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Employee Engagement Ideas for Improving Workplace Culture

 ·  3 minute read

In 2019, the CONNECT2Lead Blog focused heavily on employee engagement. It's the key to success in any business initiative, so it deserved all that attention! As we wrap up the year, we're bringing you guest posts from experts in HR and related fields to share what they're saying about employee engagement, too.

Original Post by Lori Kleiman of HRTopics

Human Resources initiatives can often change as fast as you change your socks. Why? Because people change, products change, and customers change. And the impact all this change has on business can often be immediate.

HR professionals need to have a pulse on what is happening not only in the world of business but also in the field of Human Resources. So – let’s take a look at what human resource trends you need to be aware of NOW to keep your HR department running effectively.

With unemployment at a 16-year low, we can no longer expect employees to stay in a role or with an organization that is not evolving with the times.  Employees have come to expect something new, and change is quickly becoming an expected and welcomed way of life. Be sure you are keeping up with these new human resource trends in human capital engagement.

Be Team Focused

Being focused on the team is the first human resource trend you need to understand.

Today’s employees want connections. They want to be connected to their co-workers and move forward together because they view cohorts as the norm. If your operation is not team-focused, consider implementing cross-functional teams. Nothing gets a team member more excited than learning about other areas of your business.

Provide Continual Employee Feedback

When it comes to providing employee feedback, an annual review just doesn’t cut it anymore. Employees want feedback, and they want it now. That doesn’t mean you have to create a long performance management form every month.  One of my favorite suggestions is to give managers one question a month to talk to their team about. Have a 10-minute conversation about productivity, new technology they may have heard about, tools they need to do their job, or a customer that has given them trouble. All it takes is just one topic to show you care about their day-to-day and want to provide feedback on the job they’re doing is often all that is needed.

Understand Behavioral Economics

Behavioral economics is a hot topic today and a definite human resource trend to be aware of. It is the idea that by understanding how an employee takes action is critical to motivation and outcomes.

For many employees, XYZ must happen for them to feel like they have done a good job or take the actions to get a job done. Knowing and understanding these behavioral trends is just one trait of a successful HR leader.

Provide Benefits Beyond the ‘Norm’

When it comes to the benefits you offer your employees; you need to start to think outside of the box. The employee of today has expectations far beyond health insurance. A human resource trend we see many follow is offering benefits outside of what we consider the ‘norm.’

Some options to consider include:

  • programs to help employees repay student loans
  • company discounts at the local gym
  • providing time to volunteer at the non-profit of their choice.

These are benefits that will enhance employee loyalty to your organization, and they don’t have to be expensive.

Understand Unconscious Bias

Everyone has biases – there is no way around that. Instead of looking at that as a negative, learn to embrace and own the fact. Afterall, it’s how we address others and check our own behavior.

Understanding our unconscious biases is what makes the difference when it comes to how our, and others, behaviors affect the workplace. Provide training and ongoing communication on the topic to help educate employees and create a more cohesive work environment.

Go Global

Globalization is a human resource trend that we’ve seen for a while. Don’t be afraid to utilize team members that may be all over the world.

I have people on my team in India, Poland, and the Philippines, and use them as needed for special projects where their talents are the best fit.

Finding top talent from around the world is easily done. My favorite site is Upwork – check it out!

To be successful human resource leaders, we must continuously evaluate our human resources processes and human resource trends. By doing so, we can more easily identify changes in business for initiatives and programs we can embrace for our unique workplace.

Afterall, employees want an organization that is forward thinking, innovative and global. It’s not as hard to get there as you might think!

Special thanks to Lori Kleiman for authorizing PFPS to re-publish this post. To see the original post and other great content from Lori, visit HRTopics.