By Karen Stone, CHRE
We have written often in these pages about transformation – about the technological changes turning business models on their heads, and the strategic changes organizations are making in order to meet those challenges.
We are all aware this emerging business landscape is an uncertain one. New challenges are continually transpiring, and we will certainly need to develop our aptitude for adaptability in order to succeed.
But adapting to this ever-changing world won’t only be about training, resourcing, progressing and competing. As HR professionals, we are the ones to highlight that the most essential component of success is engaged people. And robot co-workers notwithstanding, this is not likely to change.
As the environment around us changes, so do employee needs and employee engagement factors. Keeping teams and talent engaged in meaningful work and productive in a disruptive climate requires us to develop new strategies and not rely on what we have used before. The engagement and retention of workers requires HR professionals to think beyond a yearly bonus structure or milestone anniversary gift programs – these alone will not be effective.
Keeping teams and talent engaged in meaningful work and productive in a disruptive climate requires us to develop new strategies and not rely on what we have used before.
Workplace concepts are shifting towards an increase in project-based workforces, contingent work, the gig economy and portfolio careers and this means employees have more options than ever. Online recruitment practices, social media sites such as LinkedIn, and the ease and speed of communication create employment options that are more visible than ever before.
In today’s world of work, employee engagement has become a more holistic discipline, consisting of strategies such as the adoption of best practices for addressing workers’ psychological needs, support for their personal wellness goals and offering flexible work arrangements and locations, organizing team building events, adopting continuous check-ins and performance dialogues, creating stretch and passion projects, travel or international work opportunities and many others.
It may be that bells and whistles such as foosball tables, free lunches and M&Ms on the desk are well received – fantastic, if they fit within your budget and fit with your workplace and industry culture. However, this may continue to change and it not strictly. In essence, the new engagement strategy is not about incorporating all the shiny extras – rather it may be more about simply about empowering employees and providing them meaningful work so that they feel a sense of pride and ownership in their role, and they feel supported as a whole person (body, mind and spirit).