In the recent past most conversations that I have been having around employee engagement & retention revolves around how to keep employees engaged during the first 60/ 90 days. More often than not Managers are very happy to blame the quality of hire and the recruitment team tends to take the beating.
Now, I am not for once saying that there isn’t a problem there. Recruitment teams definitely need to spend more time in assessing the candidates and should not be in a tearing hurry to fill the positions. Agreed but hey now these guys have already been hired so now what? Do we raise our hands up in the air and thrash recruitment or do we fold our sleeves s and say let’s do something about the people who have joined.
Based on researching a whole lot of data from several exits interviews and Early engagement surveys we have conducted there are some key elements that we have identified which will improve early engagement:
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY & BUILD TRUST WITH THE NEW HIRES
Trust is the most important factor in building relationships. It’s important to be honest with the employee about his role, salary, targets etc. Leave no chance for guesses. Having an effective communication channel and building trust will also mean that the employee will reach out to his Manager or the HR team if he has a query and that in itself will reduce discontentment to a large degree. ‘Transparency at the work place ‘is one of the most important values that employees look for in an organisation. Every manager is faced with situations where the truth is bitter, however, it’s always better to communicate this to the employees and the sooner is always better.
MAKE EMPLOYEES SEE THE BIG PICTURE
Treat employees with respect. Haven’t we heard the old adage ‘Give respect, get respect’? Employees need to be told how their contribution helps the company. Let the employee understand his /her importance and how they add value to the overall growth of the organisation.
Share organisations goals and growth plans. It saddens me immensely when Managers feel that employees won’t understand. They do and they care!
Considering that employees spell close to 10 hours a day at work it’s important they have fun at work. While data suggests that fun necessarily doesn’t make employees stay back in companies, the lack of it could make them look out. The most important part of fun activities is that it should be as sustained effort and should not lose momentum. Managers need to encourage participation and encourage employees to take time off to participate in these fun events.
RECOGNISE, MOTIVATE & INSPIRE
All employees like to be recognised. Recognition can be in the form of awards, trophies, certificates, vouchers, or even a pat on the back. The type of award is not always important; however it’s always best to appreciate the employee at the earliest .In my personal opinion appreciating an employee is best done in public. Let the rest of the team know that the employee is being appreciated and the success should be shared.
Motivation is the continuous process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish their goals. One of the most important functions of management is to create willingness amongst the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is to arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs.
True leaders will inspire employees to perform and the most reliable way to inspire is by being a perfect role model. Managers need to remember that they are being watched and employees tend to follow their leaders
SHARE THE GROWTH PLAN
Employees need to know their respective growth plans. Be honest about the time frame. Share feedback with them and let them know what they need to do to improve. Assist, mentor & Coach Employees .Employees should never feel they are doing a bring job, make it exciting for them.
Work with them to identify their career plans and help them achieve their goals. Show them that you care about them too.
I can say with reasonable confidence that you will definitely see a challenge in the way your employees feel, behave and respond if all Managers practice all of what has been mentioned above.I am sure you agree it shouldn’t be difficult.
Share with me if you think it has worked or hasn’t, I will be happy to hear from you ….
