Three Magical Attitudes of Engagement

Three magical attitudes of engagement-generating companies

Our job is establishing a cultural foundation that will increase employee engagement and ensure that all teams are eager to work on this matter. Presenting them with tools they can mull over and explain to them that they can put forth their own methods via these tools presented. Our job isn’t going to a company and generating employee engagement out of nowhere in an unfamiliar cultural environment.

We are also pleased to see that some of the companies we work with are already succeeding in this with good examples of implementation and that they wish to bring forth development through their collaboration with us. Their invaluable motivation in turn motivates us to spread such examples of well implemented methods and ideas.

Every idea has value to it!

There is something that companies with high rates of engagement do really really well: giving their employees freedom and space, and finding value in all ideas. Thusly, they also succeed in establishing a feeling of involvement with work and ability to create an emotional connection in employees.

I’ll provide an example. In a training I attended in the last few months, a motivation wall was imagined. After many decisions on what kind of wall it should be, should it be by the entrance, or in the conference room, etc., the wall was finally chosen. Then it was time to find a good idea for that wall. Some put up the childhood photos of all their employees and embraced the “they have all grown up now” idea.

From another came the idea of putting up our parents’ photos. While these great ideas kept flying around, an employee who I would later learn had lost their parents at a very young age said this: “People who may not have parents or may have lost them recently could be saddened by seeing this wall. Why don’t we put up our grandparents on the wall instead? Most of them are not alive. This way we would also remember all of them. We would allow them to join in the game.” This idea was accepted with enthusiasm. It was implemented right away and in my opinion, the most meaningful motivation wall in the world, the faces of grandmothers and grandfathers coming from so many different cultures and backgrounds, appeared on the wall. It was a beautiful, special idea. Many of the photographs weren’t in the desired quality, but it was a special idea. They all got into a “selfie with grandparents” competition and the social media accounts of the company was mentioned online in organic, sincere posts. Think about the budget you set aside for social media to manage this.

They don’t slack off!

There are companies where surveys and research on engagement are done fairly often. They reach some conclusions. And these are reported and archived.

When you ask your employees to share their emotions and experiences regarding their work and it appears as if nothing comes out of this process, employees remove themselves from the feedback process. If you are investigating what the employees are feeling, you need to ensure that there is an outcome to the process. You must not only listen to them but also to the leaders. Aligning the outlooks and competence of said two sides, and being able to do so without departing from the company’s values will be your mastership.

The employee who recognizes that their feedback is left up in the air and that it does not carry any weight cannot remain engaged. You are obligated to turn results into actions and tell the owners of said feedback that “You gave us these and this is what we did.”

Like how companies with high rates of employee engagement do.

They provide resources!

“I need these from you, but I also want these and of course I also need you to do these.” You have set clear job descriptions and goals. In turn, are you certain of the productivity of the resources you are providing? When I say resources, I do not simply mean money. The sustainability of one’s life, of course, denotes the sustainability of their relationship with you. However, some leave their workplace for a very slight difference in their paycheck, due to the lack of resources that would have kept them from leaving.

A good sale goes beyond the resources provided to the salesman, a dependable vehicle, a prepaid cellphone for communication. You support them with intellectual resources. Making sure that a client they invite to the company is treated with hospitality is a kind of resource too. Or, creating a space to breathe and relax for the finance expert whose days are spent in an office is the best kind of resource, way beyond the tools they use all day. This can be a well thought-out terrace, or a couch they can put their feet up in the lounge. It can even be an automat they can drink the coffee they like from.

There are countless more examples, let’s continue with them in our next piece..