by Jim Taylor | Jan 16, 2024 | Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership
In 2023, the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, sounded an alarm about a workplace loneliness epidemic affecting mental and physical health. As we stand on the brink of the new year, the emphasis on synergy has never been more critical.
What is synergy? Synergy is the collaborative melding of minds toward a shared goal. This can be challenging amid rising employee loneliness. With uncertainties about remote work stability, return to the office, and labor pool dynamics, leaders should prioritize synergy.
Whether your team continues working remotely, shifts to a hybrid model, or returns to in-person arrangements, it’s essential to have a strong plan to boost collaboration and connection. This robust strategy is crucial for reaching organizational goals in the upcoming year.
The workplace landscape is evolving, and adaptation is critical. Change is inevitable, and acknowledging and embracing these shifts is crucial as we step into the new year. Leaders need to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Building Synergy in the Workplace: Strategies for Effective Team Collaboration
Creating synergy is no easy feat. To achieve synergy, teams must collaborate effectively. It involves aligning diverse personalities, skills, and people across different places. It’s not just about working together but understanding each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and unique perspectives.
Encouraging open communication and creating a culture of mutual respect lays the foundation for a collaborative environment. With the right approach and intention, achieving synergy and teamwork becomes possible. This is regardless of your team’s composition.
Remote Work Realities
Remote work has become a significant part of our professional lives. Although it offers multiple benefits, it brings its own set of challenges.
For example, loneliness can be pervasive among remote workers. Effective communication is the backbone of synergy in the workplace.
Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities
To foster synergy, organizations must address this issue head-on. Leaders need to prioritize transparent and open communication channels. Introduce virtual team-building activities. Consistently stay in touch. That can help overcome the challenges posed by physical distance.
Regular check-ins and team meetings foster a culture that values feedback. It contributes to an atmosphere where ideas can easily circulate. Here, everyone’s voice is acknowledged.
By incorporating these practices, teams can strengthen their bonds. They can enhance collaboration, even when separated by geographical distances. This not only enhances collaboration but also strengthens team bonds.
Innovative Tools and Technologies
In the tech-driven world, leveraging tools and technologies is essential for effective collaboration. Tools, such as project management platforms and virtual meeting software, play a crucial role in simplifying communication. They can make collaboration smoother within the workplace.
By incorporating these technologies, companies can create an environment where teams can work together more efficiently. They can ensure that tasks are organized and communication is streamlined. Collaborative efforts will also be enhanced.
Investing in tools improves productivity and contributes to a more cohesive and effective working environment. These innovations create synergy in the workplace. They empower teams to work seamlessly, regardless of their physical location.
Cultivating Synergy in the Workplace: Keys to Employee Engagement
Work culture significantly influences team synergy. A positive and inclusive culture fosters employee engagement, leading to better collaboration. Encourage a sense of belonging by recognizing achievements, promoting diversity, and creating a work environment where everyone feels valued. When employees are happy and engaged, synergy naturally follows.
Key Takeaways for 2024
As we embark on the journey into 2024, it’s crucial to distill the key insights for creating workplace synergy:
- Embrace change and adapt to the evolving workplace landscape.
- Foster effective team collaboration by understanding individual strengths and weaknesses.
- Address the challenges of remote work, prioritizing communication and team-building.
- Enhance communication channels to create a transparent and open dialogue.
- Leverage innovative tools and technologies to empower team collaboration.
- Cultivate a positive work culture that promotes employee engagement.
In the coming year, leaders who prioritize synergy will not only navigate uncertainties but also lead their teams to success. As we focus on creating a collaborative and connected workplace, the dividends in employee satisfaction and organizational achievements will undoubtedly be significant. Here’s to 2024!
by Jim Taylor | Oct 9, 2023 | Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention
Employee morale plays a pivotal role in shaping the dynamics and outcomes of a workplace. Simply put, when employees are content and motivated, they tend to be more engaged, creative, and productive.
