Today, we shall be concluding our management discussion series on the topic “improving employee engagement and productivity” as we look at the management strategies and/or recommendations for leaders/managers.
These strategies and/or recommendations are captured in the acronym “SHARED VISION”
What is that? SHARED VISION can be decoded as follows:
S – Shared Responsibility.
H – Higher Opportunity for Growth, Development and Recognition.
A- Adjust your mindset. Set long-term goals.
R – Reason(s) for Preference.
E – Encouragement.
D- Deliberate Leadership
V – Viable Company Culture.
I – Institute effective communication strategy
S – Set reasonable and realizable targets.
I- Improved Employee Satisfaction
O – Ownership.
N- No Preferential Treatment.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
This involves collaboration between parties to deliver results. Managers should ensure that employees are given the required tools they need to work effectively, efficiently, and safely. Having adequate tools can make the employees be 63% more productive, 61% better able to support customers, and 52% better able to collaborate. Among other things, sharing responsibility: Increases team morale; Makes the team members feel important and appreciated; Helps employees do more and faster thereby helping the managers to focus on the big picture; Prepares successors for leadership; Contributes to the success of the entire organization and keeps the managers from spreading him/herself too thin.
HIGHER OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION
The organisation’s human resources policies must be designed in such a way as to give employees the opportunity to grow. The organisation should invest in training her employees, exceptional employees should be recognised and rewarded. Employees become loyal to an organisation that is interested in their personal development.
ADJUST YOUR MINDSET. SET LONG-TERM GOALS
Managers that are interested in improving employees’ engagement must adjust their mindsets and set long-term goals, also make sure that the goals are both clear and admirable.
REASON(S) FOR PREFERENCE
Managers are enjoined to create an enabling environment for employees to prefer to stay with the company.
ENCOURAGEMENT
Managers can encourage employees by welcoming new ideas and soliciting inputs from them.
DELIBERATE LEADERSHIP
Deliberate Leadership is about being self-aware enough that you can be purposefully wise, diplomatic, and intentional with competence. It is about embracing the values (and behaviours) of accountability, reliability, and responsibility. Deliberate Leaders lead by personally modeling the behaviours or ways of thinking that they desire while encouraging others to courageously take the initiative to be independent in their reasoning and in doing so, transfer ownership and responsibility to others. Deliberate leaders are teachers, mentors, and role models – and they accomplish the majority of their results through the power of influence, not authority.
VIABLE COMPANY CULTURE
Managers should create a culture to lead by example, make smart hires, embrace feedback, and celebrate victories.
INSTITUTE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Getting your organization to realize its full potential starts with creating a culture that encourages robust communication. Given the extended work from home and surrounding uncertainty, the right communication strategy is critical more than ever now in the times of widespread work from home. As a manager, you need to properly communicate your expectations and intentions to the team members. You need to cultivate the habit of listening (not listening to react but to respond), ask open-ended questions to elicit responses from the employees to also know their expectations and intentions (not yes or no type of question). This should also be synchronized into the organisation’s strategic moves and decision-making process.
SET REASONABLE AND REALIZABLE TARGETS
The target should be very specific enough for all to know the direction the organisation is headed. It must be measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and tangible. Also, managers must develop the parameters to regularly review the target set and make adjustments when necessary.
IMPROVED EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
Managers should offer their employees perspective and a sense of purpose. Employees should be involved in shaping the future of the organisation. This will help to develop their confidence in the future of the organization and increase their level of engagement and productivity.
OWNERSHIP
This makes sure that everyone on the team feels connected and engaged. Managers should strengthen the bonds among the employees.
NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT
It is necessary for managers to treat all employees fairly.
CONCLUSION
Employee engagement is a major challenge for many organizations. Managers should acknowledge the problem and work towards improvement in the company’s culture and processes. Engaged employees can help the organisation to achieve its mission, execute its strategy, and generate important business results. The role of managers in employee engagement is very critical as only the managers can bridge the gap between employee engagement and disengagement. Though not an easy job, there are many ways to achieve this; measures like employee perks, rewards, and recognition, etc are good, these measures help the organisation to keep the employees motivated and satisfied. Having an employee engagement platform can be a great move as such a platform helps the employer to achieve three key points:
I. Retaining skilled and experienced employees.
II. Engaging the current workforce for better efficiency, and
III. Attracting the best talents to work for the organization.
So, it’s very important for employers to understand the drivers of employee engagement and apply them accordingly because having an engaged workforce is crucial for ensuring good growth and better stability.
From next week, our discussion will centre on “MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS”.
Sunday Ade Bello, is a multi-talented, analytical and highly qualified Management Trainer, Inspired Writer, Examiner and Education Specialist. He is the CEO of WorkLife Training Professionals, Lagos. (sab@worklifeprofessionals.com)
