Every year, the number of companies prioritizing employee engagement considerably increases. They finally recognize its importance and role in overall business success. Aspects such as motivation, leadership, communication aren’t out of the picture. Changes in the global economy and the business world have a say in how employers and managers deal with employee management. From the use of technology, through raising awareness of mental health, to diversity and inclusion. Here are the fastest-growing employee engagement trends in 2020.
Communicative Technology
The coronavirus pandemic has made this year a highly unusual one. Most employees had to shift from working in an office to working from home to navigate business safely through the crisis. Throughout these extremely difficult months, communicative technology has proved to be highly beneficial. With the help of different employee engagement software, managers assigned projects tracked their progress and shared information with employees without any problem. Despite working from different locations, employees could work together, share data, and chat like they normally would in the workplace. The use of not only communicative but also management and other tools have proved that employees no longer have to work in an office to remain productive and efficient. All most managers should do is give them the right tools and encourage them to use it regularly.
Importance of Mental Health
Stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression are the most common health issues employees deal with. Too much work, low salaries, high cost of living, and fluctuations in the labor market can take a heavy toll on employees. Especially now when the pandemic has brought in a lot of uncertainty in our lives. Such negative emotions can reduce employee productivity, engagement, and performance. Also, most employees ultimately decide to seek medical help.
Since medical expenses are on a constant rise, their health insurance might not be covering all treatment costs. As a manager, you can take better care of your employees. Encourage them to take breaks often, socialize more, relax, and take some time for recovery. Companies such as Microsoft and Google have recreational rooms as a part of their office building. Here employees can spend some time relaxing, playing games, or interacting and get back to their work feeling rested and fully focused.
Work Life Balance
Even before the pandemic started, employees struggled with keeping their private and professional lives separated. The struggle became more difficult when employees transitioned to remote work. The borders between the two became blurry and almost inexistent. Organizations that adopt policies and promote healthy work-life balance most likely have more engaged employees. Some policies include flexible schedules, remote work, and casual outfits. When employees feel the company helps them successfully juggle their careers and families, they feel satisfied and work harder to return the favor. They can easily focus on their work since their working hours and work arrangements leave them plenty of time to spend with their family and friends.
Professional Growth
Turnover is every company’s biggest fear. To stay in the company, today’s workforce seeks challenges and opportunities for professional growth above salary and other employee benefits. For this reason, you should come up with a system of training and development for every position. Instead of equipping your employees with skills and then letting them leave, you can train them and promote them in higher ranks. This way, they gain knowledge, skills, and experience they need to take on new and more demanding responsibilities within your organization. With this move, you not only get more qualified and skillful employees but also promote engagement, growth, and ambition.
Inclusion and Diversity
Among the fastest growing trends in the business world are inclusion and diversity. When you bring people with different ethnic, demographic, and social backgrounds together, you always have access to fresh ideas and perspectives. Moreover, your team’s problem-solving skills are strengthened which helps them tackle any problems head-on. Furthermore, you have a more global point of view to help you strive for and reach bigger goals. However, having a diverse team is challenging. You have to cultivate a culture of mutual respect, understanding, and support. It will help your team get along and overcome any obstacle their different backgrounds might cause.
Employee Empowerment
Empowering employees is by no means a new concept. Still, it has far-reaching effects on employees and the company. It gives employees the motivation, authority, and autonomy they need to engage and excel at their work. Giving them the right role makes them feel confident and satisfied with their work. They can freely offer suggestions, ideas for improvements, and creative solutions for the company to benefit from. Having the wind at their back makes employees more engaged and willing to cooperate.
Innovations and Improvements
Everywhere you look, changes are taking place. If you want your company to stay ahead of the competition, you have to move quickly and seize the opportunities. The same goes for your employees. Apart from possessing the same characteristics, they have to be agile and proactive too. Keeping track of the latest technological and business changes can help employees anticipate them, prepare, and adapt quickly. This way they won’t be caught up by surprise but engage in the implementation process and gain a sense of belonging and accomplishment. Similarly, they have to be on the constant lookout for ways to improve their skills and knowledge. Therefore, they will be able to meet all the demands of the changing market.
