What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
People Lab is an Employee Engagement Consultancy, delivering to clients worldwide. We believe that happy people make workplaces better for everyone – employees, customers, businesses and society. Fancy a chat about employee engagement? Call Emma today on 07595465515, or send your messages to info@peoplelab.co.uk.
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Contents Introduction from People Lab Stop Talking, Start Listening Involve Me Give Me an Inspiring Leader Encourage happiness, fun & passion Encourage Trust & Honesty Have a good strategy & plan in place People Lab’s #toptips for engaging employees Contributors
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What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Hello! Here at People Lab, we're passionate about employee engagement: we believe that engaged, positive, happy people make workplaces better for everyone. We're always curious to find out what others are doing in this area - we know what works for us, but we also know that there is some great practice out there. We launched our "#toptips on employee engagement project to tap into best practice, and share the findings. When we asked people what their #toptip for engaging employees was, the response was fantastic. People from all over the world sent their tips our way, and gave us a really amazing selection to choose from. Thanks for downloading our ebook – happy reading! Thanks, Emma, Hayley & the People Lab team
Stop Talking, Start Listening
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Stop telling them what to do. Listen instead to what they need.
Peter A Hunter, Owner, Hunter Business Consultancies Ltd.
While listening, remember not all needs are commonly articulated, and some might not be openly discussed at work - you'll need a framework for understanding these. Piers Bishop, Director at howtomotivateateam.com
Real engagement is never all mouth and no trousers. Telling people something is great for them does not make it so. The alternative to this phrase, depending on your preference, is 'real engagement is never fur coat and no knickers'. Camilla West
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One word – listen.
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What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Catherine Ann Reid, Marketing communications specialist
My top tip is to stop talking about engagement and start creating a work environment that people really want to be part of. Edith Wilkinson, Head of Corporate Centre Communications at HM Revenue & Customs
Listen to what employees have to say and act upon that where you can. If you sit in a central function never assume you know more than people in the field and the regions - you don't. So ask them, get them involved, tell them what you'll do with their feedback and tell them when you have acted on the feedback - keep them involved throughout the whole communications cycle. Terri Wade, Freelance Communications Specialist (currently IC Consultant at RSA)
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Taking time to listen to staff and communicating, whilst demonstrating high quality leadership and managerial abilities. Jane Meek, Directorate Manager Cardiac Services, Lancashire Cardiac Centre
Rather than spending its time trying to control employees with goals, targets, orders, bureaucracy, and the like thus disengaging them, management listens to whatever employees have to say. Management does this often enough to more than satisfy the employee's need to be heard. Management then responds to what was said in a timely and respectful manner to the satisfaction of the employee or better thus satisfying the employee's need to be respected. Once employees realize this will always be done, they realize that they can influence everything in the workplace. This ability to influence everything begets a sense of ownership - that this is their workplace just as much as it is anyone's. In the same way, a sense of ownership begets commitment. This process will also satisfy the employee's needs to have competence, autonomy, and relatedness and with all needs satisfied, they will choose to become engaged. Ben Simonton, Leadership Coach/Advisor
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Vajramudita Armstrong, Leadership Coach & Mindfulness Trainer
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Take an interest in your employees, and listen to what's important to them.
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Consider the other person’s perspective. Two ears and one mouth - so use them proportionately i.e. listen rather than talk. The effectiveness of a communication is the result that you get (from it). Say thank you – and mean it! Roger Langford, Account Director at The National Skills Academy Process Industries
I do know for certain that communication is only effective when it is two way. Engagement therefore has a lot to do with having listened first and understood before engaging others. This is very close to Steven Covey’s ’Seek first to understand then to be understood’. It also links with some wise words which I heard attributed to Carl Rogers: “If I can listen to what he says to me; if I can understand the meaning it has for him; if I can sense the emotional pull it has for him – then I can release powerful forces of change…in him” Malcolm Evans, MaST International Group Limited
Involve Me
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Our #toptip is involvement! Pablo Lacasia, Internal Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility Regional Manager at Grupo ASSA
I have found that setting goals and solving problems collaboratively with all employees, rather than just at the management level, helps engage staff. Micah Killough, Inspirational Leader & Team Builder
Ask employees what they need to be more involved and engaged with the business, and then provide that. Graham Frost, Guru Group Member at Engage for Success
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Our latest #toptip is to have a weekly knowledge hour out of the office (usually a cafe) but in summer a central city park on a topic chosen by our employees who take turns to choose an area they want to develop. Michaela Drum, Managing Director at Added Insight Ltd
Nidhi In, HR Analyst at Sandvik
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Informed & involved employees are engaged employees.
