Employee engagement is a crucial activity in every workplace. But do we really see it being implemented in our work environment? How important is it for employers?
Steve Jobs famously said
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Sadly, there is quite a large percentage in the Gulf region with disengaged employees and this is a reflection of a clear lack of unity and motivation. If having a successful business is every employers’ dream then its work ethics should include etching the brand’s mission and vision in the minds of employees.
An engaged staff along with a shared vision and mission will not just love their work but also help combat attrition, enhance consumer satisfaction and augment brand success.
More often than not, employee engagement is equaled to only ‘being happy at work’. It’s true that many like to have a job, a cooperative team, a supportive boss but; what weighs above it all is a ‘sense of purpose’ that only quality employee engagement can bring to the table.
Real engagement exercises delve not just into the characteristics of employee duties but encapsulate key factors that go beyond expectations and work environment. There is, of course, no universal formula to carry this out but with organization study and employee research, a positive approach towards employee engagement can be structured to align personal goals and beliefs with that of the brand.
Given the differences in personalities, ways in authorizing leadership and brand ethos; employee engagement can be an uphill task. Whilst a frustrated workforce portrays higher management in a bad light, employee resilience is even harder to fix. Therefore, employee engagement should be a beautiful amalgamation of professional ethics and cultural values.
A coordinated exercise with shared identity and purpose will go a long way in establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the employer and employees. To translate it practically, companies need to find solutions to keep the best people, extract the best out of people, engage and empower them and also reward them adequately.
There also is a need to inculcate a culture of taking ownership through employee engagement exercises. Employees need to be happy with what they do for efforts to result in productivity. Once productivity is complemented by recognition and incentives, they start believing in taking ownership of their work, strive for more, deliver better and still remain happy with the whole exercise.
Also, once their attitude, behaviour, and energy is shaped to become performance drivers, they start looking at the benefits that go beyond their salaries.
One thing is for sure that employee engagement and a positive graph of successful strategy execution is no mere coincidence. It’s best to have an open-door policy and believe thoroughly in engage, collaborate and communicate.
