Motivation is integral to performance
KEY Engagement, enablement and empowerment are at the core of employee excellence in modern organisations
Human capital is a key asset for any organisation. More than ever before, organisations are now institutionalising cultures to improve capabilities of their e mployees, nurture t heir careers, and manage the performances of individuals and teams. The objective is to have a workforce that is truly motivated to turn in an exemplary performance on a sustained basis.
Thi s e f f o r t t o maintai n engaged and empowered teams not only allows organisations to deliver excellence, but also enables them to build a steady and reliable pipeline of leadership talent for the future.
PEOPLE POWER
At the core of every successful organisation’s transformation and growth lies its diverse, dynamic and dedicated work force.
The true challenge for the leadership is to share its vision for the last person in the hierarchy and give every single employee a sense of purpose and belonging in the organisation’s growth plans.
The confidence that one can start anywhere in any function of the organisation and go on to achieve great heights is imperative.
The glue that holds the strategic objectives of the employee and the business together is frequent and effective communica- tion that percolates across all levels.
It’s important that employees are aware of how their every individual role, however small or big has a bearing on the company’s business goals and priorities.
Therefore special efforts are needed to motivate team leaders since they shoulder the responsibilities for the performance and productivity of their respective teams.
Every manager must carry the message of business leaders to their teams and prepare them to efficiently execute the organisation’s goals in sync with their vision document.
On its part, the organisation must identify talented people and give them growth through robust talent management and internal movement, which by itself can be a huge motivating factor for employees, and build an organisation’s reputation as a preferred employer.
Effectively, a culture of engagement, enablement and empowerment can go a long way in building a workforce that is informed and in tune with the organisation’s vision.
REWARDS & RECOGNITION
While performance reviews and annual appraisals have their place in nurturing careers, a robust reward and recognition programme goes a long way in establishing a deep-rooted culture of celebrating employees and their contributions. For instance, a simple programme that encourages and rewards innovative ideas by employees can lead to significant improvement of products and processes over the years.
According t o dat a from employer suggestion box provider Vetter, employees who submit an idea to an employee suggestion box are five times less likely to quit in a given year. Considering the huge costs involved in replacing an employee, the humble suggestion box offers significant ROI. The continuous cycle of innovation and rewards can further fuel a culture of collective excellence.
One way t o ensure t e am engagement and morale boosting is to have a dedicated team for the key role. The employee engagement team can consist of a diversified group of employees chosen from corporate and business teams.
This team celebrates cultural events, as well as drives team engagement on other important occasions, thereby ensuring that all employees are having fun at work and continue to remain a cohesive unit.
TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT
When it comes to employee engagement, it is not just enough to seek feedback from them and listen to them; the idea is to act on the feedback and demonstrate action on such feedback.
These engagement activities revolve around four key factors that form the basis of employee aspirations – leadership, enablement, alignment, and development.
Leadership-focused employee engagement builds the team’s confidence in senior management.
One such initiative can be a monthly synthesis session between leaders and team members; an open house kind of an interaction where the leader can share his views on challenges and opportunities before the team before proceeding to take questions from team members and engaging in an interactive conversation.
Enablement-focused initiatives give employees a sense of being equipped with the resources they need to get the job done. From i ni t i a t i ves t o s hare resource reports with employees in a transparent manner to build a sense of ownership, to bringing in the customers to give employees a perspective of the market’s expectations and satisfaction- levels, enablement-focused initiatives can be truly empowering.
Alignment-focused initiatives give employees a sense of being worthwhile and connected to the organization’s goals.
From exercises to redefine employee roles and enabling online communication channels between the teams and leadership, to formally recognizing e mployee b e havi o ur a nd rewarding innovation, these are some of the initiatives that can align employees to the organization’s objectives.
Development-focused initiatives demonstrate to the employees that the company is invested in its growth and furthering their career prospects.
Personal coaching, training programmes, stay-interviews, and re-skilling initiatives are some of the engagement ideas focused on the development of an employee’s potential and honing it for the future.
WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, IT IS NOT JUST ENOUGH TO SEEK FEEDBACK BUT ALSO NECESSARY TO ACT UPON THE SUGGESTIONS