Stop pushing - start pulling. Push communication is losing (has lost) effectiveness. Ask employees what they want to know more about, from whom, how often and how they want to receive it. Then it's much more likely to be read. Rob Drasin ,President, Trident Communications,
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Be inclusive in your philosophy, approach and communications and give employees ownership of the outcomes.
Aniisu K Verghese, India Internal Communications Lead at Sapient
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Make them proud! We always share major milestones with our colleagues - new products, innovation, what we're doing in the community, what we're doing to make a difference through CSR, when our colleagues and company have been recognized for the great work we're doing. Create engagement experiences. A big part of engagement is allowing our colleagues to experience our products. Our stores, offices and distribution centres are encouraged help our people taste and experience our products before and when they come to market. That also allows them to promote the products they love to their friends and family. We also see incredible engagement when they can work together for a great cause. Let employees tell the stories. My favourite section of our newsletter is a section called "For the love of it." It allows our colleagues to tell us their stories from the field. At first, we weren't sure if they would send in their stories, but now we usually have a two page spread full of the great things our colleagues are doing across the country - displays they've built, what they are doing in the community, great stories of above and beyond behaviour. It's inspiring. Â Priya Bates, ABC, MC, Senior Director, Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies
Give me an inspiring leader
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
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Managers are the tie that binds an employee to the organization and in that relationship they want to be doing the work they love; working with and for whom they can respect; know the work is meaningful to the overall good and the team/ organization is successful.
Dyan Connolly, SPHR, CCP, Sr. Global HR/Talent Management/ Engagement Leader
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
I’d really want to say something on leaders setting the tone, needing to ensure that they all “walk the talk” and how you should try, from the outset to build something that is sustainable and has a shelf life beyond one charismatic CEO. I would say that you should always go to see colleagues in their workplace, where they actually do their work the first time you meet them and should then always offer to go to them (or better still just turn-up) in your subsequent dealings rather than requiring them to come to you. You’d think all leaders would do this but in my experience, very few do. When you’re there you should listen more than you talk, ask the questions about what’s going well, what’s the one thing they would change if they were in charge? What’s stopping them? How can you help? If you then say you’ll do something to try and help then do it. Try and get out of your work station/office as much as you can and be “on the floor” with staff and customers/clients/patients-use this experience to give staff constant feedback-focusing on the positive/ improvement wherever possible. Timetable this into your diary and make sure you stick with it.
Nick Grimshaw, Director of HR Services at Law By Design Ltd
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
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Our toptip for engaging people is to get our top leader to share his inspiring story at the end of each of the leadership development programme. We found people are much more inspired when they hear from the top leaders how they have strived and succeeded. Schlaine Wong, Head of Engagement at IJM Corporation Berhad
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What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Spend time getting to know people in your team. Some people will not share personal life things, some will over share, but being engaged with the troops at a person level, whilst keeping a professional distance will help bring a team together. When a new member of the team joins, take the time within the first couple of hours to have some quality time with them - 30 minutes face to face chat/welcome/'is everything ok?' time will pay dividends later. As a boss of a large team, make sure you understand what the most junior role does... e.g. you may be the boss of 100 people in a call centre, but if you don't know how to answer the phone and log a call, you will have no credibility... Emptying the bins if they are full shows that no job is beneath you... Yes, even if you are in your sharp suit... Andy Lever, SAP Implementation Consultant, Personal Coach, Personal Productivity
If the immediate line supervisors are not inspired and aligned, then it doesn't happen. Â Nick Terry, Cofounder, Top Banana
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
In a large and hierarchical organisation, don't try and force your messages all the way down through the organisation. Allow them to be interpreted at each level (whilst keeping the same spirit) and delivered by whoever is most trusted at that level. That way your people don't hear what your communications mean to you, they hear from someone they trust what it means to them. And those delivering your communications will be that much more bought in to delivery as they've had a say in what's being delivered. Â Antony Cousins, Change Programme Communications Manager
Stop disengaging your colleagues with management interventions dressed up as engagement programmes. Â Sean Trainor, Helping organisations engage for change
The #toptip for employee engagement is for management to lead by example, what I mean by this is to create an environment where your employees realize and respect the fact that they are stakeholders. Give them a comfortable forum to express ideas and concerns without fear of retaliation. I am not saying to let them become primary decision makers of the organization, but when an employee thinks that they don't matter they will begin to feel resentment and that is not good for any organization.