Conversely, a dip in morale can lead to disengagement, increased absenteeism, and a higher turnover rate. All of which can spell trouble for an organization’s success.
Therefore, employers need to gauge and grasp the morale of their employees to foster a positive and thriving work atmosphere.
Chicago-based company, Launchways, has delved into the importance of measuring morale in the workplace. We offer this insight.
Why Measure Employee Morale?
Employee engagement is essential for a company’s success. To effectively attract and retain top talent, organizations should begin by assessing whether their current employees are happy. That helps employers know how to keep valuable employees.
Workplace morale affects the following:
- Productivity and Performance: When employees are satisfied and motivated, they are more inclined to invest their best efforts and produce high-quality work.
- Employee Retention: Employees who find content at work are less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.
- Engagement and Innovation: A positive work environment nurtures a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
Measuring Employee Engagement
To gauge employee satisfaction, many employers continue to rely on employee engagement surveys. But lately, employee engagement has been at its lowest point in nearly ten years. Employers start to wonder if the usual surveys really show what employees think.
Instead of using the same old surveys, employers should think about new ways to see how engaged employees are. It’s also important to improve the surveys to make sure they show how employees truly feel. Here are a few ideas that can help employers better understand employee engagement.
Updating Employee Engagement Surveys
When done properly, regular employee surveys can still effectively measure employee engagement. A few factors to consider for updating your surveys:
- Keep surveys short and timely. Send short 3-5 question polls for specific activities or occurrences. Reserve long surveys for annual or bi-annual reviews.
- Be concise and clear about what you are asking. Simple questions often get the best answers.
- Invite feedback and suggestions. Leaving an open-ended feedback section allows employees to provide additional information. This ensures they feel heard.
Although surveys are probably the most popular method for measuring employee satisfaction, they aren’t the only one. To get a holistic view of engagement in your organization, consider including the following options.
One-on-One Meetings
Many workers don’t feel heard when they only have a few pre-written multiple-choice answers to choose from. Conducting one-on-one interviews with employees offers valuable insights into their morale. Such interviews provide employees with a confidential space to express their concerns and emotions.
Companies should provide managers with the proper training to lead these meetings in a way that ensures employees feel heard and respected.
Company Forum or Chat Channel
Creating a “forum” where employees can discuss current business issues may promote broader discussions. This form of communication allows employers and HR leaders to identify current problems. They can use that information to initiate real conversations to work toward real solutions.
Tracking Metrics
Tracking employee behavior over time can serve as an indicator of morale. Consider monitoring the following and investigating their root causes.
- Employee Turnover Rates
- Absenteeism and Sick Leave
- Performance Metrics
Identifying patterns can help organizations unearth and address underlying issues.
The Takeaway
Today’s employees know what their priorities are. By measuring employee engagement and morale, employers can improve their ability to attract and retain talent. This enhances the company culture and creates an environment where workers feel valued.
This, in turn, benefits not only employees but also the organization as a whole. In the grand scheme of things, the question “Are your employees happy?” should invariably top the priority list of every organization wishing to create a thriving and productive workplace. For more insight, check out Employer/Employee Relations: Who’s in Control?
by Christine Lewis | Feb 27, 2019 | Employee Engagement, Human Resources
Whether you are looking to solve a retention problem or just
want to pump up your already effective team, do not pass up the opportunity to
show your employees what they mean to you on National Employee Appreciation
Day, March 1st. There are many ways to make your team members feel genuinely
appreciated, both on the day itself and through the rest of the year.
In this article we will explore why employee appreciation is
important and how you can make the most of Employee Appreciation Day this year,
as well as ideas you can implement for next year:
- Why You Should Celebrate Employee Appreciation
Day
- Think Outside of the Box
- Follow Your Culture
- Think Long Term
- Pitfalls to Avoid
Why You Should Celebrate
Employee Appreciation Day
Your employees are what makes your company run; they are
ultimately responsible for every success, every goal accomplished and every
product or service. That’s something that is worth some appreciation. Beyond
deserving it, your employees also need recognition in order to perform at their
best so that you can achieve future successes. No one likes to feel like they
are a cog in a machine, being used for their labor and not appreciated for the
contributions that they are making. Even simple gestures can make a huge
difference in employee satisfaction, performance, and retention.
