It’s no secret that the recent months during COVID-19 have thrust organizations into focusing less on employee engagement and more on remote work policies, bottom line results, and just downright survival. However, the current global pandemic is proof there has never been a more important time to emphasize the importance of employee engagement.
Why is that? The reality might be that during a crisis, there isn’t time for leadership to devote to their employees and with how engaged they are, but rather figure out a way to get the job done with minimal impact and yet still yield return. As a result, a Gallup research study released just last week recorded the most significant drop in employee engagement since the year 2000.
With a strong correlation between engagement and productivity, employee engagement, especially during COVID-19, is not a luxury; it is a necessity for success.
The equation is simple:
HIGH ENGAGEMENT = HIGH PRODUCTIVITY
But to be fair, even before the pandemic, many organizations struggled to keep employees engaged. Remote work combined with the sociological and psychological impact of the recent pandemic have only made engagement more challenging. People ultimately crave and need human contact and connection. So, where does that leave leaders in the organization?
Leaders must look at digitizing the employee experience and how their workforce continues to interact, collaborate, and communicate up, down, and across the organization. And a way to digitize employee engagement is for leaders to realize that the proper investments in employee engagement platforms will modernize the employee experience and continue developing high-performing employees and teams as organizations nationwide navigate these uncertain times.
The benefits employee engagement investments include:
Manager and Team Alignment: Employees stay connected between managers and colleagues, and can align on goals for daily work and organizational objectives
Balance Sheet Impact: 70% of operating cost is humans, why not strive for a 1% improvement. Increase engagement, productivity, and your Return on Employee (ROE)
Feedback and Praise: Exchange real-time feedback and praise
Learning: Resources and tools to continue to support each employee’s unique professional development
Peer-to-Peer Mentorship: Provide a platform to connect employees with others in organizations that can provide expert insight and support.
Goals and KPIs: Align teams to both department and organizational goals
While it’s easy to see why employee engagement has been put on the backburner for many organization’s as they try to navigate these uncertain times, it may actually be the key driver to help them increase productivity, generate revenue, and ultimately come out of the other side of this global pandemic as a stronger and more proftibale organization.
Are you looking for ways to keep your workforce engaged while maintaining high productivity? Learn more about digital employee engagement platforms and their benefits of developing high-performing employees and teams.
TeamOnUP is an employee experience platform that recaptures value for companies by enabling access to growth on purpose for each employee.
