Employee Engagement Promoting Company Culture

Kim Zubrickas, Vice President Human Resources, Carl Buddig and Company

Every company  has a different  view of employee  engagement. It  is a very broad term that  encompasses many ways  to engage with employees.  Employee engagement isn’t  just pizza parties and swag  giveaways. Those types of  events are more appreciated and  even though appreciation is part  of the engagement. Employee  engagement is so much more toemployees than we think. It’s  about connecting employees  to the culture, which is created  by the mission, vision, and  values the organization has  established. It helps to create a  more meaningful environment.  Employees who are connected  to the company feel inspired  and engaged. Our employee  engagement department focuses  on recruiting, orientation,  onboarding, communications,  training, and employee events. Engagement with candidates who wish  to become an employee starts at the  recruiting stage. Recruiting is the first  introduction to any company. 

First impressions for all new  employees are vital. Onboarding provides  a first impression of the organization.  The first day of employment and the  upcoming weeks will set the tone for  how an employee views the company and  their position. It will make or break their  future with the company. Onboarding is  a great time to introduce the company’s  culture and mission, vision, and values.  The onboarding process should not  stop at Human Resources, it should  continue with the manager. Ideally, their  manager should schedule meetings and  lunches with peers, colleagues, and other  important company employees to assist  with the acclimation period. This will  continue to keep them motivated and  engaged during their first few weeks and  make them feel like a valued member of  the team. 

Training is a very important way to  engage with your employees. Many of the  reasons employees seek new employment  opportunities are because they don’t feel  invested in them or there are no growth  opportunities within the company. Focus  on building and cultivating relationships  where employees will talk to youabout their career and development  goals. Encourage higher education or  other types of training that show your  commitment to them. This will build a lot  of trust and loyalty. 

One of the major topics in the  workplace and the employee engagement  space is healthy to work habits. There  are many ways that companies can help  employees foster healthy work habits.  Companies can encourage taking breaks  when needed, ensure that the space the  employee is working in is comfortable,  provide flexible work schedules or hybrid  options, wellness weeks, employeeassistance programs, and more. All  these options will show employees that  you care.

“Engagement should be woven into the cloth of every organization and become part of the culture”

Today employees are looking to  give back and they like to do so by  volunteering. They like the idea of  building stronger relationships within  the community and they like taking  action for a meaningful cause. This  is a great way to get a team of people  together to build strong relationships  in and out of the workplace. 

Employees want to do their  jobs efficiently. Make sure they have  the right tools and the right access  and training to processes, policies,  and procedures. Making sure that  they know how to find what they  are looking for to do their job  will avoid causing the employee  unnecessary stress. When employees  find meaning in their work they are  more productive, committed, happy,  and engaged. They are motivated by  much more than a paycheck. They  want their contribution to benefit the  organization. 

If you are uncertain about your  culture or if it needs to be improved,  you can conduct an employee  engagement survey. This survey is a  set of questions created by the survey  provider designed to obtain the climate  of the culture. The goal is to determine  how engaged your workforce is or  is not. The outcome will help you  determine what steps are needed and  you can create an action plan to target  employee feedback. Remember always  share the survey feedback and action  plan with employees so that they feel  heard through the survey. They want  to be sure that the survey will be used  to make a positive impact or address  the concerns that were provided. 

Engagement should be woven into  the cloth of every organization and  become part of the culture.  Employees who are happy thrive, they  are loyal, positive, motivated, and have  a positive effect on your business  outcomes.