As we slowly get through 2020 and look to the future of organizations, we can be sure of one thing – the future will not resemble the past any time soon. However, not everything will change.
On the road ahead, one of the primary factors of success will be in identifying vital things that haven’t changed, and keeping sight of them while navigating key changes.
In this article, we will unpack what has changed and what hasn’t for businesses that want to:
- Make work from home to office transition easier
- Improve employee morale
- Recognize team efforts
- Refine communication
- Launch employee appreciation programs
- Engage employees through and post COVID
What Employee Engagement Essentials haven’t Changed?
Let’s start with two essentials that haven’t changed and likely never will when it comes to employee engagement. We can call them the fundamentals, as they are the core needs of an employee to stay engaged with a work task.
#1- Communication
When it comes to employee engagement, communication is an important ingredient. Organizations must prioritize communication to improve engagement, eliminate uncertainty, and boost performance.
The key is to maintain a clear, ongoing, two-way communication at all times. It can include weekly team meetings, manager check-ins, employee surveys, and senior leader forums. However, it’s not restricted to only these. Any activity that can identify different areas of uncertainty for employees, and replace them with clarity, can be classified as effective communication.
#2- Appreciation
Expressing appreciation is an ideal way to boost employee morale and retain staff. Appreciated employees are not only happy but also loyal and are always motivated to perform better. If you want to make huge leaps in helping your staff feel more valued and appreciated, you should mainly focus on the following two aspects.
1. Make recognition and appreciation a part of how workflow. You can do this by having shoutouts in your team meetings, encourage peer-to-peer recognition, and train your staff on how to show appreciation through guidance and role modeling.
2. Give away appealing promotional products to reap long term success and benefits for your organization. Gifting practical and handy items to your employees will remind them that your organization values their efforts. What’s more, promo items not only offer high value but are also a cost-effective way to retain employees.
How Will Employee Engagement Evolve Post-COVID?
While the primary drivers of employee engagement, like the two mentioned above, haven’t changed, some factors have. Let’s quickly go through them.
#1- Flexibility
The current work from home scenario has let employees and business owners know what’s possible, and there is no going back. Employees have striven to prove that they can be just as productive from home as they were in office. However, what we are trying to emphasize is not permanently working from home. Notice the phrase we are using is flexibility.
If your company prefers employees working from the office, collaborate with them to imagine and develop a workspace that they crave. Create an engaging place that employees would love to work in. You can then offer them the freedom to choose where they want to work and allow them to come up with flexible time schedules.
The bottom line is, don’t dictate how, when, or where an employee works
#2- Safety
It may seem obvious, but safety cannot be understated. The pandemic has shown all of us how fragile our lives can be. Even if we cared about hygiene and safety, many of us at work took it for granted.
To safeguard the health of each employee and foster a feeling of safety, you can start by giving away PPE items such as touchless tools, hand sanitizers, face masks, and face shields.
In conclusion, by putting your employees at the center of how you manage and design work, you as a business owner can enable them to do their best work. In short, everyone wins. If you need more marketing strategies or smart business tips to operate your business in the COVID era, then feel free to connect with us. We look forward to hearing from you!