3: Employee Engagement

Human engagement is a complex emotional state which has multiple connotations. Engagement in its very basic sense means a feeling of being in charge of our immediate environment. Hence, a technically comprehensive definition of employee engagement from the perspective of organization is usually acknowledged as “Quantifying human involvement in order to achieve predetermined goals”.
There have been few theoretical explanations of motivation given by experts, one of them is that Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs, helps us simplify and bridge together different facets of challenges faced by employers in keeping the motivation of employees intact.

Importance of Employee engagement activities :

• It increases employee loyalty and commitment towards the company.
• It also acts as catalysts in increasing company's growth financially as well as socially.
• Attracts investment from different stakeholders.
• Helps in retaining talent and lessens the attrition rate
• Enhances the brand value of the company
• Promotes an environment of learning and development
• Creates an ecosystem of shared value inside the company
• Enhances the wellbeing of employees which eventually reduces absenteeism

Therefore, employers not only wish to stay in the company for a long time but also put in their extra hours and high level of efficiency towards work.Ways to Engage Your Employees:

• Creating a healthy work environment
• Providing appropriate compensation and benefits

Industry best practices

Multiple areas where organizations should give importance to for creating engaged employees:

1. Creating a healthy work environment

Employees all around the world have been reassessing which components of their professions are most crucial for a satisfying existence during the last few years, and employers are adapting to match their requirements. Companies like Elesiver, Google, Microsoft Corp, Apple, IBM and Hubspot are repeatedly recognized and appreciated by employers for their work environment. These companies are known for coming up with creative ideas and continuous commitment towards enhancing their employees well being by curating programs which positively affects employees personal and professional life.
Few commonality of work environment of these companies are:

• fitness studios
• unlimited meals
• flexible working conditions
• team building activities and events

2. Providing appropriate compensation and benefits

In 2023, more businesses want to increase their investment in compensation. In reality, 86% of respondents claimed to have implemented or be in the process of implementing a formal compensation policy. That is an increase of 10% from the previous year. There have been multiple strategies identified by various organizations depending on the financial capacities, as follow :

• Bonuses based on goal achievement
• Increment in designation by giving a continuous recognition to work
• Providing opportunities to learn more by bearing tuition fees
• Flexible work schedules and locations
• Providing stock options, profit sharing and referral bonus options.

Apart from such strategies fortune 500 companies have also started questioning some fundamentals around compensation and benefits like - shall we keep on replacing employees or increase on existing benefits? And How do we equalate pay and benefits? Are a few questions companies are pondering over.

3. Promoting two way communication

Effective communication is a key component of effective management, regardless of whether the goal is to inform employees of new policies, to plan for a cultural change, to maintain safety throughout the company, or to pay attention to employee attitudes. Companies need detailed rules and plans for communicating with their constituencies, employees, stakeholders, and the general public for creating an engaged employee culture.
Benefits of two way communication:

• Increases employee involvement, contentment and morale
• Creates an environment of open communication which helps empower employees.
• Minimizes the likelihood of miscommunication and may lessen complaints and legal action.
• Building employee loyalty and fostering their concerns leads to increased productivity.

4. Empowerment of Employees

Studies have shown that empowering employees is becoming more and more vital these days and is a key factor behind higher job satisfaction as well as a greater level of loyalty and commitment towards the organization. A study published in Harvard Business Review found that managers who empower their employees are more likely to have a team who shows high levels of creativity and cooperativeness.
Opportunities like external training sessions and knowledge sharing sessions gives employees a chance to showcase their interest area beyond their immediate job requirements and creates a circle of mutual trust between employees. Letting employees take charge of their tasks, promoting situational leadership and encouraging problem solving behavior, all this as a catalyst towards creating an engaged workforce.

5. Organizations vision supporting social change

Socially conscious businesses are much more significant to millennials and members of Generation Z who count for a major workforce now in companies. They think businesses should make investments in advancing society and search for solutions that help advance those changes.
Employees feel that they are working with an organization who are socially responsible and by working with them they are doing their part towards society,they also feel a sense of pride while working.
This acts as an additional motivating factor without any extra efforts from HR or management of the company, employees voluntarily act in favor of the company as and when required additionally it also keeps them committed towards long term partnership with the company.
Topics like net zero, carbon footprint, diversity and inclusion, water management and women empowerment etc are some of the topics employees are looking forward to talking about.

Case Study

• A case of Hyatt’s Mantra: 'Be yourself with empathy'

Hyatt has created its name as a world renowned hospitality brand. The company has more than 600 properties around the world and employs more than 100,000 people. It has also built a reputation for having an excellent employee engagement strategy, this also facilitates in creating good customer experiences as it acts as a pillar of the company's overall business strategy.
Employees are encouraged to act with empathy towards the customers and are free to be themselves , which promotes an empathetic, genuine and sincere customer and employee relationship.
The Hyatt housekeeping flextime programme gives housekeepers the option to leave early if they finish their work on schedule or clean more rooms to increase their pay. Organizations also empower employees by reimbursement of their tuition fees and have partnered with skill training academies like khan academy for providing upskilling opportunities. Hyatt has also been awarded by NAACP for their commitment to hiring people of color, Best place to work for LGBT and have shown commitment towards hiring older workers. Thus, employees do not feel marginalized and vulnerable which might be one of the reasons for resignation.

• Social Impact on employees hands
  Starbucks which is the world's largest coffeehouse chain is an excellent example of how addressing employees as partners creates an additional value and strategically planning employee engagement impacts on their retention rate. ”Strategy” a project by starbucks encourages employees to contribute to a social cause and ideas they believe in and to voluntarily become a part of it.
  By providing opportunities for shop partners to participate in global social impact programmes, Starbucks aims to make working there seem like having the best job in retail. This empowers employees to not just do their daily work but also contribute to society in an effective way. They also provide an opportunity for their employees to own company’s stock after a certain period of time which the company has named as “Bean stock”
• A tech company with a wholesome wellbeing package
  When it comes to employee engagement Google is the name that pops up everytime we think of an example. Google has been at number one place for the past six years and has been featured on Fortune's annual list of “Best Companies to Work for.” It has been rated as one of the top for its work culture. Their mantra is to keep the employees happy and keep up the productivity. By introducing flexible work schedules, free organic meals in house nap pods, various free subscriptions to health and wellbeing needs, promotion of diversity and inclusivity through its products, services and also practicing it within the organization. Leadership promoting creativity and innovation, investing in career development and collaboration of coworks, have become parameters of comparisons for employees.