Why employee engagement needs a review if businesses are to weather the remainder of the pandemic storm

Employee engagement has been a hot topic for some time now, but a new challenge has been thrown up since remote working was forced upon us by the pandemic.

For many employers, a distributed workforce might be nothing new but people finding themselves ‘cut off’ from colleagues, while also dealing with additional and unprecedented stresses, has meant any existing weaknesses in employee engagement and communication have been brought to the fore.

According to Forbes.com, disengaged employees are 60% more likely to make mistakes. A pre-pandemic poll by Gallup showed a worrying 64% of employees were unengaged. Consider this alongside the fact that many businesses now need to implement and drive through significant change programs; whether to digitize their operations to build resilience against future disruption or carry out restructuring due to changes borne out of the pandemic and furlough; and the danger of disengagement is clear. Change is much harder when people aren’t all pulling in the same direction. A lack of engagement can spread fast, especially if the grapevine is stronger than official communications channels (something highly likely to happen if disgruntled employees have too much influence) and we can be fairly certain that there is more hardship to come as we ride out the ripple effect of the pandemic.

The coming months and years will be pivotal for businesses and yet a Microsoft survey revealed only 35.6% of US enterprises considered employee engagement to be a priority (up from 24.3% pre-pandemic).

So, what can be done?

Today’s candidates want more from their employers than ever before. It’s not about being demanding, more that they are aware of their rights, they aren’t afraid to stand up and be counted or to blow the whistle on poor employment practices. Employers need to prioritise their people, but how?

One thing that really motivates people is to feel valued but it’s not enough to pay lip service to this with statements such as “our people are our greatest asset.” Instead action is needed:

• Help people feel heard by enabling open dialogue both formally and informally. There are many digital platforms available, and leaders can encourage participation with organised sessions to enable employees to network and provide feedback;
• Help people feel invested in with comprehensive and varied training. Electronic learning has come a long way in recent years with many platforms offering interaction and gamification to maintain motivation. Developing employees is a win-win – everyone benefits.

Flexibility has been catapulted to the top of the agenda for obvious reasons and organisations can benefit from undertaking proper planning to best use their space to facilitate truly flexible working. Simple changes such as introducing official hot desking, creating open plan, collaborative areas and also private spaces where people can share feedback and worries.

Finally, revisiting and investing in employee benefits is a good idea given the profile that has been given to employee wellbeing over the past year and a half. Mental health is something that employers should exercise a duty of care over and by providing access to support, such as an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is likely to save money in the long run due to the substantial costs of lost working days due to stress and depression.

As is the case with most scenarios in business, what might appear to be a considerable up-front investment is more likely to save costs in the long run. From absence to falling productivity and the potential for reputational damage, engagement is not only essential for performance, but critical if firms want to attract future talent.