Say, Stay, Strive.
This is the basic engaged-employee framework you need to observe in the organization. With the end of pandemic still not in sight, employers are in a constant challenge of engaging workers. Especially now that face to face interactions were limited and virtual work settings were brought to spotlight. New set of factors can easily alter employee morale or their outlook, attitude, satisfaction, and confidence towards work.

Adapting to the new normal is like a long-distance relationship where the strategy is to keep the spark alive in the workplace.

Try to weigh whether your employees are still engaged based on this framework:

SAY: How would your workers respond when asked by people about their work?

The answer can be two things: a positive or negative statement. If workers enjoy their work, they tend to say good things and recommend the company to potential employees and customers. Otherwise, you would expect a one star review in different job-seeking sites, or worse, social media platforms. There are a lot of attributes that can be shared – from management styles to facilities. Once disclosed, your company’s corporate image and success might be at stake.

STAY: The ability of the company to retain employees.

Employees come and go but not in an organization that gives them reasons not to leave. In most studies, a worker is likely to stay when they have intense sense of belonging and desire to be part of the organization. Other than the monetary aspect, they are likely to stay when their emotional aspects are also taken care of.

STRIVE: The effort exerted to achieve success in job and for the company.

A well-engaged employee is motivated to do their best work every day. They are becoming proactive and would suggest solutions. This signifies their genuine care to the organization as they are driven towards a shared purpose or goal.

If your company deals with (1) bad publicity, (2) low retention rate, and (3) a worrying rate of productivity, this is a sign for you to modify your engagement strategies.

Here are some of the aspects you might want to check:

• The organization and the nature of work. When a potential employee applies, the first thing they will do is research about the organization. Afterwards, they are to learn the difficulty and amount of workload expected of them to perform. Make sure that your company policies or systems are responsive enough to the changing environment. For example, “How did your company respond to the Covid-19 pandemic?”

• Personal perception and attributes of the worker. Do not expect each employee to immediately embrace the system. Sometimes, it is also important to cater their personal preferences for their mental and physical health. During the interview or job offer, make sure that they find their compensation and benefits package and work arrangement as fair or satisfactory. In the long run, keep your mind and ears open to hear them out.

• The level of supervision and feedback. The organizational structure is not there for display. Keep your workers feel involved by giving them the right amount of supervision and independence personally or virtually. Provide constructive feedback to their performance for them to know in what aspect they should improve. An employee will easily lose motivation when efforts are ignored or not appreciated.

• Work-life balance. Remember that your employees are not robots to think of work at all times. They must be given a chance to experience life once in a while. It may be a trip to the spa to pamper themselves or a simple makeover with their work-from-home setup. By doing so, the company will have less stress, lower-risk of burnout and a greater sense of well-being among its employees.

The above factors will surely change what your employees say about work, give them reasons to stay as well as strive to achieve personal and company’s growth.

To sum up, the pandemic is only another wall to overcome. With the 3S engaged-employee framework, traversing through it will be a cinch. No employee shall be left behind.

Remember,

Engaged employees are committed to their organizations and give crucial competitive advantages.

Don’t hesitate to share with us the result after following the framework.
That is all for now. Back to work!