Engagement pre and amid pandemic has undergone a complete shift. While earlier, engagement was more or less used to be done with an aim to improve productivity and holding on to the best performers, it has now become more about ensuring that every employee is supported in the tasks and duties they are being assigned. As businesses, we are travelling the path to move from the ‘H’ in HR to ‘P’ in people as they are the real souls of every organisation.
Perhaps, the current situation is where businesses are being their most concerned selves and they are trying to survive the tremendous uncertainty. In this blog, we share the why and hows of engagement and business growth’s rapidly growing connection now and in the future.
It’s all a blur!
At the start, even when the jobs that the working-class had wasn’t what they were content with earlier, they were thankful for it because many lost their jobs in a jiffy that time.
FACT CHECK
A Gallup report released recently shows that 38% of employees were quite engaged in May but in the next few weeks itself, the number drooped to 31%.
The number saw such quick decline because the employers did start engaging with the employees at the start but lost focus later.
What is missing?
Businesses must understand that engagement is more than celebrations, congratulations and giftings, it has layers to it. While the first layer can be considered that, the deeper implication of engagement is how you make a difference to the professional and personal lives of your staff.
If planning or executing seems overwhelming, many HRMS software in India have started offering more and more features to increases and track engagement, start leveraging them!
THIS SIGNALS SOMETHING IMPORTANT!
The challenges that employees face in this distributed work model are different and unique than before and so expecting the same old engagement strategy or measures to work is plainly naive. A better workaround could be to discover more ways to appreciate and reward the employees. Employers need to really shift the focus from ‘what is happening with them’ to ‘what is happening with their employees’. For instance,
- an employee stuck at home with no one around might not be feeling healthy mentally and needs more of watercoolers, virtual events, therapist or even a pep talk
- the employees who have a kid might need flexible work hours or extended work hours to manage both work and life responsibilities
- for people who are staying in a joint family, a whole lot of distractions and work tasks might be becoming overwhelming
Also Read: HR tech adoption by SMEs: Future of Work
And so on and so forth. You see the meaning of engagement is different for different employee groups and as an employer, you need to touch all of these points. Rethinking the strategy while also understanding how HRMS software India has can be leveraged is pivotal and must be done foremost.
No time to miss on building personalised, meaningful and lasting connections
Instant appreciation and feedbacks are difficult to facilitate and the usual engagement model has become obsolete. In this new normal, all top-down HRMS software India has barely keep employees at heart and focus just on mechanising the system, expecting engagement through them is silly.
Employees and business both can thrive only and only on a connection that’s empathetic and supportive!
How can employers steer the process and boost engagement levels?
- Support is what your employees need the most. Interact often and let them know that you are listening and ready to help. They are secure when working with you.
- The effectiveness of communication and it’s speed + frequency should be re-evaluated to make productivity more achievable.
- A modern HCM suite that empowers your employees with more ways to engage with everyone and streamlines recognition is critical and must be looked up for.
Happy Re-engaging!