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10 ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy

Posted on November 15, 2021 by

Why diversity recruiting matters

Diversity is a topic at the forefront of many human resources teams, but it’s more than just a buzzword to put on recruitment materials. Diverse teams help companies perform better, innovate, and achieve better results. Countless studies back up this strategy, but it’s not just about statistics: diversity recruiting contributes to better overall performance. With a more diverse workforce, staffers bring different perspectives and backgrounds that contribute new and more diverse ideas — which is part of why companies around the world are focusing on building and improving their diversity recruiting strategy. Building a more diverse team filled with qualified candidates of different genders, backgrounds, races, and religions is a long-overdue step toward true equality in the workforce.

What is diversity recruiting?

There’s an idea among HR professionals that the workplace should reflect the general makeup of society around it — company staffers should reflect a variety of different backgrounds, experiences, and ethnicities. There are two primary types of diversity: inherent diversity, which includes demographic factors like age, gender, and sexual orientation; and acquired diversity, which is developed over time and includes education, experience, skills, and knowledge. Diversity recruiting is the practice of hiring new employees using a process free of biases — a merit-based recruitment process that finds the best candidates while giving all applicants, regardless of background, an equal opportunity to be hired. It’s a concept made even more important with the recent transition to work from home and flexible working.

Why should your company care about diversity recruiting?

Diversity recruiting provides a number of benefits, from performance to innovation to productivity — a wider variety of skills, better awareness of language and culture, and more varied candidate pools. Statistics have shown time and again that a diverse group is better at solving problems, avoiding confirmation biases, and unlocking creativity. One study found that companies with diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues than companies with less diverse workforces, and 85% of CEOs say a diverse workforce improved their annual revenue. Diversity matters for candidates, too: one Glassdoor study found that 67% of job seekers see diversity as an important factor when considering a prospective company. Here are 10 ways you can improve your diversity recruiting strategy.

1. Attend specific job fairs

Is your company constantly recruiting in the same spaces? Whether online or in person, take a look at where you recruit — you cannot keep using the same sources and expect different results. Reach out to places that give you a more diverse talent pool: job fairs that cater to diverse talent, online groups for specific industries (for example, groups dedicated to women working in tech), networking groups, and social media groups. Be more proactive in your hiring instead of waiting for candidates to find you; platforms like Indeed or LinkedIn give greater reach but less diversity, so it’s up to your team to seek out talent. The greater the initiative, the better the results.

2. Look at your job ads — and think skills first

Look at your past recruitment ads and ensure they speak to a broad and diverse range of candidates — the language is everything and should be inclusive. Consider a full audit, which may reveal that certain language is geared to specific demographics or experience levels. Another factor: do your job ads ask for a degree where one may not truly be needed? More and more employers are dropping degree requirements to open up jobs to people who may not have had a four-year education — not every candidate had the opportunity to attend college, but they may have the skills regardless. When you write job ads, don’t be afraid to cater the description to specific demographics to let your target candidates know you are looking for them.

3. Consider bias during your interview process

The hiring process is full of biases, both implicit and otherwise, and unless your team takes action to correct them, they will impact your hiring. People of all backgrounds can feel they have been unfairly overlooked for a job, a major contributor to minority stress, so it’s critical to hire based on merit. To eliminate bias:

Blind resumes: block out personal information like names, schools, dates of birth, or location, so you can assess the person and their skills without that added bias.
Blind interviews: in early stages, send questions through text or your recruiting platform to avoid personal information and get a real picture of the candidate.
Use artificial intelligence: HR tech can flag and filter candidates for specific skills and experience — but be aware that AI can repeat the biases of whoever programs it.

4. Offer internships to targeted groups

Internal diversity programs can position your company as a leader in your field. Paid internships and co-op programs targeting candidates with certain backgrounds encourage candidates to join your industry and team, giving them experience and mentorship. Recruiting for them can be challenging — your HR function will need to reach out to schools and community groups, focusing on nearby areas, and make connections with organizations that cater to certain groups. Don’t let the investment go to waste: create a pipeline so top interns can move into junior positions in your company.

