The post-pandemic work world is now officially in the grips of a crucible point. Companies are scrambling to make work from the office more palatable to their employees. And as expected, employees are none too happy about it. Meanwhile, employee engagement is at an all-time low and companies must find a workaround for the low productivity and lack of FTE value output.
On top of that, some media publications have raised concerns over the viability of corporate DEI initiatives. Articles like this one from the Wall Street Journal want to raise questions on the viability of DEI as a whole. Moreover, prominent business magnates and CEOs like Elon Musk have criticized DEI as well. So, if we’ve been doing it wrong and workers are disengaged, then what’s the best way to get employees back to work and keep them productive?
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The answer – equal opportunity. This refers to the chance for people of any and all education and background identities to make the most of their potential by operating from a level playing field. And it’s not just about diversity or race relations. It’s also about understanding how teams collaborate effectively and defining workspaces to suit emerging employee requirements.
With all that in mind, businesses want more productivity and competitive value while balancing benefits and perks that don’t burn a hole in their pockets or detract from organizational goals, in short, meaningful and effective employee engagement activities and programs.
But getting this delicate balance right is no pancake recipe. More like waffles you have to make with runny dough. So, here’s a well-researched and insightful exposition of employee engagement best practices from around the world to help you devise your own RTO, hybrid, or remote work plan:
5 Methods for Getting Your Cross-Team Collaboration Just Right Between RTO, Hybrid, and Remote Team Members
Employee Engagement is a trickle-down effect
Key Takeaways:
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CEOs must act as a bridge between employees and clients to deliver results from workers to stakeholders.
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C-suite executives who develop a growth mindset and motivate employees hierarchically see better performance in their organizations.
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CEOs must consider engagement as a primary imperative for creating performance value.
Employee engagement values are at an all-time low. One of the biggest reasons for that is the overuse of metrics to define outcomes. Hrs use all kinds of metrics from absenteeism to FTE values and employee performance index. However, these do not reflect the true value of a workforce, which is better understood through people analytics. These metrics consider employee connections, workforce engagement, changemakers, and other crucial human metrics that define performance more accurately.
Using these metrics, CEOs can develop a better sense of cross-team collaboration and how to make it better. Developing intra-organizational integrity, breaking departmental silos, and creating chances for robust networking and innovation are some ways to grow organizational networks. These help in creating a more dynamic and integrative work culture that results in higher performance output.
Leadership is a Communications Strategy
Key Takeaways:
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CEO must develop a percolative communications strategy that clearly defines goals and enables all subsequent activity.
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Effective comms from leaders, especially visible and accessible ones produce a considerably positive impact on employees at all levels.
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Effective leader communication also helps in translating employee experience into customer experience and makes members a direct part of the brand story
The role of the CEO has evolved a lot within a short time. Now, they are expected to be both leaders as well as spokespersons. Liaising with stakeholders, developing employee morale and policies, and generating mid-line performance consistency are some of the many things they must do. The central element in all of these is the ability to create and deploy strategic communications. Creating value across the supply chain or service chain demands developing an effective brand communications strategy and the CEO must work with CMO for this broad organizational approach.
Taking a cue from this McKinsey article, CEOs need to consider 4 factors that the consultancy calls EDGE. This acronym stands for expanded, distinctive, growth-oriented, and engagement. The key to using this formula is to create latticed value chains that feed into one another. The driving mechanism for this is the communication and work collaboration toolbox that the CEOs choose to implement. Utilizing high-fidelity language mediated through ideologically-aligned managers enables the best interpretation of this process.
5 Ways to Make Solid Leadership Communications for Employee engagement and Cross Team Collaboration
Perks Don’t Mean Team Productivity
Key Takeaways:
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A lot of businesses invest in benefits and perks to woo employees into recruitment and even continue them after hiring but they don’t really add value to the business process.
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Companies should consider benefits and perks as accessories to their existing cross-team collaboration policies and employee engagement activities.
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Studies show that strong employee engagement with regular anchor meetings and impromptu conversations like virtual coffee chats produce the strongest team bonds and productivity.