Shirley Thomas-Spence, Customer Service Professional
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Martin Stein
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My simple answer to this complex question is to see the person and not the post. Don't make attitude assumptions based in someone's position in an organisation without knowing their history. Cynicism often contains a core of constructive criticism.
e g a r u o Enc , s s e n i p hap n o i s s fun & pa
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Keep it simple and clear - be unashamedly passionate about what you're trying to achieve.
Trevor Merriden, Owner of Merriborn Media
My top tip would be to have a conversation about happiness at work - one that all employees are involved in (actively invited at least). Making happiness at work a valid and desirable organisational aim totally changes the psychology of the contract between the employer and the employee. Suddenly people's experiences at work (the good and the bad) are taken seriously - not just their performance against some KPIs. This will build long-term engagement and loyalty - particularly with the younger cohort coming into organizations this is the only way you'll keep them. Nic Marks, Founding Director, Happiness Works
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
I think adding a fun and or play dimension to the workplace would definitely boost productivity, morale, interpersonal interactions, etc... not to mention staff retention. Dave Kocinski, Senior Psychologist at ADFBFTS
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Help staff be more extraordinary. They will be happier, passionate, and there will be more positive energy in the work culture!
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Peter Horsfield Founder at www.theXtraordinary.org
I think a great way to engage people at work, is to discuss their favorite sport. We always learn from, and a common enthusiasm breaks the monotony of the environment and brings in energy. Vanshika Prahladka, Managing Director at Happiness Unlimited
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
I often find that the 'fun' element is neglected when it comes to internal communications. It may sound frivolous to some, but incorporating a bit of light relief from the daily churn often generates the best results in my experience, even more so with 'frontline' employees, i.e. those not sitting at a desk all day. Using games or competitions to communicate the strategic narrative (or similar perceived 'managementspeak) and give it a dash of colour usually means it resonates more, both contextually and over the course of time. Â Charlotte Hammerbeck, UK Communications Manager at Sodexo/GlaxoSmithKline
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
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Love: W hen people know that you care about them, they will care about you. Phil Clothier, CEO at Barrett Values Centre
My top tip for engaging people is "passion." To bring about true clinical engagement with change you really need to believe that the change you want to make is for the best, far better than the status quo and you need to be able to "sell" the change to all. I believe the best way to do this is to use passion. Angie McKeane, Associate Nurse Director, NHS
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
We have fun, learn new things about the organization, areas to focus on and how we can get better at our jobs to work towards the corporate goals! One of the activities I've led which has worked well across cultures is to organize quarterly employee engagement sessions where we feature different speakers from different parts of the organisation (more than 20,000 employees). These sessions cover quarterly results and we have interactive activities for the 200 employees present to get to know each other (typically those who have not worked with each other nor know each other before), help them understand what it means for them at the individual level and for the team. I also work with different team members so that many of the newer employees are coached into how to lead specific activities and display other skills, which they otherwise will not usually have an opportunity to. Grace Goransson
Encourage Trust & Honesty
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
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Be honest with your messaging. When dealing with adults, treat them as such with respect and honesty. And for executives, be approachable. Don't hide in your office, but instead be visible and open to discussion. Employees will be more open to messages when there is a relationship there.
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Scott Donnelly Host, Marketing, Client Support: GreenExpo365
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
My top tip for engaging employees is using communications to build trust with employees. Leaders earn that trust when employees know more about the leader as a person - the human, softer, personal side. Employees want to know what kind of people they are working for. Once they know that, the trust factor goes up. Once you have trust, people will trust both you and your decisions, your judgment. When you have Trust, you have Engagement. And when you have Engagement, you have a greater probability to positively impact the bottom line through better financial performance like margin and earnings per share. Christopher Till, Internal Communications Manager at Rockwell Automation
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Toptip 1: Trust & empower. Toptip 2: Give feedback when that goes wrong.
