Employee engagement in the new normal

Have you lost a good employee and ever wondered what you could have differently this time to prevent it? You will find tons of information on best practices in recruitment and hiring, however extraordinarily little information is available on how to hold onto the most important asset of your business for decades.

Driving employee engagement and motivation are one of the key focus areas for HR in 2021. With the new normal and UK announcing new lockdown on 05 Jan 2021, employee engagement may drop further affecting the overall organisational productivity. Keeping employee engaged and motivated while 90% of the workforce continue to work from home requires a new level of understanding.

Consistent communication, information sharing and effective knowledge sharing practices have become critical for employee engagement and employee motivation. Knowledge has become more significant than brick and mortar in the new normal. Employee motivation models build around rewards, fear of punishment and money are falling like house of cards. Such models built around ‘carrot and the sticks’’ needs to be replaced with skills development, empowerment, and progression to meaningful outcomes. Line managers will have to stop delegating and instead should empower them to make decisions within defined boundaries with proper training and resources at disposal.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the sum of extent to which people value, enjoy and believe in what they do at work. To some it is a kind of psychological presence, whereas some describe it as attention and absorption at work. Characters which define employee engagement are vigor, absorption and dedication. It is also sometimes defined as state of mind where employees are emotionally and intellectually committed to work.

What are the benefits of employee engagement?

• Energetic and resilient employees
• Mind. Heart and soul at work
• Strong work involvement
• Sense of significance and accomplishment

How to keep employees engaged in the new normal?

Employee engagement is driven by autonomy, purpose, care, and mastery rather than money. People feel engaged when they know that the job serves purpose and meaning, which offers accomplishment and empowerment. The absence of authority and accountability can be fatal, often leading to abuse of power. Also, positive, and healthy relationships (interpersonal harmony) with colleagues, customers, and line managers are quite critical for engaging people at work. It will help people perform above and beyond.

Covid-19 has changed a lot of permutation and combinations at work. Business models are either at risk, has failed or changed. To achieve employee engagement - employers need to engage the physical, spiritual and mental self of every employee. Questions which HR needs to address today.

• How do you develop competency in the new normal, which is aligned with the new business model?
• How do you increase employee loyalty once the furlough scheme will come to an end in April 2021?
• Is your learning and development aligned with the employee career plan?
• Diversity – If you have not given it a thought, it is critical that you think and plan now.
• Behavioural and cultural changes – how they reflect on the agile ways of working?