5. Build a diverse and inclusive workplace

It can take months, if not years, to build a truly diverse workplace, but diverse candidates want to work in an environment that celebrates their diversity and where they feel they have a voice. Put policies in place that encourage people to speak up and share their opinions, including on uncomfortable topics like discrimination and sexual harassment. Employees must feel able to voice complaints without being ignored or silenced. Diversity and inclusion comes from the top, so ensure your leadership is on board and promotes the inclusive policies in place.

6. Create diverse company policies

A diverse workforce requires more than recruiting diverse talent — you also have to retain employees once hired, and company policies show candidates that you value true diversity. Consider shifting your time-off schedule to include diverse religious holidays and community events, or offer flexible holiday time so employees can celebrate the holidays important to them. Implement flexible working hours, and have managers encourage employees to speak up and provide feedback on all policies, including those on sexual harassment and diversity. Candidates will certainly ask about your policies regarding these issues.

7. Encourage hiring managers to participate in diversity and inclusion trainings

The hiring process is conducted by individuals, and individuals have their own biases and preconceived notions. Diversity training is imperative for HR teams and employees across the organization, but it’s especially important for those doing interviews and the hiring managers who ultimately make decisions on the future of your workforce.

8. Bolster your employee referral program

Take advantage of your employee network and let them do some of the work for you — your employees likely have a network of colleagues who know people with similar backgrounds. If you want to hire people from a specific background, reach out to employees who are part of that demographic and encourage them to share your job ads with their networks. Some referral programs give bonuses or other benefits; whatever you choose, ensure employees and candidates feel your company values their opinions and their presence.

9. Use inclusive language

As an HR professional, it’s up to you to be the agent of change, so use inclusive language and imagery in all your recruiting materials and in your office. Never assume the pronouns anyone wants you to use — ask whether they prefer he, she, or they. Instead of “wife” or “husband,” consider “spouse” and “partner”; avoid casual references like “hi guys,” which is gendered. Inclusive imagery matters too: include stock images in your materials that are inclusive of all ethnicities, races, and disabilities.

10. Make sure your hiring team represents diversity

Inspecting the bias of your hiring team is only one part of building a more diverse recruiting strategy. With a more diverse hiring committee, your company can build a more open, intentional hiring process that welcomes a variety of candidates. The tricky part is that in many companies the hiring committee sits all across the organization — middle management, entry-level positions, and leadership all play a role. In the best case, these people also represent different age groups, genders, backgrounds, and personalities, so candidates feel more welcome and seen and bias is less likely to play a role. In addition to a diverse hiring team, everyone involved in the process should have diversity and inclusion training.

How gender discrimination affects women in the workplace

Posted on October 1, 2021 by

Why this still matters

Gender discrimination in the workplace has been explicitly outlawed in most countries around the world. In the United States, for instance, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Although such labor laws have existed for a long time and have ensured extensive protection to countless female workers, gender discrimination is still rampant in contemporary workplaces.

Since most female workers do not fully understand what constitutes gender-based discrimination at work, it is a good idea to understand the basics.

What is gender discrimination?

Workplace gender discrimination can occur in many different ways. It generally means that a job applicant or employee is treated unfairly, differently, or less favorably due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. Although “gender” and “sex” have different legal meanings, laws against gender discrimination in workplaces around the world generally use them interchangeably. Some of the most common examples of workplace gender discrimination against women:

A job applicant is not hired because she is a woman.
A job applicant is offered a low-paying position, or an employee is fired, because of their gender identity.
An employee is subjected to slurs or derogatory language in the workplace on account of being a woman.
A female employee is paid less than an employee of a different gender performing the same set of tasks.
A female employee is denied promotion, training, a pay raise, or benefits that are given to employees of another gender identity, in a situation where she is equally or more qualified.
A female worker is disciplined for actions that employees of other gender identities indulge in all the time but never get called out or punished for.
A female worker is subjected to unwelcome sexual advances, quid pro quo sexual favors, or other harassment of a sexual nature.

In a nutshell, gender discrimination in the workplace can be disparate treatment based on a person’s gender or sexual orientation, and it may include sexual harassment. Such discriminatory acts aren’t always perpetrated by men — people of all genders indulge in gender discrimination — so legally, the gender of the perpetrator may not be important.

