Employee engagement is essential to the success of any company. Engaged employees are more committed to their work, more productive, more driven to achieve results and more likely to stay with your company for the long term.
But keeping every employee engaged is no easy feat, given that each employee is unique. To get you started, we’ve put together a plan for employee engagement in 2023 – grounded by these core strategies gleaned from the HR managers whose corporate events we helped plan and manage.
1. Understand what motivates (and demotivates) your employees
Get off on the right foot by learning more about your employees. Both on-ground initiatives and macro-level efforts have equally significant roles to play in this process. This means encouraging managers to dedicate more time to interacting with their team members should be as high on your agenda as conducting surveys, focus groups and one-to-one dialogues.
But which aspect of your employees’ work lives should you train your attention on? Although salaries and welfare benefits are common points for discussion, other factors such as company culture and values, role ownership, management style and even office amenities cannot be overlooked. Solving these would help your company earn the trust and support of your employees.
2. Deliver clear and transparent communications to every employee
Upper management may be the face of your company, but your employees are undoubtedly its heart. So it stands to reason that they should have some degree of access to information such as financial targets and results. By being aware of the impact that their efforts are producing, your employees will feel a greater sense of ownership over their roles.
At the same time, sharing key updates and the overall market strategy of your company can give your employees a channel to understand what upper management is pursuing, be confident of your company leadership and facilitate feedback and new ideas – all crucial ingredients in engaging your employees and bringing success to your company.
3. Provide room for each employee to grow
Don’t shy away from raising the stakes for high-potential employees. Challenging them with increased responsibilities or larger projects not only reinforces your belief and trust in them but also inspires them to be more invested in their work.
This opportunity to wield a more major influence over the success of your company can also be extended to recent hires. In looking for ideas, opening a conversation with them lets them know that their inputs are always valued. Above all, this breaks down communication barriers and fosters continued engagement with your company.
4. Recognise and reward your employees
Every year, SATS organises the SATS Long Service Awards in recognition of its long-serving employees. We planned and managed the 2022 award ceremony
Award ceremonies are one of our most highly sought-after corporate events – for good reason. According to a 2022 survey by Michael Page, a recruitment consultancy firm, 53% of employers in Singapore rate employee recognition and appreciation as the most important factor in employee retention.
Celebrating your employees’ achievements drives positive reinforcement, which encourages your employees to continue performing at the same optimum level, reaping your company productivity gains.
To design a more inclusive employee recognition and reward programme, try creating a mix of both community-based and results-oriented awards. The former may entail your employees voting for colleagues whom they feel exemplify a certain value or are a role model. This approach accounts for how engaged your employees are with your company as a whole as opposed to just quotas.
5. Cultivate a people-first culture
It wasn’t too long ago that the ‘Great Resignation’ sowed panic among companies. But tackling employee engagement and satisfaction has always gone beyond ‘hard’ benefits – in fact, 65% of employees in Singapore are willing to sacrifice their salaries, bonuses and promotion opportunities for greater well-being, health and happiness, according to a Michael Page survey.
L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (SAPMENA) held a family engagement event at their HQ in Singapore in December 2022
Few things are as integral to these as your employees’ families. In December 2022, we helped L’Oréal plan and manage a family engagement event at their SAPMENA HQ in Singapore. The event coincided with the year-end school holidays and saw over 200 families of employees get a glimpse of the offices their loved ones work at.
Apart from participating in a host of activities such as a candle-making workshop, product demos and a photo booth, the families could mingle over food and drinks. The objective of the event was to enable the families to build a newfound appreciation of the work of their loved ones and empower the forging of a greater community beyond the confines of an office.
What to do now
Corporate events – award ceremonies, dinner experiences, town halls and internal meetings, and family engagement events – are great starting points for engaging your employees. We work with you to profile your employees and understand how to best design a programme that maximises their interaction with it.
Of course employee engagement is far from being a one-off, so it’s crucial to maintain a healthy calendar of corporate events that can engage your employees throughout the year.
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