What do employers want?
Employees that go the 'extra mile'
What do employees want?
Work and jobs they enjoy and feel are worthwhile, for a company they believe in.
The two go hand in hand, if employees have what they
want, then they will deliver above and beyond their requirements i.e. employ
their discretionary effort driving towards meeting business objectives more
effectively.
To achieve this level of employee engagement,
employees want to be satisfied at the psychological level. There is an
intangible psychological contract which is the agreement of effort required to
meet the expectations of the other party (employer and/or employee).
Stimulating this can be more influential than the formal contract in affecting
how employees behave from day to day.
To stimulate discretionary effort, employees must
understand the bigger picture and how they and their work contribute to the
business goals. Communication must be open, and two-way dialogue encouraged to
build trust between employer and employee. Recognition and an appreciation
culture are also key to delivering psychological satisfaction at work. When
implemented successfully, these elements result in employee satisfaction and
therefore increased productivity.
An Internal Communications Strategy including a
Reward and Recognition Programme are
practical applications to achieving
employee engagement. The strategy must communicate the bigger picture and
business goals, help ingrain a consistent culture in line with the brand
values, and encourage appropriate behaviours throughout the business.
Communications need to:
- Grab attention – cut through apathy created by
communications overload
- Explain how employees work contributes to business
strategy
- Encourage employees to contribute and feed in their
opinions upwards
- Inform of, and involve in, organisation activities
and change
- Motivate action or behaviour change.
Top level benefits seen by stimulating employee
engagement are:
- Improved business results through an alignment of
goals between employees and the employer.
- Brand strength – engaged employees will help
promote the organisation via positive word of mouth. The organisation will be a
place employees want to work and will attract the best talent.
- Through commitment employees will deliver
consistent quality output which helps protect the brand.
The root of employee engagement is the
satisfaction of employees psychological needs. A strong brand and values that
align with those of the staff, along with a culture supported by communications
developing trust and appreciation are the first steps to achieving employee engagement.