The fact of the matter is that about half of all employees would
leave their jobs for a company that gives employees more recognition for
their accomplishments, while eight out of ten employees say that being
recognized motivates them at their jobs.
At a time in which companies are struggling to provide
meaningful work and retain top talent, showing appreciation can be a cheap and
rewarding path to a more effective, sustainable team. That is why you should
use this National Employee Appreciation Day as an opportunity to take concrete
steps to building a happier more effective workforce. But how should you go
about showing your employees that you appreciate them?
Get Creative and Personal
Especially since March 1st is rapidly
approaching, do not be afraid to get a bit creative with your celebrations. You
do not have to do anything too major or complicated to celebrate National
Employee Appreciation Day, so long as it seems genuine and personal. Office
pizza is always nice, but it doesn’t really show that you care. At the risk of
sounding seriously cheesy (no pun intended), you want to fill your employees’
hearts and not just their stomachs. But don’t be too serious – the more fun you
have planning the celebrations, the more enjoyable and rewarding they will be
for your employees.
Your employees will feel significantly more appreciated and
valued the more personal and unexpected your methods are. If they are surprised
by the celebrations, your message will seem much more genuine. And the more
directly the appreciation comes from the company leadership or employees’
managers, the more heartfelt and effective it will be. You shouldn’t just
implement an idea that you find online in this or any other article – take time
to make it your own and your employees will appreciate the extra effort.
Also get personal when it comes to your employees; if your
team is small enough, tailor your messages, programming, and giveaways to
individual team members’ interests. If you are a larger company, get managers
involved so that they can come up with special ways to celebrate their teams.
Time might be short for this year, but even just getting managers to write a
personalized note to each of their team members, and letting managers choose
their team’s treat and activity for March 1st, is a quick and easy
way to make your employees feel truly appreciated.
Above all, remember that there is no right answer so feel
free to celebrate your employees in the way that works best for your company.
Just make sure that you come across as genuine, and that your celebrations are
in line with your company’s values.
Follow Your Culture
Speaking of company values, the best way to make sure that
your appreciation comes across as genuine is to express it in a way that aligns
with your company culture, mission, and vision. Sending a message that
conflicts with your company culture would be jarring and dishearten rather than
engage your employees.
The reason why you should follow your company culture is
that you will reinforce what already makes employees dedicated to their jobs.
If your employees buy into your company culture, then that means that they
share your values and care about their work largely because of the company’s
mission and vision. Celebrating those values when showing your appreciation for
your employees will create a grounded, consistent message that makes your
employees more confident in their choice to work at your company.
Similarly, it is important to avoid showing your
appreciation by just making your employees work less, or in any other way that
downplays the importance of what the company is doing. You want the focus to be
on the good work that your employees do, and your appreciation for that work,
not on making your employees happy by just giving them a break. It is important
for all companies not to downplay work on National Employee Appreciation Day. Consider
using the day to provide insight into what the company is doing, why it is
doing it, and how the team members contribute to those goals.
If, on the other hand, you have a robust company culture and
engaged workforce, your team members will already be proud of what they are
doing and will want their managers and company leadership to be proud of it
too. They will not want to work less, but be recognized for their work. Use the
Employee Appreciation Day to acknowledge and praise employee contributions
towards the company mission/vision, steps they have taken to safeguard the
company culture, and other meaningful contributions that they have made.
Think Long Term
No matter how much you celebrate your employees on March 1st,
long term engagement and satisfaction can only come from long term
appreciation. That is why you should take the opportunity to announce new
policies or programs that will engage and reward your employees year round.