How it affects the mental and physical health of female employees

Gender discrimination in the workplace can be a potent source of stress for many female employees. A 2020 study published in The Lancet details the extensive impact of gender discrimination on women’s mental health. Researchers found that women who reported experiencing gender discrimination over the previous year scored significantly higher than others on various metrics related to depression. Depending on the nature and intensity of the discrimination, it can also lead to severe anxiety and psychological trauma.

Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and eating disorders are more prevalent among women workers, and researchers argue that gender discrimination plays a major role in creating this gender gap in mental health issues. Women are about twice as likely to suffer from depression, roughly 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide, and eating disorders are several times more common among women. A 2018 study highlights that gender discrimination can also affect women’s physical health — those subjected to sexual harassment are more likely to report ill physical health, and the discrimination can worsen chronic conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure.

Unhealthy living conditions

Gender discrimination at work can also lead to female workers having less access to the opportunities and benefits they require to survive and thrive — some women may even struggle to access the basic facilities required for healthy living. A gender pay gap driven by discriminatory company policy, for instance, results in female workers earning less than their male counterparts even when they perform the same jobs.

Women of color are worst affected by the gender pay gap. African American women, for instance, have historically occupied low-paying positions despite higher labor participation rates. Compared to men, women are more likely to experience financial difficulties, and rates of poverty among women are higher. When they are discriminated against in the workplace, it reduces their ability to afford healthy food, health insurance, and housing.

Gender discrimination affects women in multiple ways

Women experiencing gender discrimination in the workplace may not be able to concentrate on daily tasks; when they have to focus on dealing with discrimination or harassment, the attention they can give to assigned duties is significantly reduced. Persistent discriminatory behavior may also have an adverse impact on self-esteem, and women may quickly develop feelings of anger, frustration, or paranoia when discrimination is severe. In a hostile work environment ridden with direct or indirect abuse, women may also feel unsafe and find themselves alienated from co-workers. How workplace gender discrimination affects a woman will invariably depend on its nature and context, and not all women respond to or deal with it the same way.

Employers can play an important role in eliminating gender discrimination

Gender discrimination isn’t always intentional. In many cases it may have become part of company culture or policy to treat female workers in a discriminatory manner. Whether conscious or unconscious, workplace gender biases are still rampant.

Business leaders, employers, HR managers, and supervisors can play a key role in eliminating gender biases at work. First, they should educate all their workers on gender bias. Next, they should evaluate and standardize their hiring/firing policies and salary/incentive structures to make them gender-neutral. Those in positions of strength should stand up to gender discrimination when it occurs. Creating an inclusive workplace is one of the most recommended employee retention best practices.

It is in the best interest of an organization to put a full stop to workplace gender discrimination. Besides low productivity, poor team dynamics, and poor brand reputation, gender discrimination can also result in high employee turnover — no one wants to continue dealing with harassment or discrimination, and even when a woman has no choice but to stay in a hostile environment, she is unlikely to put her heart and mind into the work.

Top 10 employee retention best practices

Posted on September 1, 2021 by

Why retention is a management goal

Effective employee retention requires a set of holistic techniques that add to the overall growth and productivity of a company. The benefits of employee retention are numerous, and companies are increasingly seeking to inculcate retention practices. Employee retention is more than just keeping employees; it needs to instil a sense of loyalty and commitment as well.

Experts in the field of Human Resources have come up with various theories to understand the phenomenon of employee retention. These are based on the idea that both the employer and the employee must work together to make the work experience smoother. Once that is achieved, customer relations and experience gain exceptional progress, and the company harnesses multi-dimensional gains.

It is no surprise, then, that one of the key management goals is to achieve employee retention successfully. Companies employ various practices suited to their needs and goals, and may follow different techniques at different stages. Stagnation in employees’ personal growth can end up bearing heavy costs, both material and quality-wise, so it is essential to create an environment in which employees feel connected to the work they are doing. Listed below are the top 10 best practices for employee retention, aimed at increasing engagement and satisfaction — an inclusive set of practices that lead to increased productivity and growth in customer satisfaction as well.

1. Hire the right candidates

A study from the recruiting platform Jobvite shows that around 30% of freshly acquired employees leave within the first 90 days — a huge loss for the company in both money and time. This happens mostly due to misplaced hiring or a lack of company initiative to make employees feel confident about their job prospects.

