How can managers encourage their direct reports to stay fully engaged — even as the COVID-19 pandemic changes the way we work? 42 Pearse St Caroline Bracey – Content Writer & Marketing Coordinator at iDashboards. However, those needs are evolving, calling for a more sophisticated approach as organizations enter the next phase. Each employee has a different home lifestyle, unique to their situation, while working remote. Not everyone is under the same roof as they were when coming into the office, but the desire for human connection and support still remains. believe that empathetic leaders are critical to retention and success. And remember, an engaged workforce has been reported to outperform competitors by 202%. And employee engagement is the most powerful driver of productivity and retention. Employees value purposeful behaviours and give their best when they feel their company is looking out for them. The empathy and transparency outlined in the previous steps sets the tone that these expectations are set out with thoughtful consideration and optimistic intent. With mandated quarantine and remote working policies in place, many employees find that their everyday routines have been flipped upside down. © 2020 Outback Team Building & Training, All Rights Reserved. One of the most critical ways to build employee engagement is to first establish the foundation of trust. Empathy may be a soft skill but it can pay dividends in terms of engagement. So our engagement has gotten better during COVID-19. So be transparent with your employees about your plans and activities in this period. Good one! Using Tom Hanks and the film Cast Away as a metaphor for the mass migration over to working remotely is a bit twisted considering he and his wife, Rita Wilson, are among those who contracted the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. Here are the 5 ways. Realize that what happens in one part of an employee’s life impacts all others. Try considering what it means for your own employees to be engaged specifically. August 27, 2020. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Here are a few ideas to get you started: Are you looking for more creative ways of engaging your team virtually? Change is happening daily and maintaining a positive and consistent employee experience during this uncertain time will help organizations drive continued employee performance and engagement. So rather than hiding behind a smokescreen of indifference, it’s the managers who have been present and fully transparent about the situation that have garnered the best from their workers. To engage your employees effectively during a crisis, it's vital to give them every chance to connect with each other and use their individual strengths to work towards a bigger and shared outcome. And it’s not about perks or salaries increases. 5 Ways to Engage Remote Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Yeah, I know. Supporting local charities is a great way to inspire your employees and can also be a great idea for a team event. Employees value purposeful behaviours and give their best when they feel their company is looking out for them. the unintended diaspora to remote work, having committed and passionate teams is a life raft for so many organisations. Learn More About Talent Management During the COVID-19 Crisis Employees in Wuhan/Hubei area. Uncertainty lurks at every corner. However, these are also testing times for everyone on how quickly we adapt, how differently we can think and plan which will determine how strongly we emerge from this adversity. After all, if you want your team to invest and care about your organisation, surely you must do the same for them? Often touted as a primary reason for overall success in companies, employee engagement is proven to boost retention, increase productivity and enrich that bottom line. Leadership must set the tone for the workforce, and this starts with genuine engagement, as well as open and honest conversations every step of the way. “Our policy is listen, understand, and act, so we do a ton of surveying. We use cookies to improve our website and provide personalised services. As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread globally, so do the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Just as much as employees look to receive a level of security and flexibility, employers and leaders also want to know their team is maintaining a level of open and honest communication. They help us keep the SocialTalent website slick. Caroline Bracey focuses on all things content for iDashboards. Of course, it’s not surprising given the magnitude of unrest that 2020 has seen. So rather than hiding behind a smokescreen of indifference, it’s the managers who have been present and fully transparent about the situation that have garnered the best from their workers. It's in times of crisis when employee engagement is necessary to keep a workplace thriving. Beyond her passion for marketing and writing, you can find her watching sports with her family, discovering new music and places to travel, or getting outdoors and hiking. Employees joining the team during the response to the coronavirus. It’s hard to think of another time when high employee engagement would be at such a premium. Employee Engagement During COVID-19: Using Culture to Manage Stress, Maintain Productivity Crystal Anderson, People Operations Business Partner. Without the ability to check in face-to-face, organizations should aim to overcommunicate. Doing so not only provides insight into overarching goals and organizational standing, but allows employees to have a sense of accountability for their individual responsibilities. Share your tips in the comments below! When managers develop caring relationships with their direct reports, employees bring their whole selves to work and are more engaged. Adding onto the conversation with something interesting – Why to Improve Employee Engagement. Check-in with your team regularly. August 27, 2020. This helps us tailor super relevant and engaging web experiences for you. Here’s a great video by Kevin Kruse that gives detailed examples of what employee engagement is, and isn’t. We don’t collect information that identifies you individually. We hope it serves you well. Try your best to avoid letting them get to the point of feeling concerned and creating their own (negative) narratives. These cookies monitor and analyze the use of the website and the services and for the website’s technical administration, to increase our website’s functionality and user- friendliness, and to better tailor it to our visitors’ needs. In fact, Forbes even reported that disengaged employees in the U.S. cost companies $550 billion a year. ©2021 socialtalent.com, inc. All Rights Reserved. Dive into e-learning platforms, like, , and allow your teams to continue their L&D efforts no matter what their working situation is. Virtual connection with team members requires a different level of communication to ensure employees are staying both engaged and motivated. That’s why having access to executive assistant tools for your most common daily tasks can be a lifesaver. It’s so easy to lose your way in unprecedented times, but the act of caring will always be reciprocal. They work hard because they believe in what they are doing and want to help their organization reach its goals. Be open to new ideas as you never know when a spark of innovation or a-ha moment might come. Employee engagement has been shown to increase productivity, retention rates, and even revenue. Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. Our current situation has produced challenges that organisations have never encountered. After all, if you want your team to invest and care about your organisation, surely you must do the same for them? As it turns out, most companies did a solid job of addressing their employees’ basic needs of safety, stability, and security during the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis. Enabling your organisation to deliver a results-driven approach to perfect your D&I strategy. For more information about how your group can take part in a virtual team building, training, or coaching solution, reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants. Continue to invest in your leaders Many organisations have put their leadership development programs on … Discuss your employees’ concerns as a leadership team and determine whether or not you should address such concerns with all employees. Throughout these challenging times, more employees are worried about how they will be impacted as it relates to their job security. Keeping people in the loop is an incredibly effective way to drive employee engagement. Organizations have an opportunity to improve employee experience during the return phase of the COVID-19 crisis by shifting from a focus on meeting health and safety needs to a more nuanced approach that recognizes differences among the workforce. To help reassure employees that they are valued members of a strong organization that will get through the crisis, it’s advisable to run a variety of challenges that incentivize participation. Some are parents with children who have been home from school performing online learning. Your staff are vital to the success of your organization. report, employee engagement rates have fluctuated more than ever. But, don’t just assume you know how your employees are feeling. This is especially true during the COVID-19 crisis. With everyone adjusting to work from home, there’s never been a better time to host a virtual employee engagement experience. Having employees that are engaged allows the entire organization to seek opportunities for growth, innovation, and comradery that may otherwise be overlooked if individuals feel disconnected. While the future continues to evolve, fostering a feeling of trust with your employees will form a solid foundation for engagement. D02 YX88. Here are a couple of ways you can build trust with your team: One straightforward way to establish transparency and build trust is by directly providing clarity to employees of the metrics and data that define these items. Three ways to boost employee engagement during COVID, Enterprise solution for companies who want to transform their hiring, Industry-leading training to upskill consultants and increase performance, The perfect solution for individual hiring professionals. Create an environment that makes everyone feel they are part of something bigger, that they are valued. Keep lines of communication firmly open. We call our surveys #unfiltered. And while COVID has caused some disastrous impacts on the working world, it has also taught us some core lessons. Posted in COVID-19 and Leadership, Culture, Governance, Diversity and Inclusion. As COVID-19 threatens the “typical” employee experience, now is the ideal time to equip managers with the tools they need to respond and improve employee engagement in … Empathy may be a soft skill but it can pay dividends in terms of engagement. Engagement and empathy are inextricably synced. ... Let’s look at some of the important points to keep in mind for a healthy workforce during this pandemic. Employee Engagement: DecisionWise Consultant, Spencer Taylor, shares 5 ways to engage remote workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It fosters a sense of fulfillment and encourages employees to show up with passion and purpose. We take a closer look at lessons learned through the experiences of employee engagement during COVID-19. How One Company Is Taking Care Of Employees During COVID-19. This can be new territory for many organizations and employees, especially those that are used to working together in person and those who not only enjoy but rely on building relationships through casual office encounters. Having the goals of your business and the ambitions of your workers align allows for tangible results. Therefore, planning Employee Engagement during the COVID 19 pandemic is very important. Keeping employee morale high: A challenge during COVID-19. And, as guest contributor Samantha Peters explains, providing them with continuing education opportunities is a great way to show your appreciation and invest in their personal and professional growth. Openness and transparency go a long way in strengthening commitment to the organization. No-one wants to plateau, even during a global pandemic! But what are the key areas that companies need to address with fractured workforces? With the malicious tendrils of COVID snaking their way around every aspect of life, and the unintended diaspora to remote work, having committed and passionate teams is a life raft for so many organisations. even reported that disengaged employees in the U.S. cost companies $550 billion a year. Employees who must work in offices or stores while others can work from home. Work-Style Adaptability While it’s clear that employee engagement is something that all companies should strive for year-round, it is especially important to maintain employee engagement during COVID-19. #Kathryn Tyler for the SocialTalent newsletter? COVID-19 has only accelerated this transformation, grounded in human experience principles and which, in turn, can drive sustainable change on a behavioural, cultural, and organisational level. Keep lines of communication firmly open. Chances to grow and thrive in a career are a must-have. Becky Vea. A dashboard also serves as a great point of reference that can help eliminate confusion, keeps everyone on the same page, and makes it easier to keep constant communication. Here are some helpful ways that explain how you can work towards maintaining and improving employee engagement at your organization – both now and always. Dublin The world today brings a higher level of uncertainty for employees. If you want to cheer people up, give them a sense of belonging and increase engagement, you should incorporate fun activities during the day and organize a set of virtual happy hours. Meeting the engagement challenge of COVID-19. Recognise their efforts and remind them of their valued purpose. An unprecedented year calls for unprecedented changes – especially in how we work.