A lot has been written and spoken about employee engagement. Everyone knows how important is this for innovation ,success and growth but not many people are clear, what is takes to create a culture of performance.
Employee Engagement is as complex as a human brain — It has Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology and Social Psychology
Engagement first starts at an individual level, what is that I am too looking for and what is that I am doing, then it moves to a relative state — what others are doing and what do they get… and so on
Behavior’s, attitudes and perception are as volatile as the stock market and at one instance I believe you and at another I do not .
So how to address the problem ?
There is no formula, but if you dig deep you realise it’s not that complicated. If you as an organisation believe in;
- Transparency — Do what you say and walk the talk
- Admitting Mistakes — Where you went wrong
- Communicate , communicate & communicate — Kill the perception or an imaginary devil
- Show Purpose & Vision — Show where you are headed to and why you are doing what you are
- Participate — Ensure people participate in the journey, show them the larger picture
- Involve Employees — In decision-making
- Don’t kill creativity — There are no SOPs for innovation , encourage people to do creative thinks — Ideas happen when the mind is free
- Coach — Turn you managers into coaches, respect is earned not commanded
Remember if you ask an employee to dig the earth , they will dig a hole. If you ask them that we are constructing a canal, helping water reach million of thirsty people — they will dig passionately , purposefully , creatively and most importantly timely