If you already have a change in policies in the works that
might benefit employees, consider rolling the change out as part of the your
Employee Appreciation Day celebrations. This will help frame the policies as
being meant to benefit and reward employees. Even if you are not ready to
implement changes, consider announcing them accompanied with a rough roll-out
schedule.
Even if you do not have any changes in mind yet, consider
simple policies that you can announce on Employee Appreciation Day. Weekly
“props” at team meetings, other informal peer recognition policies, and monthly
appreciation events do not take much to set up and can be announced this year.
You can also start planning for other long term changes to introduce next
Employee Appreciation Day. Some examples of larger projects to start planning
include:
- Employee Gamification: allow team members to
earn points for various perks in exchange for accomplishments
- Competitions: reward top performing individuals
or teams for accomplishing specific goals
- New Benefits: gym memberships, zoo or museum
passes, and other quality-of-life perks
- Work Structure: introduce flexible work hours,
telecommuting options, or Summer Fridays
Avoid These Common
Pitfalls
While the best way to show your employees how much you
appreciate them depends on your company and there are no “right” answers, there
are some common mistakes that you should absolutely avoid. Two in particular
are sure to make your employees angry instead of making them feel valued:
First, don’t just send a card or email and fail to show your
appreciation in any more concrete or active way. While it is important to say
thank you, a form message from HR or the CEO never makes employees feel warm
and fuzzy about their jobs. That is not to say that you shouldn’t have the CEO
send a message about the company’s recent accomplishments and future plans, and
thanking employees for their contributions to both. Just make sure that the
content is meaningful and that it is accompanied by some form of action that
further makes your employees feel valued, listened to, and appreciated.
Second, do not roll out programs that are just obvious, and
insufficient, work incentives. Contests and gamification can be great ways to
engage your employees and reward them for hard work. Just make sure that they
are clearly intended to make employees’ jobs more fun and rewarding not to
encourage them to work harder and sacrifice more than they already are. People
can generally tell what your real motivation is so make sure that any incentive
programs come from a desire to make the company a more rewarding place to work.
Key Takeaways
National Employee Appreciation Day is your chance to have
fun, show your employees how much they mean to you, and launch programs to make
your employees feel valued year round. Get as creative and personal as you can,
emphasize your company culture, and genuinely thank your employees for their
contributions to the company mission and vision and you will reap the rewards
of employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Just remember to:
- Be creative and personal
- Align your celebrations with the company culture
- Celebrate employee accomplishments and
contributions to the company mission/vision
- Implement long-term programs to show
appreciation for your employees
And most of all, don’t forget to have fun. Share your favorite, wackiest employee appreciation ideas in the comments section below.
![A Simple Yet Effective Employee Engagement Survey You’ll Actually Use [Template]](https://bxnb95.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Employee-engagement-survey-template-1.png?time=1713997660)
by Gary Schafer | May 4, 2018 | Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Human Resources
Employee engagement is key to your employees’ morale and productivity, which has an important impact on your bottomline. Understanding what employee engagement is and how to leverage effective employee engagement surveys is a great place to get started with creating a more engaged workforce. In this post I’ll explore why employee engagement is important, then outline a highly-effective employee engagement survey template, and finally provide step-by-step instructions on how to get started with quantifying and improving your company’s employee engagement.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is the level of enthusiasm, dedication, and connection employees have to their organization and their work there. Employee engagement measures how motivated employees are to exceed performance expectations and indicates how committed employees are to staying with the organization for the long-term. Employee engagement is the direct results of company culture, management practices, and the overall work environment created.
Why is employee engagement important?
Employee engagement is important because engagement can have a big impact on your workforce’s productivity, which affects your bottomline. Several studies have correlated an engaged workforce with a multitude of business benefits. A survey of over 24,000 businesses conducted by Gallup found that companies in the top quartile of engagement average 18% higher productivity and 12% higher profitability than companies with poor engagement. An additional survey of over 600,000 employees conducted by the UK government found that companies with high employee engagement increased income by 19.2% while companies with low engagement saw revenue drop by 33% over the same period.
