Rebooting the way you engage the troops - a map
“EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT” Has this phrase has meant foosball tables, rangoli competitions, and offsites to you? Then it’s time think again. As we write this piece, knowledge workers around the world have retreated into their homes, thanks to the COVID-19 situation. This unwittingly gives you a chance to revisit employee engagement from first principles.
An enterprising leader can use windows of disruptions (however brief and temporary) to rapidly move to other models of meaningful engagement. Ask yourself: why do we need employee engagement? why do we do all that we do right now? what can we do differently?
A simple map of thinking about any form of engagement
What’s the Purpose?
Objectives matter. Engagement should be a means to a spectrum of ends. You may want higher productivity, more innovation, lower attrition, better resilience, fewer surprises etc. Start by identifying them. This dimension usually ranges from ‘diversion’ (take your mind off) to ‘high meaning’ (go deeper into work)
First, Do No Harm
In many places, employee engagement efforts add to the burden of work! If your team has suddenly gone remote, and you decided to get everyone together for a 4 pm virtual tea party, this may actually hurt engagement. Why? Consider that some working parents are overwhelmed with domestic and professional duties already. So design it to be appropriate for different segments of employees, and allow opt-ins.
Don’t Lose Authenticity
Be authentic to your personality and company values. Don’t suddenly try to become overly pally just because employees are out of sight, or because you’ve been told you are inaccessible. Find common ground and use that to engage.
Simplify
Each engagement mode and style can have only 1 or key purposes. Identify and avoid overloading objectives. For instance, if you want to organise a fun hobby session to give people a mental break, use it just for that, and don’t chase ‘learning’ goals.
Spaces Matter
Where you engage, is as important as with whom. Some modes work well in person, some can be done asynchronously or remotely as well. Don’t mix modes. Ensure the correct visibility: private/group-level/all/external.
Connect to Your Team’s Interests and Values
Often, engagement efforts fail because they don’t connect with employees. Knowing your employees interests and their core strengths & values can be a great guide to seeing what can connect with them. Try a design-thinking exercise where you can involve them as well to design a lovely employee engagement program.
The way we smartly engage each other inside CTQ and for our clients - a glimpse