Among the several factors that affect the growth of organizations, employee engagement has recently gained immense popularity. Companies have begun to realise that the employee experience at the workplace is directly linked to how well they perform. Also, as per a recent survey, it has been observed that poor employee engagement leads to an increase in employee turnover rate. Therefore, to ensure productivity, special emphasis is given to adopting ways to enhance employee engagement.
Moreover, the onset of the pandemic had a significant impact on the work culture and policies of organizations. With more people working remotely, there were fewer opportunities for employers to boost employee engagement. As a result, during the employee performance review process, many companies have observed a negative influence on the performance of employees.
Nevertheless, companies are now coping with this challenge by implementing strategies that enable them to engage employees.
Following are top new trends helping employers to foster employee engagement:
- Employee-centric culture
Organizations have started to focus on providing a positive work environment for their employees. That means a more transparent policy, the privilege to freely communicate, and open discussions, are adopted as a part of the work culture. Special resources are invested to enhance employee growth and learning opportunities. Additionally, understanding the expectations of employees and making efforts to fulfil them helps organizations achieve higher retention rates.
- Hybrid working models
Hybrid working is the most preferred model in organizations these days as it offers benefits of both working from office and workings from a home culture. In hybrid working, employees are required to work from the office a few days a week and have a chance to interact with co-workers, fostering strong communication. Whereas, on the rest of the days they have the flexibility to work remotely and stay productive. Hybrid working allows employees to enjoy work-life balance and perform excellently at the workplace. It also eliminates the drawbacks that come with a completely remote working environment.
- Emphasizing employee recognition
Implementing an employee recognition program has now become more important to acknowledge the efforts made individually. It gives employees a sense of being valued as well as their hard work that contributes to the growth of the organization is recognized. Employee recognition also acts as a tool to motivate employees to continue to perform well and improve productivity with time. Consequently, they feel pride and are willing to work even harder on upcoming projects.
- Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are vital to enhancing business performance. Organizations that include these two facets in their cultural policy, encourage commitment and loyalty from their employees. In addition, it promotes a creative, innovative, and engaged workforce. Thus, allowing employees to be a part of decision-making processes, diversity and inclusion have turned out to be key drivers for increasing employee engagement.
- Technology utilization
There is no denying that technology is evolving faster than ever. These advancements are contributing to simplifying various processes involved in the workplace. For example, using technology to automate mundane administrative tasks results in reducing the manual efforts of employees. Many companies take the help of a skill gap analysis tool to understand skill training requirements. Similarly, introducing AI, Cloud services, and other technologies into day-to-day processes refrains employees from performing repetitive tasks, enhancing employee engagement.
Final words
The above-mentioned are some common trends that turn out to be effective for organizations to boost employee engagement. Keeping these in mind while creating an employee development plan can help companies to gain better results. Simultaneously organizations must prioritize offering work-life balance, equality, hybrid communication, and physical and mental well-being to ensure employee engagement to the fullest.