Research by CultureAmp also indicates that engaged employees are 20% more likely to recommend their employer on Glassdoor—a critical component to attracting top talent. Their research also showed that engaged employees are 30% less likely to be actively looking for another job.
Engaged employees:
- Have higher job satisfaction
- Are more committed to the company and its long-term goals
- Are more likely to become high-performers
- Are less likely to turnover
- Want to succeed and want the organization to succeed
- Are more willing to go the extra mile to help the company
- Support the company’s mission and believe in the vision
Companies with high rates of employee engagement enjoy results like:
- Decreased turnover rates
- Increased productivity
- Increased efficiency
- Increased profits
- Better ability to attract and retain top talent
Even with all the above benefits, many companies are not doing a great job at creating an engaged workforce. Studies by Gallup found that only 33% of employees are engaged at work. They also uncovered that organizations with a poorly engaged workforce experienced 30-50% higher turnover rates than companies with engaged employees. The good news is that there are several steps you can take to improve employee engagement at your company. This process begins will implementing highly-effective engagement surveys.
How to Get Started With Employee Engagement Surveys
Engagement surveys get a bad rap for being ineffective. This is usually because they’re too long, poorly designed, ineffectively distributed, or lack high-impact questions. However, with the right approach, engagement surveys can provide increased insight into your workforce’s engagement, productivity, and job satisfaction. Effective engagement surveys transform anecdotal employee experiences into hard data, which will allow you to strategically approach, monitor, and refine your employee engagement efforts.
Before customizing your survey questions, your first step should be to identify benchmark engagement levels. Data without the context of industry-relevant benchmarks will not provide useful insights. Because employee engagement varies widely with company industry and size, take these into account when researching benchmarks.
When designing your questions, remember there are several facets that play into an employee’s overall engagement level. These include employee opinion on management, overall work environment, relationships with coworkers, opportunities for advancement, and understanding and belief in the company mission. A good employee engagement survey should include questions that determine satisfaction in each of these areas.
Don’t forget that an employee engagement survey only matters if you plan to act on the results. In advance of conducting your survey, establish buy-in from leadership and put time on the calendar to review survey results.
Here are some key things to keep in mind when designing your employee engagement survey:
- Before designing your survey, pinpoint industry-relevant employee engagement benchmarks
- Establish buy-in from leadership before conducting an engagement survey
- Include questions that cover all facets of employee engagement
- Opinion on management
- Work environment
- Relationship with coworkers
- Job enablement
- Opportunities for advancement
- Understanding company mission
12 High-Impact Employee Engagement Survey Questions (And Why They Work)
1. On a scale of 1-10, with “1” being very unlikely and “10” being very likely, how likely are you to recommend [Company Name] as great place to work?
A Net Promoter Score is a single-digit figure that summaries a customer’s satisfaction with your company. In the context of an employee engagement survey, you can reframe this question to uncover your employee workplace satisfaction, therefore creating an “internal” net promoter score. An employee’s likelihood of promoting your company as a good place to work is a strong indicator of their overall engagement level.
2. I receive recognition for a job well done.
Receiving praise and recognition is one of the strongest influencers of workplace satisfaction and employee engagement. It’s important to help employees understand how their work impacts the rest of the organization. This question can gauge employee satisfaction with the amount and quality of recognition they receive.
3. I trust my immediate supervisor/manager.
Trust is a crucial foundation for any productive manager/employee relationship. Employees and managers don’t have to be friends—but for it to be a positive relationship there must be a basic level of trust. Employees who don’t trust their manager will struggle to perform optimally and become engaged.
4. I trust the upper management/leadership team.
Similar to the previous question, an employee’s trust in upper management is critical for an engaging work environment. A high level of trust in company leadership indicates employees believe in the leadership team’s company vision and their ability to achieve it.
5. My coworkers are committed to doing quality work.
This question indicates an employee’s perception of the overall work culture. Environments where all employees are held accountable and motivated properly are the best for employee engagement. If employees perceive that their coworkers are not being appropriately held accountable, this can create a toxic work environment. The above question will gauge your employee’s perception of the work dynamic between employees.
