Your DIY Guide to Always on Employee Engagement

Are you one of those people who can watch a YouTube video and build or fix something on your own? Maybe you’ve got a highly creative mind that can take an idea and develop something no one else has thought of? If so, you are the type of person who inspires others with your ingenuity. Oftentimes in human resources you may find yourself having to be resourceful enough to 'make things happen'. This is when the DIY side of your brain kicks in and you take action to solve an organizational problem. HR is generally good at this. We are usually trying to make our organizations better and we are on top of the people processes, which gives us added insight. One of the more complex issues that HR faces is how to increase employee engagement. According to a report from Gallup, currently only about 15% of the global workforce is engaged in their jobs. That leaves the remaining 85% looking for an exit strategy or just doing the minimum to stay employed. Between historically low unemployment numbers and talent growing scarcer in high-growth industries, it’s a job seekers’ market. You bet employees know this and they have one foot in the organization and one foot already out the door. Today, employers are faced with the situation where they must become much more employee-focused and create an experience that satisfies the more fickle types of employees. When it comes to always-on employee engagement, how can you set things up so that you can be sure things are working the way you like them to (but not turn this into a full-time job)?

#1 - Know your employees

In order to improve employee engagement, you need to know what your employees expect from the company. Maybe there’s already a great corporate culture, plenty of perks and a fun open environment, but is this what makes employees happy and loyal to the company? Wendy Duarte Duckrey, VP of recruiting at JPMorgan Chase told CIO, “You have to manage to each individual, and invest time into discovering what each member of a team needs both at work and outside of work to do their job to the best of their ability”. Further, Duckrey advises, “While it may sound inconsequential, simply listening to employees' concerns and doing what you can to address those — or at least explaining why they can't be addressed at the present time — can go a long way toward keeping the best and brightest.” Luckily, a two-way communication feature built into Thymometrics’ always on employee engagement software allows for confidential sharing of ideas, concerns, and feedback that can help HR get to know what employees really want.

#2 - Use the right tool

A secret-weapon that is growing increasingly important in the arsenal of HR tools is always-on employee engagement software. The only way to know where your employees stand is by having a way to continually measure employee engagement. One-off surveys don’t provide timely enough information, nor is this responsive to campaigns that HR is running to try to improve things. Traditional surveys have their value in some limited situations, but they are not employee-focused enough to be useful. Always on engagement honors the more agile way that businesses are run now. Things happen in real time and you cannot afford to miss them. Imagine it like taking the temperature of your workplace each day.

#3 - Understand the goals

What benefits will your organization receive as a result of better management of employee engagement? Before you dive head first into things take the time to determine what goals are important to your company. For example, if you have retention problems, a campaign to survey candidates during the recruitment process, followed by regular touch points daily with new hires while they are onboarding can reveal things that need improvement. All employees have something valuable to share and their ideas can be creative. Just check out our case study on McCann’s that was driven mostly by employee input!

#4 - Embrace the change

Shifting to an always-on employee engagement process does take some getting used to. It takes a different way of thinking. Move away from being organizational-focused and think about things from the perspective of employees. HR is in the ideal place to view things from both sides of the organization because we walk the line between corporate goals and employee well-being. The always-on format makes things easier to monitor because it’s about what is happening now in the organization. Reports generated by real-time employee engagement systems give another layer of insight that can be used to make immediate improvements, and plan future ones. Change can be difficult, but by using the right always-on employee engagement solution, the organization can respond positively to the needs of employees, which benefits all.

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Thymometrics is the new breed of employee feedback technology. Through real time, always-on surveys and feedback solutions, we provide revolutionary yet simple tools to empower employees whilst providing managers with deep and useable insights to improve business culture, staff well-being, productivity and profitability.

For more information, please call 01223 750251, email info@thymometrics.com or visit thymometrics.com.

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