To ensure the right candidates are hired, examine whether applicants will be a good fit for the cultural ethos of the company. Skills and expertise can be acquired, but candidates must understand the company’s values and targets. Reflect this in the hiring process by asking questions that are more reflective of one’s work ethics and practices, so employees have a clear idea of their work environment and professional expectations from the very beginning.

2. Provide a great onboarding process

Employees are generally excited to start a new job, and management should ensure that excitement is maintained. An impressionable starting day, a feedback loop, and an exciting calendar are some ways to keep new employees engaged. Communication should be constant, with no grey silence that can make recruits anxious, and employees should feel confident about seeking out opportunities and office relationships from the very beginning. If employees face challenges during this crucial process, their enthusiasm takes a hit that can take forever to resurface, so a comprehensive onboarding program with enough time for feedback is crucial.

3. Help your employees grow and develop

Employees who feel underwhelmed about their job opportunities are quicker to leave. Instead of trying to acquire more skilful employees, companies should focus on creating a skilful environment within the company — primarily by creating a training program supplemented by workshops, incentives, and the like. According to the online course provider Udemy, 42 percent of employees agree that learning and development is the most important benefit when deciding where to work. A proactive approach to employee growth and development reduces turnover and drives more productivity.

4. Provide ample employee recognition

One of the key reasons employees leave is a lack of recognition. Even though HR policies do include techniques to acknowledge efforts, they are often mechanical without any real value. A structured employee recognition program is therefore essential for proper retention. Recognition means the whole company has strong interpersonal communication and management is kept in the loop, enabling them to recognize how different employees are contributing. The ideal scenario is a recognition culture where individual employees and company management can freely recognize one another.

5. Practice a feedback culture

Effective communication requires open and honest give-and-take and is an essential part of company culture. A cyclic, rather than a linear, pattern of feedback is essential — show your employees what they are lacking and how to improve, and be open to suggestions based on what employees feel and need. Given the difficult situation the pandemic has created, it is even more crucial to keep a check on employees; one can ask non-probing personal questions to make employees feel safe about their career choices.

6. Maintain work-life balance

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance for your employees is not only important for their health and relationships, but can also improve their productivity and performance. If your employees don’t view their work as a burden, they make fewer mistakes, work harder, and are more likely to become promoters of your brand. It is unwise to excessively push employees for short-term goals — that makes them feel overwhelmed and results in half-baked work. Instead, offer flexible work schedules that teams can manage on their own. Work-life balance is a primary deciding factor for employees, especially those with families.

7. Provide competitive compensation

Everyone wants to feel they are being compensated adequately for the amount of work they put in. Apart from covering their cost of living, fair pay ensures their time is worth their effort, so a competitive salary gives talented employees minimal reasons to leave or to not utilize their full potential. Management should take time to research current wages and apply them as they see fit — when employees see they are being paid as much as, or more than, their contemporaries, they become more dedicated to the company.

8. Encourage open communication

Perhaps one of the hardest goals to achieve in company culture is open communication. Employees often feel a sense of distance from their employers, which can be harmful to the company’s growth. Bosses who are easy to approach and open to suggestions often end up retaining a strong set of dedicated and hardworking employees. Open communication means employees are not afraid to put forward their ideas and concerns, and that these are received with attention — resulting in better outcomes and easier delegation of responsibilities.

9. Bond with your employees

According to data from Virgin Pulse, a good relationship between employees and their employer is one of the major factors determining retention. In the survey of 1,000 employees, 60 percent stated that their relationship with employers impacted their productivity as well as their stress levels at work. While it is not advisable to be overly involved in employees’ lives, a certain amount of interest in their personal and professional life is beneficial — noting an update on their housing situation or celebrating personal achievements are small ways managers can bond with their teams. It is also healthy to promote team-building activities like group lunches, game nights, and treks, which enrich relationships and make employees more connected to peers and superiors.

10. Emphasise a diverse and inclusive workplace culture

As the world gradually becomes more accepting of differences, the workplace must adapt too. There has been rapid development in ensuring the workplace is not hostile to any community, especially minorities, with provisions to remove barriers of gender, sexual orientation, and educational background being adopted globally. This makes sure employees feel safe expressing themselves and can bring fresher outlooks. A company that makes its employees feel appreciated will surely harness unbounded gains.