…, Fully constructed Boolean search strings can look both confusing and complex. So our engagement has gotten better during COVID-19. Uncertainty lurks at every corner. According to a recent McKinsey report, ‘trust in leadership’ accounted for a 47.6% increase in engagement. Employee engagement may have dropped in priority as we learn how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but it's one of the most important initiatives to keep at the forefront in order to be successful through this.. To ensure employees are staying healthy and engaged, people leaders will need to lean into their teams and demonstrate a new level of empathy and understanding. Show flexibility and understanding. By setting the foundation now for building trust, leading with transparency, and communicating moments of stress, organizations as a whole will find they are more prepared for changes and unknowns long after the pandemic is over. The COVID-19 pandemic has, undoubtedly, changed consumers and employees. Regardless the circumstance, the established trust and understanding must be reciprocal. The 3R approach: Key to employee engagement in COVID-19 times Organizations are suddenly required to scramble for ways to maintain business continuity in the face of such a life-threatening crisis. Virtual connection doesn’t have to be limited to conversational check-ins. It can also lead to a decrease in motivation, as the severity of today’s circumstances may lessen morale. Create a report or dashboard that highlights the KPIs of top focus areas relevant to your department or a specific team. Beyond providing transparency, empathy is also critical for driving engagement with employees. The Academy There is no doubt that India Inc began taking action to educate employees for a safe working environment at the onset of Covid-19. 51. Technology in itself can also pose unexpected issues and delay turn-around when there is no immediate support from an at-home IT team. Measuring Employee Engagement During a Crisis Monitoring employee sentiment and gathering feedback is more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, engagement is about concrete behaviours that impact the very essence of a job. Employees whose contracts will end soon. When left unattended, these feelings can affect employees’ productivity and engagement, leading to poor work quality, errors and eventually influencing an organisation’s ability to survive in these difficult times. For example, if you say that everyone will be able to keep their jobs, make sure you can make that happen. Have you been successful in engaging your employees during COVID-19? Employees confirmed or suspected of being infected and their family members confirmed or suspected of being infected. No-one wants to plateau, even during a global pandemic! 92% of employees believe that empathetic leaders are critical to retention and success. It ensures that employees feel like they’re being invested in and that they are just as vital to the company as a profit margin. But if you can be up-front with what you. 7 best practices for supporting employees during COVID-19. Often touted as a primary reason for overall success in companies, employee engagement … COVID has changed the rules. Choose from our expertly curated learning paths or create a sample learning experience for your team. Others may be caregivers for family members who need appropriate care at this time. COVID-19: Tips to keep your employees productive Here are a few tips and tricks to keep the communication two-way, consistent, panic-free and productive. Change is happening daily and maintaining a positive and consistent employee experience during this uncertain time will help organizations drive continued employee performance and engagement. This exchanged respect makes it easier to set universal expectations of availability, performance, time allocation, and deliverables. Everyone manages stress and fear in their own way; and times as unprecedented as these can make it even more challenging for people to manage their emotions and sense of unrest. In this time of uncertainty and disruption, we hope these resources empower you to keep your employees safe, healthy, and engaged. Get a gauge for what works for different employees and their interests, so you can tailor events that keep more people feeling engaged. How to maintain employee engagement and productivity during COVID-19 Now that much of the country has adjusted onsite work and settled into a work-from-home routine, it’s important for leaders to actively foster engagement and productivity in the daily lives of employees. But what are the key areas that companies need to address with fractured workforces? Employee engagement amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Have a look at our article “20 Virtual Team Building Activities to Engage Remote Employees” for some more inspiration. With less than a quarter of workers feeling truly engaged pre-pandemic, what does that mean now? We created a free toolfor managers that helps assess the well-being, remote readiness, and specific needs of their teams as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to unfold. What is an engaged employee? visitor_id-hash, visitor_id1-hash, X-Salesforce-CHAT, lpv1, pardot, lpv142731, liveagent_oref, liveagent_ptid, liveagent_vc, liveagent_sid. wistia-http2-push-disabled, __stid, __utmx, __unam, __utmxx, __sharethis_cookie_test__, __distillery, muxData, visitor_id1, _gid, visitor_id, _ga. Allow time to go around the room and give all employees a chance to speak. The word “employee engagement” alone doesn’t give you anything you can visualize. What we learned: employee engagement rose 2% from 2019 to 2020 (86% are currently engaged). Professional development is one of the most important ways to keep your team members engaged, even from afar. Use weekly meetings as an opportunity to check-in with your direct reports and ask them if they have any concerns that they would like to see addressed. Leadership must set the tone for the workforce, and this starts with genuine engagement, as well as open and honest conversations every step of the way. Define what employee engagement means for your company. A truly engaged employee goes to work for more than just a paycheck. As cases of COVID-19 increase, so do feelings of doubt and anxiety among workers. You could either do this by sending out “all-office” memos or having each leadership team member address the topics during their weekly team meetings. In fact. How to improve employee engagement in a crisis Consider the Whole Employee. Employee engagement has been shown to increase productivity, retention rates, and even revenue.