6. My coworkers respect each other.
This is another question to help gauge the work environment. It’s important that your team is establishing mutual respect. If your workplace is filled with gossip, harassment, or other negative sentiments it can quickly create a toxic work environment. Use this question to gauge how positive the relationships between employees are.
7. In two years, I still see myself working at [Company Name].
This question can give some insight around your employee retention rate. If employees don’t envision a future with your organization, this indicates unhappiness with the workplace environment and an absence of transparent future career opportunities.
8. [Company Name] motivates me to go above and beyond what I would in a similar role elsewhere.
This question gets at your employee motivation levels. In organizations with high employee engagement, employees are motivated to go above and beyond because they believe in the mission of the organization and understand their important part in achieving this vision. If your employees do not feel motivated to go above and beyond you should identify opportunities to increase performance.
9. I have access to the tools, resources, and training I need to do my job well.
This question gets to the heart of job enablement at your organization. The point of this question is to understand if employees believe they have the resources they need to perform their job at the highest level.
10. I understand what I need to do to be successful in my role.
This question pinpoints if your employees’ job expectations are clear. If employees have a clear understanding of their success metrics, it gives their day-to-day work direction and purpose. It also instills a feeling of upward mobility which helps keep employees on board. If employees indicate their job expectations are unclear, this can indicate a poor relationship between management and employees.
11. I believe there are good career opportunities for me at [Company Name].
This question also hones in on employee perception of future opportunities. If employees perceive good future opportunities for themselves at your company they’re more like to be high-performers and much less likely to look for another job. If employees do not believe there are good opportunities for them then there could be a lack of transparency around growth opportunities or underinvestment in employee training and development.
12. Is there we could be doing better at [Company Name]?
In an employee engagement survey it’s always important to provide an open-ended question. The point of this question is to provide employees an opportunity to give candid, anonymous feedback. While this feedback won’t be quantified, it can provide some anecdotal evidence towards areas of your engagement strategy that could be improved.
How to Use This Employee Engagement Survey Template
- Customize the questions with your company name. Also feel free to further customize the questions, omit ones that you don’t believe are relevant to your workforce, and add your own questions. Just remember to keep the survey relatively short (15 or less questions is ideal for maximum impact).
- Determine how you will distribute your survey. The easiest way to distribute an engagement survey is digitally. Google Forms or SurveyMonkey are both great options for distributing your survey and analyzing the results.
- It’s important to note that the most effective engagement surveys are completed anonymously. If the surveys are anonymous, employees are more likely to be honest and give candid feedback. No matter which platform you opt to send your survey through, make sure your survey does not require employees to entire their name or email address.
- Distribute your survey via email. Including a note from the leadership team about the purpose of the survey can help drive forward your engagement vision. Make sure to follow-up with your employees several times to remind them to complete the survey.
- After you’ve collected responses, analyze the results. Gather your leadership team to discuss the findings from your survey. Compare your engagement levels to industry benchmarks. Based off the results to specific questions, identify the biggest areas of opportunity for improvement. Create a plan of action as to how you’ll address these areas.
- Set a timeframe for when you will distribute another engagement survey to measure changes in engagement (three to six months is ideal).
Key Take-aways
As you can see, employee engagement surveys can be effective if they’re done right and include high-impact questions. Here are some key take-aways from today’s post:
- Employee engagement creates a happier, more productive workforce.
- Establish buy-in from your leadership team about the importance of employee engagement.
- Always compare your engagement data against industry benchmarks.
- Use short, high-impact surveys (and make sure they’re anonymous to receive honest feedback).
- Use the results of engagement surveys to discover areas of opportunity and create an action plan for increasing employee engagement.
Do you already use an employee engagement survey? Will you start regularly distributing and analyzing engagement surveys? How important do you think employee engagement is in the modern workplace? I’d like to hear your thoughts—drop them in the comments box below.