Conclusion

The practices explained above are some of the ways companies can retain their most skilled employees most efficiently. Policies and practices that are flexible, inclusive, and based on a cycle of feedback are ideal. The corporate world is ever-changing, and one must keep an eye out to stay on top of it — corporations must be wise enough to revise and re-adapt these practices with changing times and needs.

Leadership tactics for exceptional employees

Posted on October 1, 2020 by

Develop talent rather than just hire it

Finding excellent workers who will fit into your company culture and give amazing results can be a challenge. There is a “war for talent” as companies struggle to recruit skilled professionals, so companies can no longer rely on hiring exceptional employees to build a great workforce. The best way to acquire exceptional employees is to develop them yourself — which means investing resources and time to build a productive workforce that will stay.

Leadership tactics are about developing great talent

The most important thing to note while developing exceptional employees is that it takes time. As an employer, you need to create and implement policies and processes for employee engagement and work on retention strategies that encourage people to stay and contribute positively. That means putting together a workforce committed to the company’s success — people who love their jobs and are passionate about the industry.

Ask yourself: are your employees happy?

Although you may think your staff is engaged and committed, you could be wrong. A recent Gallup survey showed only a little over 30 percent of workers in the US felt engaged in their companies. This means most employees are unhappy at the workplace, and many are just contributing the bare minimum.

Why should you bother developing exceptional staff?

Developing staff has many advantages:

They become more productive and efficient.
They improve their knowledge and create better skill sets.
They gain experience they can use to expand on company goals.
They serve your customers better, increase your customer base, and build customer loyalty.
They contribute toward making your company a respectable brand in the industry.

How to develop leadership tactics for exceptional employees

There are amazing benefits to developing staff. Here is where to start.

Start at the hiring process

You need to look for the right people from the get-go — choosing to employ people in line with your company’s future goals, and picking people who have skills you can develop to excellence. Although you may want to use money as an incentive, for many potential employees it’s not all about the paycheck; many professionals now want to work in companies with excellent work culture and are ready to take less money for that opportunity. So while developing exceptional staff, you need to create a work culture that outstanding talent wants to be part of.

Create a great management team

Even if you hire the best talent, the managers in your company will affect the way they work. A good team of leaders brings out the best in your employees, while a bad one reduces the productivity of even the best people. Work at creating a great management team with the skills to help your staff become excellent at their jobs, and invest resources and time in improving your management team by exposing them to skills they can use to develop exceptional employees.

Become a role model

If you do not inspire your employees, you will lose them to other companies with leaders they can look up to. Cultivate exceptional traits and skills that inspire your employees to become outstanding, and make a habit of continually improving yourself so your employees and managers see you as a worthy leader and mentor. It helps if anything you ask of your staff is seen in your own work ethic — if you set high targets, can they see you achieve them yourself? Such an approach builds respect, which is essential in developing staff; it is easier for an employee to follow instructions from someone they respect. Identify role models in your industry that you and your staff can use as inspiration.

Provide the right tools

You cannot expect excellence if you do not give your employees the necessary tools to competently do their work. Part of creating exceptional talent is investing in the right tools — office equipment, machinery, devices, training resources — and, beyond physical tools, productivity software to streamline processes and promote efficiency. For remote workers, find tools to help with communication and ensure work is completed successfully. The tools you use must be modern to keep up with industry changes; if an application is no longer relevant, find out which one is and train your employees to use it.

Expose employees to cross-training

An exceptional employee needs to understand how all departments in the company function — it doesn’t help to keep employees who are only good at one skill. Employees should be trained in all aspects of the business to expand their skill set, creating a dynamic team that can work on any issue. For example, managers must be aware of the work their staff does, such as purchasing stock, advertising the brand, and dealing with customers; managing from the comfort of an office, unaware of how processes work in various departments, no longer works. This approach develops exceptional employees who can take up different responsibilities, relate easily to colleagues in other departments, and see the whole organization as one.

