It’s safe to say that 2020 was a year unlike any other, however now comes the time to look forward and embrace 2021. One of the topics at the centre of the discussion in relation to Human Resource Management is Employee Engagement. Employee Engagement is not a new concept, but it continues to be vital. Even more so now, with many businesses changing the way they work, as a result of Covid and the restrictions enforced by the Government including having a workforce that are more dispersed.
Over the years there have been many definitions of Employee Engagement and a simple way to describe it is the ‘emotional commitment an employee has to the organisation and its purpose and goals’.
Once you’ve got past the definition, two questions usually follow 1) Why should I bother measuring employee engagement? and 2) How do I start to measure it?
Many studies have been conducted into the benefits of achieving high levels of employee engagement and based on the definition above, it’s clear to see why it plays an important role in managing people. ‘Engaged employees’ are shown to be more committed to their employer and that they believe in the Organisation’s purpose. This leads to greater loyalty, performance that goes above and beyond and therefore leads to happy clients. Engaged employees are likely to take fewer sick days, experience better mental health & wellbeing at work and ultimately; what most employers want to hear, it positively impacts the financial performance of the Company.
There are a variety of ways to measure employee engagement, and one of the most common is to conduct an employee engagement survey. Surveys can be a powerful tool as they allow us to get feedback straight from the horse’s mouth. From our own Company’s experience, they provide a real insight into the organisational culture, values, employee behaviour and working relationships in our organisations. Most importantly, they allow us to see whether our values and goals as a business are understood and reflected in those who are involved in the daily operations. It’s important to remember, as with most HR processes, that Line Managers and Supervisors play an important role in translating the vision and the objectives of the Company and therefore can have a real impact on how employees feel.
Pulling together an employee survey for the first time can be time consuming and confusing but we can help. If you already subscribe to our HR Service, then please speak to your ProAktive consultant. We can offer a stand-alone Employee Engagement Survey service for those who want a helping hand in getting started.
At ProAktive we know first-hand how valuable an Employee Engagement survey can be and having undertaken an annual survey over the last 3 years or so, it has really allowed us to understand our employees views and helped inform our future plans and decisions, as well as giving our people the opportunity to offer improvements and suggestions.
If you’d like to speak to us about how it can help your organisation or if you have any other employment queries, please contact us on 01302 341 344.
By Kris Kerins BSc (Hons) PGC (Tech Mgmt) – HR Business Partner