right now. What is common among us all at this very point in time, is the need to keep our Team Members motivated and engaged, no matter where we are, as our businesses continue to navigate a fierce and unpredictable storm. Many workplaces the world over, have learnt the hard way when it comes to keeping employees motivated and engaged through the various stages of business operations. When businesses had to cease guest facing operations for a period of weeks or in some cases months, some companies simply didn’t have a plan for keeping their employees at home, engaged and informed. In these cases, employee morale, mental health and continued employee engagement has been impacted. Yet those companies that maintained contact, kept employees in the loop regarding what’s going on, and strategically ‘cared’ by keeping employees engaged in creative ways, now reap the benefits of such strategies, with resilience to the changes, loyalty, guest smiles, healthy workplace relationship and enthusiasm to get back in and do whatever is needed to get back on top again. Business continuity is important especially during times of crisis. Losing good people is a high cost to the business. Losing good people from the operations, stops the business from growing and improving. Losing good people from the business doesn’t look good. With each person that departs the business, the business depletes the knowledge, skill and experience it worked so hard to build up.
Communicate Connect Care Shaun McKeogh suggests strategies to motivate and engage employees through these challenging times
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ho could have predicted this time last year, that 2020 was going to be the catalyst for so much change around the world, impacting family, business and culture the way it has? The way we do things, the way we engage with people, and the way we conduct business, has certainly been forced upon us. The attractions and leisure industry have certainly suffered a huge set back, but as always, demonstrates patience, nimbleness, creativity and adaptability to get back to the serious business of selling tickets to fun. It is difficult to summarise where we are right now, as no matter where you are in the Asia Pacific Region, we can guarantee that your attractions specific situation, your challenges, your restrictions, and your state of operations will be very different from an attraction in another part of the Asia Pacific Region. We may have suddenly closed our operations, had to make staffing cutbacks, reopened with new standard operating procedures and capacity limits, and possibly your operation may have closed again or alternatively is booming with domestic guests hungry to escape from the reality of a changing world for just a day. All our circumstances are unique and challenging
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Communicate It is a fact, that rumors fester and grow out of control when no information is communicated. Unaddressed rumors can be toxic to employee engagement. Keep someone in the dark and things are bound to go wrong. Turn the light on, show people the way, be transparent, keep people well informed, and listen to their needs, and respond appropriately to them, is excellence in communication. Employees become more fully engaged when communication is strong, honest and two-way. Many smart attractions developed a communication strategic plan focused on keeping employees in the loop during closure of operations. Some already had strong communication platforms such as ‘Team Member Newsletters’, ‘SMS Messaging Services’, ‘Organisational Intranets’, ‘Online Group Chats’, ‘What’s App’, ‘Wechat’ and ‘Facebook’ Team Member communications. In these instances, Team Members have really appreciated being kept in the loop and feel more connected to the business. Connect Employees, want to work for organisations that create connections. Leaders that develop a workplace environment, protocols and initiatives to help their teams to be more connected with all of these, will be well on the way to getting it right. This can be achieved through intentional workplace practices and planning that enable employees to be more connected. Numerous attractions responded and created ‘Digital Chatrooms’ for Team Members. A private place in the digital space, for Team Members no matter where they were situated in the lock downs, to post pics, messages and engage in work related and colleague related conversations to keep them connected, and in doing so, building stronger employee engagement.