Invest in continuous development

If you wait for the annual review to show employees what they are doing wrong, you waste a lot of time. Instead, use daily or weekly engagements to develop their skills using individual development plans. Start by finding out an employee’s career-development goals and how they plan to contribute to the company’s success, then give them developmental tasks associated with their aspirations and your vision for them. If you want an employee to become a team leader, give them short assignments running a team to gradually develop their leadership skills, and use project check-ins to advise on areas of weakness. Keep the development tasks ongoing to build one good skill after another — it benefits staff in the long run and gives you a good return on investment.

Measure productivity

Quantify your staff’s performance to gauge their progress — divide goals into quantifiable tasks and give them a timeframe. Measuring productivity gives employees a way to gauge progress and a sense of pride when they meet targets; it sharpens their skills and competence and gives you a way to identify and develop excellent talent while ensuring accountability. When measuring performance, it is essential to give constructive feedback based on performance data so employees can identify mistakes and improve. Where excellence is identified, enhance it by recognizing and rewarding good work; where reprimands are necessary, deliver them with the aim of helping employees better themselves, not to put them down.

Create beneficial connections

As a leader, you must have connections to mentors, experts, and role models in the industry that your staff can benefit from — make a point of linking your employees to such people. Helping employees associate with skilled and respected people improves their skills and knowledge, and creating beneficial connections is also a brilliant way to market your business and build an industry network. Beyond connecting employees to experts, expose them to coaching opportunities, workshops, and training programs they can use to improve.

Navigate organizational bureaucracy

Every organization has some form of bureaucracy, and yours probably does too. Regardless of a worker’s skills, if they cannot work with the office culture they are unlikely to succeed, so teach your staff how to deal with any bureaucracy in your organization. At the same time, removing barriers that lead to workplace difficulties makes developing staff simpler. Ensure your employees’ rights are not infringed upon — for example, promotions should be given on merit, and access to higher positions should be open to all regardless of gender, race, or any other barrier. Create an open work environment that doesn’t require employees to be wary or constrained all the time, so they feel free to explore their talent, suggest innovations, and work hard.

Last word

When all is said and done, a company needs a return on investment for the resources spent on employees, and developing excellent staff is the best way to achieve this goal. Use these tactics consistently as an investment in the future of your company.

How to re-engage your employees post-COVID

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

Heading back to the office

Slowly but surely we are heading back into the office. The world is reopening and we’re ready to embrace it with open arms. After months of lockdown, you might assume that employees are keen to get back to work — unfortunately, that is not the case. In this article you will learn how to re-engage your employees post-COVID to help you get your business up and running again.

Employee engagement is key to rebuilding a business; however, research shows that on average only around 29% of employees in a company are actively engaged. They are loyal, committed, more productive, and easier to retain, which is why they are vital to business regrowth. Just over half of your team are likely not engaged — they can be productive but are not psychologically connected to the company, and they are the ones who miss workdays and are more likely to leave. A fifth of your employees are actively disengaged: physically present but unhappy and psychologically absent, and they share their unhappiness with others, which can influence the rest.

As a business owner, employee engagement might not be at the forefront of your mind given the current situation — with businesses starting back up you are probably more concerned with customer relations and closing deals. But if you don’t actively work toward re-engaging your employees, that might not be possible. After almost five months working from home, employees have realised benefits such as saving time and money by not commuting, and they are asking for flexible working patterns, the ability to work remotely, and an openness to new working styles. This shift in attitudes will have a ripple effect when offices reopen: although individuals have missed the social aspect of the office, they have made it clear that they want a change.

How do you re-engage employees?

Trying to re-engage your employees, and keep them engaged, was hard before the global pandemic. Now, with a looming recession, job losses, months of working from home, and a virus still in circulation, it is even harder. Nevertheless, the traditional methods that employers have used for years are still effective and shouldn’t be ignored. Reopening your office takes some getting used to after lockdown, and keeping on top of the basic pillars of engagement — recognition, growth, and fun — goes a long way toward keeping employees happy and motivated.

Re-engage and recognise

Employees are more engaged when they feel their contribution has been recognised. Although remuneration, benefits, and rewards are common ways to show employees you value their input, you might not be financially stable enough to give those kinds of rewards post-COVID. Fortunately, over 80% of employees value recognition above any rewards or gifts — as long as employees feel you appreciate the work they are doing, they will be more actively engaged.

