Are you Engaging your Talented People? - 10 Steps to Employee Engagement
For many people, the start of a new year brings with it the motivation to change something. Whether it is to quit smoking, go to the gym, go on a diet or broaden one's horizons, most of us will make at least one "new year's resolution" this month. For employers, this can be a daunting prospect as many employees will be thinking about a change in direction at work.
However, this needn't be as worrying as it sounds. Having employees who are thoroughly motivated and truly engaged with what they are doing can ensure they stay with the organisation. If their desire for advancement and development can be fulfilled with their existing company, they are more likely to stick around for the long term.
This month, Human Assets provides some practical advice that can help employers motivate and engage their existing talent.
The Benefits of Engaged Talent
It is a matter of sheer commercial logic that an organisation's people represent the most crucial weapon in its bid for competitive supremacy. However, there is not much point in employing people if you are not going to take steps to ensure that they give their very best to you.
The "traditional" model of engaging an organisation's workforce was simple - the more you pay them, the harder they work. However, it has become clear that people are likely to be swayed by a range of other, non-financial factors when deciding where they will work. This is particularly true of really talented people.
Recent research in Personnel Today (December 2004) has shown that companies with engagement levels above those of their competitors outperformed them in terms of operating margin by 17%. Similarly, research by the Corporate Leadership Council (2004) demonstrates that productivity is up to 57% higher amongst engaged employees whilst turnover drops by up to 87%.
Clearly these are impressive statistics but the all important question remains: How does one ensure an engaged workforce?
10 Steps to an Engaged Workforce
Employee engagement can be most simply defined as the level of commitment felt by an individual towards an organisation. At a more complex level, commitment can be viewed as either rational commitment (the belief that individual effort will be rewarded with tangible returns - i.e. remuneration and personal advancement) or emotional commitment (a more deep-seated belief in the organisational culture, values and strategy).
Some of the most important factors that influence emotional commitment are:
1. Employer Commitment - ensure that your management team are publicly committed to developing talented individuals.
2. Advancement - provide open and transparent avenues for career advancement.
3. Civilised Treatment - make sure that your managers are supported and coached in people management skills.
4. Praise - extend praise where it is due; the benefits to the employee can be enormous.
5. Exposure to Senior People - ensure open channels of communication exist between employees and the upper echelons of management.
6. Support - make sure that there is someone available for advice and support.
7. Trust - employees who feel trusted by their employers are likely to reciprocate with loyalty.
8. Pride in the Organisation - employees who feel pride towards their company are more likely to commit long term.
9. Pride in the Work - the feeling that one is doing a truly useful assignment is a powerful tool in engaging talent.
10. Work-Life Balance - organisations who respect the balance an employee must strike between home and work life is likely to stand the test of time better.
How Can Human Assets Help?
Human Assets is dedicated to ensuring that you choose, develop and effectively engage your talent. Our consultants have a wealth of knowledge and experience in applying the principles of psychology to ensure you maximise your commercial success by harnessing your most important asset - your staff.
We offer a variety of talent management methods tailored specifically to address your motivation and retention issues. These include:
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Defining talent strategies
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Instilling an talent management culture
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Pinpointing what motivates people
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Improving your 'employee proposition'
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Auditing employee satisfaction
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Designing career paths
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Succession planning
Engaging talented people needs to be a top organisational priority. We can help you to achieve this goal.
If you would like to find out more, please contact one of our consultantas at enquiries@humanassets.co.uk or on +44(0)20 7434 2122.
Further Reading:
Woodruffe, C. (2005). Employee Engagement: The real secret of winning a crucial edge over your rivals. Management First, Sept/Oct 2005.
Stairs, M. (2005). Work Happy: Developing Employee Engagement to Deliver Competitive Advantage. Selection & Development Review, Vol 21 (5) pp7-11.
Newsletter: January 2006