25 May How to Build a Winning Workplace

There’s no denying that work has evolved drastically since COVID-19 arrived at our doorsteps. One clear change businesses witnessed is the abrupt shift to remote or hybrid work in order to achieve business continuity.

Experts believe that remote and hybrid workplace set-ups will continue to exist as the better option for employees even if the pandemic ceases to exist. Both employers and employees are enjoying the benefits of flexible work schedules, less commute, and the holistic improvement that remote work can provide. The advantages just speak for themselves.

However, executing an effective workplace strategy can become challenging as there has yet to be a concrete solution to the difficulty in replicating social connections and creative collaboration that physical interactions can give. According to Workplace, feelings of isolation and low morale can intensify – especially for those employees living alone.

One method HR Cloud suggests to assure a better workplace environment is to spur employee engagement among its workers. The firm emphasizes that it isn’t the office premises nor the amenities – similar to what Google headquarters possess – but human capital that determines the quality of a workplace whether that is remote or onsite.

With human workers being one of the most affected capital in businesses globally in the past two years, it has led to a newfound focus on employee-centered strategies. But when the economy started to recover and open job positions began to rise for the millions of workers who lost their jobs, existing employees demanded more from the companies they worked for.

And if these demands were not met, they started to search for other organizations that could cater to their growing needs. This led to the high-profile business phenomenon, “The Great Resignation” or “The Great Reassessment.”

This event made corporate leaders come to realize that focusing on acquisition and recruitment will not suffice. They would have to formulate strategies for the whole employee life cycle to make talent management and acquisition projects worthwhile. 

And focusing on improving employee engagement will support talent managers such as global mobility professionals and HR personnel to craft these strategies.

Studies confirm that employee engagement spurs productivity. Additionally, it will provide companies with unique and long-term benefits such as better talent acquisition and retention, a safer working environment, and better client retention and experience.

To improve the workplace, HR Cloud suggests the following employee engagement strategies:

Adopt a bottom-up approach

The power and influence of the employees have intensified over the pandemic period. And it isn’t just because we’re dealing with two new generations of workers, but the focus on employee wellbeing even from the Baby Boomers has caused this increased influence. Conduct surveys and periodic check-ins to allow employees to express their legitimate concerns and opinions. You never know whether a specific protocol or work policy is not well-received but employees keep mum about the subject matter out of fear that raising their concerns would be used against them. 

Promote two-way communication

Employees are often unengaged when organizations don’t divulge important information to them. This signifies mistrust toward employees; thus, employees tend to feel unimportant especially when they’re aware they haven’t taken any part in organization-wide business decisions. That’s why communicating both ways will help business leaders make informed decisions while at the same time giving value to their workers.

Encourage participation

If a company’s goal is to have employees for the long haul, then it’s important to promote team spirit across the organization. This will help reduce employee turnover and encourage proactivity within the working community. Some companies opt to organize big annual events. Others make it more casual such as an afternoon snack in the middle of working hours.

Acknowledge good work

It’s difficult for employees to gauge whether their performance is at par with company standards when their managers leave them in the dark. Companies will find it challenging to tap into their workers’ potential when they are unaware of their performance. It is wise to surround employees with a recognition-based environment to boost morale. Good work should always be rewarded. Quantum Workplace discovered in their research that organizations with recognition programs have 31% less voluntary turnover than organizations that don’t have these programs.

Invest in employees’ personal growth

Employee loyalty should be a goal for organizations that want to attain high levels of employee retention. To achieve this, employers ought to invest in the long-term growth of high-performing employees. Paid training programs for career development are both investments for the company and the employees themselves. Providing value to employees creates a sense of loyalty and makes them feel that the value they have received should be reciprocated.

Have competent managers

The bridge between the boardroom and the workforce is the managers. There’s a high chance that employees will have little interactions with business executives but will interact almost daily with managers. If employers see a manager with unengaged team members, then perhaps it’s high time to fill the skill gap or worse, hire a better manager with more experience with leading a team.

Build a purposeful environment

The proliferation of technology and automation should help companies find time to humanize workers and not view them as expendable assets. Employees also define the organization, so when companies treat employees as just another factor of the production line, they fail to capture the hearts of their workforce and might lead to higher turnover than desired. One way to help create a sense of purpose is to communicate how important their contribution is to the organization-wide goals.

Provide a success roadmap

For newer generations of the global workforce, logging in, doing the tasks assigned, attending meetings, and getting the paycheck, will not be enough. They’re known to be conscious about how they see themselves in the future from where they stand in the present. Helping them visualize a clear roadmap to success will build a better foundation for employee engagement strategies.