How to think about employee engagement. Make employees first, train your leadership and focus on your HR strategy. www.swcpurpose.com

1. How to increase employee engagement?
Employee Engagement.Everyone wantsit.Ithasso manybenefits,andsomanyorganizationsare
puttingresourcestoimprovingengagement.However,whatishappeningisthata lotof moneyisbeing
spent,butnot a lotof resultsare beingexperienced.The researchonemployee engage solid,but
organizationsfail inexecution.Ihave some theoriesonwhythisisso.I also have suggestionsonhowto
be more effective inincreasingemployeeengagement.Readontosee my tips.
1. Get yourculture undercontrol
Is yourculture focusedonyourendproduct? Are youclient-focused?Are youproduct-focused?
Employee engagementbeginswhenanorganizationcommitstobeingpeople-focused.If strategic
businessleadersvalue product orclientsfirst,thenthingsthatcontribute tothose goals will getall of
the moneyandthe effort. However,once anorganizationrealizestheycangoa stepfurtherbyhaving
an engagedworkforce,there hastobe a shift.Thisisimportantbecause whenstrategicleadersare
people-focused,theywillcommitandengage inactionsthatare people focused.
If the focusison your employees,yourorganizationwill putmore effortintothingsyouremployeesfeel
are important. Yourorganizationwill dosomethingafterthe organization-wide survey.The things
employeescare aboutwill one of the projectstolaunchand notthe new productline.Whenthe focusis
on people,the energyandresourceswillbe aboutpeople.Employee engagementcannotbeginbefore
an organizationhasmade itsemployeesatrue priority.
Also,be honestwithyourself if yourbusinessisjustnotthere.Organizationsgothroughcyclesand
seasons,andthere isa time to be focusedonbeingreallygoodwhatyoudo,reallygoodat attracting
business,reallygoodatprocessesandreallygoodattakingcare of yourpeople.There isn’tanyshame if
you’re justnotthere yet.Problems happenwhenyou’re notthere yet,doitbecause it’s‘bestpractices’
and don’tfollowthroughonanything.It’smuchhardertorecoverfrom thatthenbeingauthenticand
honestaboutorganizational prioritiesand goals.
2. Get yourmanagementstructure aligned
It isone thingto have values,amission,anda visionstatement.It’sanotherthingtohave all of your
middle managersactingoutinthose values, vision,andmission.If one managerisdoingone thingand
one isdoinganother,youwill create inconsistencywhichbreedsresentment. Youbuildahealthywork
culture whenthe goalsandvaluesof managers are alignedacrossall worksections.
A significantpartof humanneedsatworkis to feel the treatmentisequitable. Manytimesmanagers
don’tknowor trulyunderstandwhatthat means.Thisleadsme tothe nextpointof teachingyour
managersthese things. Yourmanagersshouldbe developed.Yourleadershipdevelopmentprogram
shouldgive managers adefinedwaylead,inspireandmotivate theirdirectreportswithinyour
organization.Iam nottalkingaboutmicromanagement.Iam talkingaboutactingof one accord. Inthis
way,organizationsthattreattheiremployeesfairlyandequitablyconveyasense of concernfortheir
well-being. Fairtreatmentisamongthe mostreliabledriversof employeeengagement.

2. Investinleadershipdevelopmentforyourleaders.A considerablepartof employeeengagementisthe
employeeexperience. Howdoesit feel to workatyourorganization every day?If youhave managers
that aren’twell developed,atoxicworkculture persists. Youwouldn’tsendamechanictogo fix your
car withoutdevelopingprofessionallyinthatfield.The same hastobe appliedtothe leadersof your
organization.If youdon’tgive leadersthe tools,the leaderscan’tgetmuch workdone. Whenyouhave
an underdevelopedleader,thatis where youwill see manyturnovers.People saypeople leave bad
bosses.Manytimesa bad bossissomeone thathas noideawhat theyare doingdespite all good
intentions.
3. Get yourHR strategyinline
WhenI say HR, I don’tmeanthe department.Getyour human-resources together. Inotherwords:how
are youcapitalizingonthe resourcesthathappentobe human?The same wayequipmentneedstobe
maintained;humanbeingsalsohave tobe maintained.Merelygettingthemandpayingthemisa half
attempton reallymanagingyourhumanresources.We don’tdoitfor anythingelse inlife,butwe doit
to our employees. Triedandtrue waysto maintainyourhuman resources include:
 Job enrichment: Incorporate meaning,variety,autonomyintojobs.Thisis
importantsothat employeesviewtheirrole positively inthe grandscheme of
things.People wanttofeel like theirworkmatters,show themitdoes.If possible,
try to increase varietytoreduce boredomfromthe jobandautonomy,sopeople
feel like theyhave somelevel of control overtheirdays.
 Training and Development:Developyouremployees.Thisisespeciallyimportant
for the youngergenerations.GenX,MillennialsandGenZ employeesvalue
opportunitiesfordevelopment.Thisisalsoa wayto put yourmoneywhere your
mouthis.Employeeswill feel valuedwhentheysee thattheiremployeriswillingto
investinthem.
 Compensation:Figure outwhatpay structure worksfor yourorganizationtotailor
your motivationattempts.Thiscouldvarybyjobtitle,butitis importantto
understandhowmoney motivatesyouremployees.Anobviousone—paypeopleat
leastat marketprice. It will make itdifficultforemployeestoleave you(especiallyif
you’re gettingsomuchright).Addincentives,andyouwill see shorttermboostin
productivitydue toincreasedeffortintheirjobs.
 Performance Management:Developacoachingculture.Your managersshouldbe
givingconsistentfeedback.Encourage coachingandhave scheduledquarterly
reviews –at least. Introduce kudosorshout outs to meetings.Employeesthrive
whentheyknowhow well theyare doing.If theyare notdoingwell, tell themright
away andprovide themtoolstogetbetter.Thisisa quickandeffective wayto
decrease inefficientbehavior.
It iseasiertowrite aboutthisthenit isto execute the ideas.Mygoal is tochange the wayyou’re
thinkingandapproachingemployeeengagement. Be honestif yourorganization isjustnotreadyyet.If
you’re notreadyto primarilyfocusonyouremployees be transparentandauthenticaboutthat.If your
organizationispreparedandable,worktobe effective inyouremployee engagementeffortswithsome
of mytips.

3. What otherwayscan an organizationimproveengagement?
Sources:
Developing and Sustaining EmployeeEngagement .(2019). SHRM. Retrieved24April 2019, from
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-
samples/toolkits/pages/sustainingemployeeengagement.aspx
Markos, S.,& Sridevi,M.S.(2010). Employee engagement:The keytoimproving
performance. Internationaljournalof businessand management,5(12),89.