Building on the effective leadership defined by the communication approach, creating employee engagement demands a furthering of business prospects. Many businesses fail to recognize and appreciate the value added by individual team members. And while perks and benefits in lieu of awards and recognition have become the norm, they do not translate to exact career advancement. In a recent article by CEO Magazine, the answer lies in selective benefits and company goal-centric endorsements. The author recommends CEOs,
Select the perks and benefits that are of actual value to your employees and get rid of the token gestures. Ensure the benefits work for your organization, fit your culture, and serve your customers. Own them. Then, put in place the right structures to support your employees and business.
Creating the leadership value deploys a business culture that thrives based on effective communication. Perks and benefits only feature as a partial motivation. It’s the company and work culture that motivates people and creates successful employee engagement values for cross-team collaboration.
It’s About Holistic Employee Wellbeing: Physical, Mental & Financial
Key Takeaways:
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Employees like having flexibility but they want career growth and safety more.
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Personal finance, career growth support, and a strong culture attract employees the most.
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Parenting support and policies enabling a good work-life balance come in second to the above
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about what really drives employee motivation upwards and delivers successive value to businesses. And despite all the talk, the verdict is still out on what actually works. The truth is that while employees now want more work flexibility and perks, they still hold true to the foundations for employment. That is they want financial stability and a healthy work-life balance. Companies that invest in this are likely to discover that their employees are able to perform up to expectations most of the time.
Of course, adding perks and benefits helps in many cases, but the real benefit lies in creative sustainable employment plans such that continuous employment is a guarantee. Companies ought to look towards building mentorship benefit programs such that they enable employees to seek higher positions and deliver greater work output. Here’s some data from this Fortune magazine article that perfectly encapsulates the idea:
When it comes to the kind of support they would like to see from employers, around 47% of U.S. workers say they want to help grow their savings and wealth, according to the report. That’s followed by 35% who want help getting the most out of the benefits they already have, 33% who would like access to money in an emergency, and 21% who want help managing debt. Around 21% want financial insurance, and 11% want help managing student loans.
Cross-team collaboration and employee engagement are best done through a single unified interface
Tech Up with Cross-Team Collaboration Tools
Key Takeaways:
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Digital collaboration tools and employee engagement activities enable strong team and cross-team collaboration
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Apps like LEAD.bot offer multiple employee growth options like virtual coffee chat, AI-supported mentorships, customized new hire onboarding, etc.
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The cumulative development of cross-team collaboration helps create a progressive and high-performance work culture.
Cross-team collaboration is the need of the hour for every business. Most companies have some workers working hybrid while others have them entirely on as remote workers. In all such cases, companies need the right cross-team collaboration software to make things work for them. And they can use the same software for employee engagement with add-on apps like LEAD.bot as well.
This is the right call because it blends in organic employee engagement while not obstructing the flow of work. For example, for new hire onboarding, companies can use 5-minute icebreakers during virtual coffee chats. This is a great way to introduce new hires to team members both on-site and remotely. Further, it helps in creating a healthy work environment where communication and collaboration remain a top priority. Managers also have the option of generating consensus through feedback pools built into LEAD.bot. This helps them in understanding how their subordinates are doing and how to better their employee engagement activities.
Are You Doing Your Company’s Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is a make-or-break topic for CEOs and mid-line managers alike. It demands creating a robust work culture that absorbs the best ways to work in all kinds of settings from in-office to remote. Finding the right mix also demands tech-ing up the right way and ensuring that things align well. This is where you need dedicated employee engagement tools like LEAD.bot!
LEAD.bot is a team engagement platform available on Slack and Teams. It is an all-in-one team development software with features like virtual coffee chats, buddy programs, birthday celebrations & work anniversary celebrations, new hire onboarding programs, and Pulse Surveys.
LEAD.bot also offers cutting-edge Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) for big enterprises and institutions. Executive to mid-level managers use ONA to gain highly actionable insights and build strong workplace connections. Using this app enables developing innovative employee engagement ideas to connect employees and foster better organizational health, employee retention, and overall performance with this simple app!
LEAD.bot is a product of LEAD.app and we also LEAD.bot’s sister app Sunrize which showcases workplace attendance by graphs right on Slack! Book a demo now!
