5 things leaders can do to foster employee engagement

In my two-decades leading large teams and in my current role as chief executive at Australia’s largest “for purpose” business in the blind and low-vision space, I have learnt that employee engagement is the key to people and organisations achieving their best. 

This month, Vision Australia gained over 90 per cent in most indicators of employee engagement in our staff survey. 

• 92 per cent of staff said their work gave them a sense of accomplishment
• 95 per cent said they like the work they do
• 98 per cent agreed with the organisation’s values

In my earlier “c-suit” roles I did not put employee engagement ahead of everything else. Over the years, however, I have learnt to do so because employee engagement is the one thing that will make your organisation more productive, innovative and resilient.

Improvements in staff engagement at Vision Australia over my tenure as CEO have coincided with the return to a strong budgetary outlook, reduced staff turnover and the organisation’s growing reputation as one of the most prepared and responsive organisation’s in Australia’s growing disability services market. 

What is employee engagement? 

Employee engagement is the alignment of activity and values. 

We all have to act in ways that don’t align with our personal values from time to time, however, when we have to do it every day we become disheartened - fast. Similarly, when leaders fail to own their responsibilities, or when organisations prioritise activities unrelated to the mission employees signed up for, employee disengagement follows. 

When we know the reason for our work and we believe that reason is important we will go to great lengths to get the job done. Organisations with engaged employees thrive on their workforce’s enthusiasm, commitment and courage, which are ultimately fuelled by a sense of purpose.

Everyone has a role to play in employee engagement, but a leader’s role is crucial.  

How leaders can foster employee engagement

1. Engage with your employees

Sounds obvious but leaders will always improve employee engagement by fulfilling the term’s literal meaning. Engage with your employees. Be involved with the working lives of your colleagues at all levels of the organisation every day.

As a younger leader, I was not aware of the effect a leader’s interactions has on a workplace. For example, one day I came to the office early with a lot on my mind. I walked past an employee without saying hello. By lunchtime, word had got around that I was really angry with this one employee. It wasn’t true but the rumour, and total downer on office morale, was due to my actions. 

This was an important learning opportunity for me, but the next lesson was that engaging with staff doesn’t just mean being pleasant. 

Leaders are key in communicating the value of their employees’ work. Without interaction with leaders, employees have little chance of knowing whether their work is successfully contributing to a bigger picture or what the big picture is. 

Engaging with employees means letting them know how their achievements, obstacles and professional development fit within the organisation's mission. 

This is your primary work as a leader.

2. Get to know your employees, starting with their first day

It is something of a cliché, but MBWA, Management by Walking Around, is a great starting point for a leader’s interactions with employees.  

Where MBWA becomes powerful is when a leader treats every interaction with a colleague as an opportunity to listen and learn, convey important messages, encourage, reward and correct behaviour. 

The conversations need to be genuine and work best when you already know the context of your colleague’s work.

Knowing the jobs of all your staff is easiest if you meet them on their first day. At Vision Australia, the CEO and the general manager of people and culture attend every induction for two hours to meet each new employee. 

3. Communicate your organisation’s mission in a simple way  

Here’s a common story that people tell about employee engagement.

Three brick-layers are working on the same project and are asked what they are doing. The first says, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am building a church.” The third says, “I am building a house where my community will meet with God”. 

No guessing who does the best job. What we think about our work has a huge impact on how we get it done. 

One of the big changes we’ve made at Vision Australia, is simplifying our mission statement. We have five foundations for the organisation, and three areas of focus for strategy. All are expressed in a short, simple way.

Having a memorable, clear mission statement doesn’t just help people frame their work in a positive way. When you have a quick decision to make or when you are guiding your team through a spontaneous challenge, being able to remember your organisation’s priorities and aim is easier than referring to a long policy document. 

4. Remember that hierarchies don’t matter 

Leaders must be big on humility and small on ego.

CEOs, team leaders and general managers cannot be the most important person in the room and must regard employees as colleagues. I work with a lot of smart people whose expertise is very different to mine. They will be more engaged if they know that I respect their expertise, ideas, criticisms, comments and contribution. 

5. Colleagues should feel comfortable approaching you. 

I work in an open-plan office and when we were setting up the furniture, the team put two filing cabinets in front of my desk. I asked them to leave a sizable gap so people could see when I am at my desk. I get 10 or so visits a day from colleagues and I’d be worried if that number decreased. 

Share your calendar so colleagues can see when you are free, save formalities like booking meetings through an EA for people outside of your organisation and keep your door open or, even better, don’t work behind a door. 

6. Demonstrate that staff engagement is a job for all leaders

Other leaders, at all levels of the organisation need to find a way of engaging effectively with their colleagues. This comes mostly from the senior leaders, including General Manager and the CEO modelling engagement behaviours to others. People imitate those they trust and respect, so there is a compounding positive impact when you take the initiative to engage.