Employee engagement plays an important role in the success of an organisation because it revolves around creating a better working environment that employees want to be part of. By offering additional training, sufficient equipment and support, employees are more likely to want to work harder for the organisation. But knowing how to improve employee engagement can be difficult. Centric HR are here to explain how HR measures employee engagement as well as what the different types of engagement are.
So, what is HR’s role in employee engagement? HR are responsible for ensuring that employees are continuously developing their skills, that they have the correct tools to successfully complete their roles, and are rewarded for their efforts. In doing so HR will encourage employee engagement which improves the efficiency of each organisation.
Keep reading to learn more about HR’s role in employee engagement including how HR can help to improve the engagement of employees through some simple steps.
Employee engagement is the level to which employees are actively dedicated to their jobs and the organisations that they work for, resulting in them going the extra mile with their work. However, quite often, employee engagement is reduced due to employees feeling as though they are not receiving equal contributions in response to their efforts. This is why it is HR’s responsibility to ensure that employees feel as though they are valued members of staff and are receiving any resources or training they need to thrive in their roles.
A report from 2018 found that organisations with a higher rate of employee engagement have a 21% higher profitability rate than those with poor employee engagement. Furthermore, another modern workplace report found that 37% of employees felt most encouraged by personal recognition, which can be demonstrated through promotions, pay rises, opportunities for extra training, and even time off.
Therefore, HR plays a vital role in employee engagement by ensuring that all aspects of HR are managed effectively. This can include clear written and communicated policies on reward packages, fair pay that aligns with inflation and current cost of living, and even sufficient training of managers on how to treat employees fairly. If HR does their job properly, employee engagement should increase significantly because employees will recognise they are working for a company that values them equally.
When it comes to measuring employee engagement within an organisation it is important to remember that employees will all feel differently from each other so they need to feel comfortable in voicing their opinion. This is why engagement surveys are often used as a method of measuring employee engagement because sometimes not everyone will feel comfortable openly voicing their opinion.
Utilising a regular engagement survey can help to identify areas where employees are less passionate before they make any drastic decisions with regards to their employment such as leaving the company. When using employee engagement surveys, organisations can they place employees into three different categories:
Once you have identified which employees fall into which category, you can then determine how you are going to improve your employee engagement strategy. Different staff members may feel a different level of engagement based on a variety of factors such as their job role, wage, training provided and guidance from management. Each staff member cannot be treated the same in terms of engagement and that is why utilising the individual surveys can be a good method for improvement.
Now that we know that HR plays a role in employee engagement, it is also important to determine how HR can contribute to the improvement of employee engagement. Sometimes during busy periods of business, it is easy to become complacent with monitoring employee engagement strategies which can result in engagement declining. Employee engagement is a continuous process and can determine the rate at which employees leave the organisation so it is important to know how HR can help rebuild your employee engagement strategies.
Something as simple as communication can act as a huge contributor to the rate of employee engagement within an organisation. Often, as companies expand there tends to be a growth in the gap between management and other employees within businesses which can result in resentment. By implementing regular communication on changes within the business you can help to make employees feel more involved and valued. What’s more, even asking employees’ opinions on changes and genuinely taking them into consideration can contribute to how much employees respect the organisation. In doing so, communication becomes more transparent and employee engagement can increase simultaneously.
Offering additional training and opportunities for development is also a method that HR can use to improve employee engagement. If employees have been working for an organisation for a long period of time and there is no clear criteria for improving their skills or working towards promotion, it can become easy for them to feel unmotivated and do the bare minimum. By providing additional training it can increase motivation and excitement within organisations because employees are learning something new. Furthermore, setting out clear criteria for how employees can develop through the company can also make them feel as though their efforts will be rewarded and result in improved employee engagement.
Another method of improving employee engagement can be to invest in wellbeing practices. For example, some organisations choose to offer well-being days, complementary therapy, socials, early finishes on Fridays and even team building activities that are focussed on managing stress. By offering these additional benefits to employees it shows that you are interested in more than the work that they produce and that you care about their wellbeing. In doing so, employees feel more valued and mentally stable which results in them being more engaged in their work.
Centric HR are experienced HR Consultants in Staffordshire and Birmingham. Our team is here to support you with your HR activities to ensure that your organisation runs effectively. We can also help you to monitor and improve your employee engagement by implementing a successful engagement strategy.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about our Consultancy and Employee engagement services, and how we can help your business.
