How does your organization keep employees engaged during tough times? There's good evidence that organizations that can keep their employees engaged when the economy takes a dive are those that are most successful in the long run.
Keeping employees engaged is not the same as keeping them satisfied. Engagement drives performance - employees understand where the organization is going and how it is going to get there. They know how they fit into the organization's big picture, and what is expected of them. Unnecessary barriers that inhibit working effectively are removed. Employees are held accountable for their work, and experience the adulation of work well done, as well as the consequences when performance does not meet expectations. Feedback is timely and meaningful. Rewards are comensurate with performance and value contribution. These are the ways to engage employees. Enhanced employee engagement is a critical busienss outcome that drives organizational performance. At Knowledge Infusion, we work with organizations every day on better enabling these outcomes through people, process and technology.
What likely does not work at all, and may indeed backfire? Distributing motivational "stuff": posters, mugs, lunch bags, and other chatzkes. Have you heard of Despair, Inc.? Or "The Wailing List"? I bet your employees have. This is an organization that has made a statement parodying the motivational "stuff" industry. As you can imagine, their website becomes pretty popular in tough economic times. If you see Despair, Inc. "Demotivators" popping up around the office, that may be an indication that all is not well on the engagement front.
The good news about the drivers of employee engagement? Most of those things are behavioral - how leaders and managers do their jobs. And behavior changes don't cost a lot of dollars. Behavior changes do require concerted focus and effort, though. So here's my question: can organizations afford the costs of engagement during rough times? Or maybe the better question is: can organizations afford the costs of non-engagement? Would love to hear your thoughts...
There's no better time to put in place a systematic employee engagement program, since tough economic times have the potential to de-motivate the workforce. Bonuses and raises may get cut, your friend in the cube next door might get laid off, employee development may become viewed as a “nice to have,” and so on.
To justify investments in employee engagement, companies need only look at the bottom line. As you mention in your blog, employee engagement drives business performance. Indeed, empirical research reveals that companies with higher percentages of engaged employees have better financial performance, higher customer satisfaction, higher employee retention, and more productive employees.
The risks of ignoring employee engagement, putting it on the backburner, or not funding it adequately, are simply too high. In any economic environment.