How to maximize workforce potential with employee mentorship & recognition strategies

Happy Thursday! Welcome back to another TalentTech Weekly. In this edition, we explore how you can re-engage your workforce in 2024. Cultivating a culture of employee engagement and recognition not only enhances employee satisfaction and retention but also drives overall business success.?

Amidst The ‘Great Disconnection’ employees feel their workplaces are missing the mark concerning their health and well-being. With a disengaged workforce, companies are seeing a decline in employee retention and development. In this week’s edition, we’re going to dive deeper into this issue and explore some strategies to overcome a disengaged workforce.

Let’s dive in!

60% of employees reportedly feel disengaged from their workplace?

Why do we see a high rate of disengaged employees in 2024? In a post-COVID world, organizations are still struggling to get their workforce back on track. The pandemic brought a huge shift in the way we work. Statista notes that 17% of U.S. employees worked from home 5 days or more per week pre-pandemic, which increased to 44% after the pandemic.?

Now in 2024, we see companies like Zoom , Meta , Salesforce , and J.P. 摩根 begging employees to return to the office. Employers are failing to realize that the standards have changed for employees. We’ve seen how much time and money can be saved without the daily commute, leading to an overall better work-life balance.

“There’s clearly a disconnect here. Despite their best intentions, many employers are still missing the mark when it comes to health and well-being. And it’s costing them their best talent—especially up-and-coming millennials and Gen Zs. More than older generations, physical health issues prevent us from bringing our full selves to work. We’ve got greater health and wellness demands at work—and we’re not afraid to job-hop until they’re met.” - Ellen Rudolph founder and CEO of WellTheory

At the end of the day, work success doesn’t have to come at the expense of burnout, loss of mental health, and physical wellness. So what can your team do to re-engage its employees?

The transformative impact of mentorship

Mentorship programs have emerged as powerful tools to unlock the full potential of employees, fostering an engaged and motivated workforce that moves organizations forward. By pairing experienced professionals with eager learners, these programs create a collaborative environment where mentees can gain insights, confidence, and refine their skills.?

Guider provides a list of benefits of mentoring for mental health:

• Supporting isolation: People struggling with mental health issues often feel isolated and can experience anxiety. Mentoring can help both mentors and mentees feel less isolated in their shared experiences.
• Self-confidence: An increase in confidence can positively impact mentees as they feel supported in their decisions and career paths. Mentors also experience improved self-esteem and confidence from the act of helping another achieve their goals.
• Lower levels of anxiety: @Harvard Business Review conducted a study researching the positive effects of mentoring, and found that people who served as mentors experienced lower levels of anxiety, and described their job as more meaningful than those who did not mentor.

Implementing a successful mentorship program requires careful planning and execution. Organizations should focus on establishing clear objectives, developing a matching process that pairs mentors and mentees based on compatibility, and providing ongoing support throughout the mentorship journey.

Organizations offering mentoring programs foster a culture that values and supports continuous learning and development, employee retention, and employee engagement.

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Companies with effective recognition programs have 31% lower turnover rates

Employee recognition programs are vital for organizational culture, creating a positive work environment and boosting employee engagement. According to a survey by Gallup, employees who don't feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to quit their jobs within a year.?

Additionally, employees who feel undervalued in the workplace are 5x more likely to be disengaged. These statistics emphasize the importance of acknowledging and rewarding employees' contributions to retain top talent and maintain a motivated workforce.

The impact of employee recognition extends beyond retention, as it significantly improves productivity and performance. A simple 15% improvement in recognition within a company can lead to a 2% increase in its profit margins. By creating a culture of appreciation, employees feel valued and are more likely to go above and beyond in their roles, driving overall organizational success.

Recommended reading: How employee recognition programs boost morale and productivity

Six steps to re-engage a disconnected workforce

Allison M. Vaillancourt, PhD vice president of the organizational effectiveness practice at Segal , explains how employers can get employees onboard, starting with trust and transparency and genuinely listening to employees and then taking these six steps.

• Use surveys, focus groups, pulse interviews and direct conversations to gather insights.
• Share high-level findings so employees trust that their perspectives were heard.
• Clearly communicate the rationale behind each initiative, detailing the benefits to employees and the organization alike.
• Provide necessary training and resources to support these changes and establish continuous feedback mechanisms.
• Involve employees in every step, making the benefits clear and showing responsiveness to their feedback in order to create a culture of engagement where everyone feels valued and empowered.
• Regularly provide progress updates and acknowledge what seems to be working and what has not gone as planned.

Join our next discussion: Unlocking the power of internal mobility

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In our upcoming webinar, we will equip you with insights and tactics for leveraging the full potential of internal career movements. As roles become more fluid and career paths non-linear, empowering employees to pivot and grow within your company drives engagement, knowledge retention, and business agility.

HR pros: Don't miss this discussion!

What you'll gain:

? Understand the dynamics reshaping talent mobility and its strategic role in fostering workforce adaptability

? Get tactics for overcoming common roadblocks to implementing effective internal mobility programs

? Receive actionable tools for kickstarting or optimizing your internal mobility strategy aligned to business needs

Written by: Alexandra Paasch