Karl Van Hoey, People & Organization Development Manager at Sappi Fine Paper Europe
For many years I have found that employers that have a culture that leads with open integrity and honesty in the field and the plant have little use for this type of discussion. Charlie Hunter, Charlie Hunter Associates
Have a good strategy & plan in place
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
A compelling communications plan is key. Articulate the vision and values of the organisation. Respect the past, acknowledge the challenges of today and build on the future. Ensure the vision and values are lived by being inculcated across training, performance management, rewards etc. Keep the comms plan alive. Â Paul Beesley, Senior Consultant at Beyond Theory
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
My top tip – integrated employee communications – enhancing the impact and value of messages through being more not less joined up, creating touch points in different parts of the organisation which drive engagement My favourite tip – authentic storytelling which often inspires employees and helps them better understand where the company is heading and why. Paul Tuohy , Internal communications leader at BP
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Make sure you establish the financial business case for improving employee engagement, publicise it appropriately and keep reminding yourselves of the financial impact and goals that persuaded you to embark on this never-ending journey! Phil Walker, Director at WTT Results Ltd
Implement a "long game" communications plan that facilitates employee understanding of your organization's environment and challenges. Understanding is a foundation for engagement. Martin Birt, Consultant at HRAskMe.com
Engagement is not a strategy, initiative or tactical intervention. It sits alongside core purpose and core values: it should be part of your core ideology, not an ex-works retro-fit. It is a way of being, a practical philosophy. It is mimetic, a fundamental guiding principle that informs your policies, processes, and significantly your behaviours in facilitating performance through your people (from The Engagement Manifesto). Alan Crozier, Director of The Ghost Partnership
Our # t o p t ip s f o r e n g a g in g e m p lo y e e s
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Get positive! Many organisations take a deficit approach to engagement: do the survey, look at the insight, analyse what’s wrong and formulate a plan to fix it. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but there is another way. Learn from what does work by asking different questions. Find out what was happening when people were at their most engaged. Get curious about those teams that are highly engaged. The insight is inspiring and transformative and just might surprise everyone in how simple the answers are. Emma Bridger, Director at People Lab
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Make time
Make time to listen to every voice. In those heated meetings where tensions can run high, remember that not everyone likes shouting to be heard. Make the effort to listen to the quieter voices in the room – you might be surprised by what you hear. Hayley McGarvey, Consultant at People Lab
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Thank You! A big T H A N K Y O U to all of o u r l ov e ly c o n t r i b ut o rs , wh o provided us with fantastic tips & ideas to fill our ebook with:
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What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Grace Goransson
Andy Lever
Graham Frost
Angie McKeane
Jane Meek
Aniisu K Verghese
Karl Van Hoey
Antony Cousins
Malcolm Evans
Ben Simonton
Martin Birt
Camilla West
Martin Stein
Catherine Ann Reid
Micah Killough
Charlie Hunter
Michael Koscec
Charlotte Hammerbeck
Michaela Drum
Christopher Till
Nic Marks
Dave Kocinski
Nick Grimshaw
Dyan Connolly
Nick Terry
Edith Wilkinson
Nidhi In
Alan Crozier
What’s your #toptip for engaging employees?
Pablo Lacasia
Roger Langford
Paul Beesley
Schlaine Wong
Paul Tuohy
Scott Donnelly Host
Peter A Hunter
Sean Trainor
Peter Horsfield
Shirley Thomas-Spence
Phil Clothier
Terri Wade
Phil Walker
Trevor B. Lee
Piers Bishop
Trevor Merriden
Priya Bates
Vajramudita Armstrong
Ray White
Vanshika Prahladka
Rob Drasin
I f y o u ’ v e g o t a n o t h e r t i p y o u ’ d l i k e t o s h a r e , p l e a s e T w e e t i t a t # t o p t i p s , a n d k e e p t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n g o i n g !
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© People Lab, 2013
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