Only 26 percent of the U.S. working population is engaged (loyal and productive)—55 percent are not engaged (just putting in time) and 19 percent are actively disengaged (unhappy and spreading their discontent), according to a Gallup study. This lack of employee engagement not only hurts the morale of the organization, it affects the bottom line. Promotional Consultant Today shares these strategies for improving employee engagement.
1. New hire or induction survey: An effective on-boarding process means that by the end of the first four to six weeks of employment, new employees will have been provided with information relating to each of the following areas:
Resources (What tools and training do they need to hit the ground running?)
Routines (Which systems and regular events should they be part of?)
Relationships (Who do they need to connect with?)
Ask questions to find out what your new hire thought of the induction process. Did they get all the information they need to be successful? Are they happy? Is the “reality” of the role what was sold to them before joining? By asking these types of questions and then acting on the results, the gap between the employer’s expectations and the new hire’s performance can be more closely aligned.
2. Satisfaction or climate/culture survey: Do your employees feel happy? Or is there a general air of discontent among staff? Why do they feel the way that they do? What suggestions do they have to improve their working environment and/or the culture of the company? A regular staff climate survey can provide employees with an appropriate platform to voice concerns before those feelings spiral out of control. Pay attention to the information generated and you may find that keeping your staff engaged is not as expensive as you thought it would be.
3. Reward and recognition survey: Employees often specialize in either a technical or management career track so each individual requires benefits and opportunities that match their preferences. And if they don’t get a package that matters to them, they are more likely to be disengaged. Designing an appropriate benefits package means going beyond monetary considerations and including two key elements: tailoring the package to individual needs and providing clear links to organizational goals.
4. Training survey: Most employers appear to be alert to the value of providing training to staff both as a way to reward and as a way to provide further advancement up the ladder. However, many organizations don’t actually take the time to formally measure what staff really thought of the training and how it benefited them. Ask key questions such as: “How will you be able to apply the training to improve your effectiveness?”
5. Exit interview survey: When salespeople lose a business deal, a best practice is to follow up and find out why. What happens when someone leaves your organization? If you aren’t asking why the person is leaving using a structured interview process, you are missing an opportunity to help identify the common issues you need to address to improve the engagement of the remaining staff and to improve your retention rates.
As your employees see you taking an active interest in their needs and proactively changing business practices to support these needs, employee engagement levels will begin to rise and you will reduce your staff turnover costs.
Source: PeoplePulse™ is an Australian-built online survey, feedback and research tool used to collect timely feedback from staff, clients and candidates via the internet. The tool is ideal for organizations that need great online survey software and help from real life survey specialists to ensure they get the most from their survey project.