Building Trust, Inclusion, and Growth for Elevated Employee Engagement

By: Jayashree Raman, Vice President, HR, Tangoe

Jayashree Raman with nearly two decades of HR experience, kickstarted her HR career at Pepper Square Software Services where collaborated with content writers, broadening her HR understanding through creativity. Jayashree is a proactive change agent who invests time in building staff environments by encouraging learning and supporting higher productivity, which leads to value-added customer service. She is an exceptional team builder and personnel and organizational development consultant.

Bridging Employee’s Vision with Organizational Goals

Aligning employee engagement initiatives with a company's strategic goals necessitates a foundation of trust. Establishing trust among employees fosters a sense of ownership and heightened productivity. To achieve this alignment, leadership must deeply understand and believe in the organization's strategic objectives. Furthermore, openly communicating these goals demonstrates commitment and sets expectations for employees; illustrating the organization's direction and the benefits for its members. Also, creating a psychologically safe environment is pivotal, wherein, encouraging open dialogue where employees feel comfortable expressing ideas without fear of retribution nurtures trust. Building this trust forms the basis for engagement strategies. In addition, assessing current engagement levels helps tailor initiatives. Customizing these efforts at both organizational and departmental levels is crucial. Here, constant communication of strategic goals by appointed champions reinforces alignment and ensures everyone comprehends their role in achieving these objectives. By emphasizing communication, fostering psychological safety, and enlisting champions to relay strategic goals, organizations can effectively align employee engagement initiatives with their overarching objectives.

Today, developing employee engagement strategies is crucial, wherein; carrying out regular surveys by leveraging data analytics can offer insights to devise tailored strategies. Furthermore, establishing crisis and change management teams is imperative as it allows for swift responses to feedback. These teams, whether at a departmental or organizational level, should prioritize appropriate actions based on the feedback received so as to foster teamwork that is aligned with organizational priorities.

Assessing the latest technologies or process changes has become very important today. Like in the pandemic, spotting productivity boosts and blending feedback is crucial. Also, training managers is vital for success while regularly reviewing actions and updating strategies should be practiced to keep operations aligned with company goals. Moreover, transparent communication not only keeps everyone updated, but also aids in handling changing employee expectations effectively.

Facilitating Engagements that Brings Positive Change

Employee engagement programs rely on various metrics, categorized into direct and indirect indicators. Direct measures involve engagement surveys assessing job satisfaction, team relationships, and motivational drivers. Also, stay interviews should be carried out to discover what employees like about their role, and what they would like to change. Additionally, tracking absenteeism and conducting employee satisfaction surveys, like Net Promoter Scores, align with performance as an indicator of engagement.

Indirect indicators encompass referral rates - measuring employee confidence in recommending others to join the company. Social platforms like LinkedIn or Glassdoor offer insights into employee sentiments which showcase pride in their respective organization. Furthermore, Happiness Survey Index and onboarding data are other valuable sources which can contribute to this assessment. Hence, the distinction between direct and indirect metrics offers immediacy in observing results. Anomalies or issues within the organization can swiftly reflect on social media platforms.

Creating a positive work culture starts with fostering a strong and inclusive company ethos, clearly communicating values, and encouraging open dialogue to celebrate diversity. Also, recognizing and celebrating milestones, both big and small, contributes significantly to a positive environment. Additionally, demonstrating robust support for employees' growth, development, and conflict resolution processes, while maintaining transparent and unambiguous policies, is crucial.

And to top these all off, visible leadership and a flattened hierarchy can promote trust and stronger team bonds. One can engage employees as brand ambassadors through social media which can help in cultivating a positive culture. Also, hosting enjoyable events, supporting social causes, and offering tailored perks can significantly boost employee engagement. In addition, prioritizing health and wellness, especially in a hybrid work model can build better employer-employee relations. Here, addressing personal concerns, nurturing growth, and providing tailored benefits while promoting health create a robust, engaging work culture.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Aligning employee engagement efforts with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives necessitates strong leadership commitment. Visible commitment from leadership and diverse representation in leadership roles signal the organization's genuine dedication. Hence, integrating DEI principles into company values, policies, and recruitment practices reinforces this commitment.

Furthermore, establishing employee resource groups fosters a platform for discussing challenges, sharing interests, and improving policies to support diverse groups. Ensuring alignment between stated commitments on the website and actual policies and practices is crucial for inclusivity; regular diversity audits help gauge the effectiveness and authenticity of these initiatives, providing insights for improvement.

Implementing feedback mechanisms and recognition programs for successful DEI efforts reinforces the organization's commitment to inclusivity for all employees. Demonstrating that diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral parts of the engagement strategy communicates that every individual in the organization is valued and included. These strategies form a foundation for a more inclusive and engaged workforce.