The type of recognition matters too. Over two-thirds of people believe recognition as an individual is more motivating than recognition as a team; almost 90% find praise from their managers very or extremely motivating, and three-quarters say the same about praise from peers. Recognizing and praising employees for their contributions doesn’t cost you any time or money — look at everything that has been achieved while everyone worked from home and be ready to offer individual praise when your doors reopen.

Growth

Employees are more engaged if they feel there is potential to grow and develop their career within your organisation — in fact, the majority of people list opportunities for growth as a more motivating reason to stay than a pay rise. This is why engagement tends to be better in a growing company, as staff understand the correlation between business growth and new job opportunities. The problem is that a post-pandemic recession is likely to halt growth.

Whether you are open with your employees or not, there will be tell-tale signs of whether your business is growing or taking a hit, and if staff feel the business is struggling financially they disengage quickly. Although growth and career progression might not be on the cards right now, job security is increasingly important as we enter a global recession. Where possible, make every member of staff feel their job is safe; if you have made redundancies, others will feel insecure, so continue offering praise and recognition so they feel confident in their role.

Fun

Without a doubt, the easiest and most effective way to keep your team motivated and engaged is to provide a fun working environment — nine out of ten employees list a fun working environment as very or extremely motivating. This doesn’t mean you need to turn your office into a trendy agency or Google HQ overnight. Simply building strong relationships and encouraging out-of-work hobbies can go a long way; most people are just looking for a healthy work environment.

Expecting to re-engage unengaged employees

One of the problems business owners face is the shift in attitudes that has left previously engaged employees feeling unmotivated and disengaged. With all the changes 2020 brought, employees are looking for a sense of normality, and returning to a new, socially-distanced environment after months away takes its toll.

It is understandable when you look at the three pillars of engagement above. For months, each team member worked from home without colleagues around them — that segregation led to a decrease in praise and recognition from management and peers alike. They are also likely to have lost confidence in their job security, with media headlines focusing on the looming recession and job losses. Finally, any element of fun in the work environment has been stripped bare by distancing requirements, plastic screens, and the lingering smell of hand sanitiser, while employees got used to working from home with more free time for family and new hobbies. The measures above will help you overcome these difficulties — letting engagement slip is understandable amid a pandemic, but doing so causes more damage to your business.

How do you motivate a disengaged team?

It is much harder to motivate an individual who has recently become disengaged. We can make assumptions as to why, but you can never be completely sure, so there is no quick fix. Once an individual becomes disengaged it is really hard to get them back on course — they aren’t satisfied with the job, don’t find it exciting, and spend the day clock-watching. Under normal circumstances they would be searching for a new job; in the current situation they may feel trapped by the decreasing job pool, which can lead to further problems as they vocalise their issues and their negative attitude rubs off on others. Cutting staff could lead to further disengagement, and it is far more cost-effective to actively re-engage a current member of staff than to recruit new people.

Career development

You might not be in the best situation to start promoting employees and dishing out pay raises and bonuses — but you can still let your staff know their position is safe. Asking your staff to take part in training exercises that enable them to develop new skills makes them feel appreciated and shows you intend to have them working for you in the future, giving them a sense of job security.

Be open

Share all the company news, good and bad, with your employees. In doing so you tell everyone they are a valuable member of the team, and you help them engage with the business, company goals, and your mission and values. You may also find a handful of hidden talents among your team: disengaged employees pass the day doing the bare minimum, while engaged employees go above and beyond. By being open about the current situation, your team becomes more actively engaged and could even provide solutions to company problems.

Lay out your expectations

Your business goals will have to be adjusted to face the crisis — your product offering, distribution methods, or marketing strategy may have to change. If you are open with your employees, they will already understand their roles may change slightly. Make this transition easier by sitting down with each employee to discuss their new role and set clear expectations, goals, and objectives. In doing so, you reiterate the importance of every member of staff, and they feel more secure with clear targets to work toward.

Re-engage employees post-COVID: a summary

Believe it or not, your employees want to re-engage at work — nobody wants to sit at a desk clock-watching for a third of their life. Engaging your team will not only boost your business but make your office a better place to work. Your employees will find it much easier to stay motivated and engaged if you provide the right atmosphere for them to do so, and you can do this by following the tips above.