows that open, flexible workspaces can have a major impact on engagement.
- Create ample opportunities for growth. Building opportunities for growth can be a complex and systemic challenge. First, there should be developmental opportunities, both formal and informal, that let people learn on the job, take developmental assignments, and find support when they need help.
- Establish vision, purpose, and transparency in leadership. There are four leadership practices that most directly impact employee engagement. The first is to develop and communicate a strong sense of purpose. Research shows that “mission-driven” companies surveyed have 30 percent higher levels of innovation and 40 percent higher levels of retention, and they tend to be first or second in their market segment.
For more information see Bersin by Deloitte’s Unlocking the secrets of employee engagement. Image source: iStock
