THEemployee engagement is a very fashionable notion. But when a company goes through a crisis, it is often put aside. Indeed, other economic concerns are considered more "concrete". In other words, in the event of difficulties, we turn to the customer rather than to the internal.
An inconsistency between words and actions
Un article from the HRD website questions the views of managers on employee engagement. He points out that this engagement is, in principle, considered a priority. A Deloitte survey reports in particular that 85% of business leaders consider employee engagement to be a strategic priority.
However, the article also highlights a contradiction between this judgment and the reality of things. Indeed, it relies on the testimony of Jessica Gopalan, regional marketing director at Dale Carnegie in Australia: "our research shows that Only 31% of employees and managers believe that their company truly makes engagement a priority"
An incomprehensible figure, especially when we know that employee engagement has a direct impact on the competitiveness of the company. It actually reduces turnover and absenteeism, and helps to:increase productivity and profitability.
So where do you start to build employee engagement?
In the HRD article, Jessica Gopalan reminds us that engagement begins with a a relationship of trust between managers and employees. It also indicates that if the construction and maintenance of this relationship are essential, this takes time. Time to integrate teams into the corporate culture, train them, provide them with the right skills, motivate them, communicate the benefits of engagement. But also time to lead by example : because leaders must be the first to show their commitment. This also requires money: to equip and train employees, but also for example to hire resources dedicated to maintaining commitment. Dale Carnegie's research shows that the level of commitment will rise when leaders will treat the topic of engagement like any other crucial topic, and when they will provide managers with the training they need to engage their teams.
The managers precisely: they play a key role! Indeed, leaders will not succeed in building the relationship of trust mentioned above without the help of relay points that managers constitute. If they themselves are committed and trained to engage their teams, a global commitment will be easier to implement. In addition, managers will gain immense personal benefit to engage their teams. It all starts by explaining this benefit to them.
Let’s end this article with a quote from Jessica Gopalan:
“Letting managers prioritize engagement takes courage. Because saying “yes” to engagement also means saying “no” to other priorities.”
