How Can We Boost Employee Engagement? Seeking Practical Advice and Ideas

Hi to all the users of Cite HR,

What measures can be taken for Employee Engagement or what can one do best for Employee Engagement? Please guide me on this.

Looking ahead for effective responses.

Regards, Shalini

Hi Shalini,

Employee engagement has today become one of those buzzwords that is often quoted by the industry.

If you really sit down to think, you will find that all companies strive to do this but may have different names for it. For instance, a company may have a hobby club being run on weekends, another might do team outings and excursions coupled with team-building games, exercises, and maybe lighthearted management lessons.

I have heard of another one that talks of paying fees for the employees' masters or other higher-level education, some loan laptops on easy terms, with attrition clauses attached in various forms.

The point here is first, any organization will have to take a hard look at each one of the policies and rectify them to be non-threatening as far as possible for today's workforce. This is because today, most of the youngsters do not even think twice before leaving a job.

Once the policies are reviewed, then you will need to pick each one and communicate, communicate, and overcommunicate it to the workforce.

At the end of the day, the employee must feel from within that these are well-meaning policies for the employee's benefit, and his benefit is the topmost on the management's agenda...

All the best in your search...

Regards,

Amyt

Employee Engagement is certainly different from Employee Satisfaction. From my viewpoint, in addition to all the above which Amy has stated, some very important things are:

1. Role Clarity
2. Goal/Objective/KRA Setting
3. Clear Career Paths / Job Rotations / Experiential Learning
4. Knowledge Sharing and Management
5. Performance Management and NOT Appraisal System
6. Coaching and Mentoring for self-development

These are some more things to look into. Cheers, K

Dear Shalini,

Some presentations on Employee Engagement through Gallup Q12. You would find them useful. Included is a Word file sourced from the web - Great Places to Work.

Regards,
steney.idicala@rediffmail.com

Hi Shalini,

I am working on my project on this topic. I will send you the project once I complete it.

Regards,
Bunty Suryawanshi
Gurgaon.

Hi..
We use a online tool for this where all the emps takes the survey online.
Various Analytics
· Demographic Analysis
· Dimension-wise analysis
· Item-wise analysis
· Top 3 positive Dimensions
· Top 3 dimensions requiring immediate attention
Rgds
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Dear KMallik,

Thank you for shedding light on the topic. Could you please explain to me, with a practical example, how performance management, coaching, and mentoring can be implemented in a company?

Regards,
Shalini

Shalini,

Generally, organizations conduct surveys offline using tools like Excel Sheets, etc. However, we have an online tool for this purpose where all employees can take the survey online. Based on various reports, remedial actions can be implemented.

Sincerely,
Shinto
Email: shinto555@yahoo.com

Shalini,

Based on COPC, there are several aspects to coaching/mentoring:

A team member will be promoted as a process trainer before becoming eligible for a team leader.

The team leader should create at least a 1-hour training module for their team every week.

Updates to the team should be delivered at fixed times, not based on convenience.

Trainers should spend time on the floor handling live transactions during lean periods.

New team members should spend time on a process in a controlled environment where quality is more important than productivity. For example, take a sales process, have a small batch running where new joiners hone their skills and ensure 100% compliance with what has been taught during the training stage, rather than adopting shortcuts to productivity in a normal production environment.

Then they can be shifted to the same process in a regular production environment.

The best mentoring processes are found in Australia; Indian companies have still not been able to implement their rigor in mentoring.

On-the-job training is a crucial component:

Sitting side by side with a regular is not classified as OJT.

A new joiner is not allowed to handle regular transactions as part of training.

Training should be as exhaustive as the ones implied for apprentices in Germany or cab drivers in London. A trainee London cabbie has to spend 3 years on a bicycle riding each and every lane before being eligible as a full-fledged cabbie.

There is much more to discuss, but let me know if you need further help.

Surya

Hi all,

I am working on a project about employee engagement. Could you please share effective ways to improve employees' commitment levels? I need to provide some valid suggestions to the company where I am doing my internship.

Thank you, Surya, for providing the methods with examples.

But wherever I go for an interview and the employer asks about Employee Engagement, they actually mean the amusement provided to the employees that keeps them involved in different activities, as generally happens in an IT firm or a BPO sector. They typically inquire about different methods, ways, and approaches one can adopt in the company to keep employees engaged in activities so that they can feel happy or be retained.

Please guide me.

Regards,
Shalini

Community building is definitely a facet of employee engagement. However, this is not by choice but mandatory. For instance, in disaster management, will the management be able to prevent and fight fires without any help from workers? No. There are plenty of avenues where employees from all departments are involved such as waste minimization, energy conservation, and good health. Good health doesn't depend on the gym alone but also on timely medical checkups for the entire family of the employee and ensuring safe workplaces. For example, conducting a program on hygiene for workers' wives can be beneficial.

For instance, how many IT companies ask their employees to go in for comprehensive medical checkups every 6 months? Until this happens, how can one be sure of the health hazards in the office environment and whether the expensive furniture has been validated to be ergonomic?

Surya

Hi,

I am also working on a project on the same topic. You can use gallup.com for reference. I have just started, so I don't know much yet. I will get back to you once I gather some information. Meanwhile, please help me if you have any data.

Thank you.
khushboo.dantre@gmail.com

Dear Surya,

How can one know about the different policies, employee engagement initiatives, recreational activities, or various approaches that companies in India adopt to keep their employees satisfied?

Furthermore, how can one conduct a comparative study of the HR policies, employee welfare programs, and employee relations practices followed in India with those of foreign companies?

Please assist me.

Regards, Shalini