3 tips to kickstart employee engagement in 2023
For HR and people management, 2022 was unfortunately dominated by terms such as ‘the Great Resignation’, ‘quiet quitting’ and burnout. Employees are battling with a cost of living crisis and the lingering after-effects of the pandemic. They’re feeling stressed and overworked, with an unhealthy work-life balance.
So, it’s clearly time for a hard reset. The new year is the ideal time to do it, helping workers to feel positive, engaged and motivated for the months ahead.
As an employer, you need to be spearheading efforts to boost employee engagement. Here are just a few practical steps you can take:
Develop personalised learning pathways
According to research by McKinsey, over 40% of employees have left a previous role due to a lack of learning or career development opportunities. As an employer, you have the power to motivate your team with the prospect of a bright and fulfilling future, full of new opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.
Sporadic or one-size-fits-all training isn’t the most effective way to engage your team. Instead, you need to bring together the expertise of your HR and learning and development (L&D) teams to develop personalised learning journeys. These will align the person’s needs and aspirations with key business objectives.
Make learning accessible and available
While focusing on creating personalised career development plans, it’s also a good idea to think about accessibility. Is everyone able to benefit from learning opportunities? Go beyond things like screen reader compatibility and factor in neurodiversity, tech literacy and differing learning styles. It’s important that everyone feels included in the learning and development opportunities you’re offering.
Offer wellbeing support
A recent survey by employment engagement specialist Reward Gateway found that only 39% of workers would rate their mental health and wellbeing support at work as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. This is despite the fact that the majority of employers feel they’re doing well in this area.
Employers need to be fostering a culture of openness and transparency. This is where employees feel they can talk about issues relating to stress, overwork and burnout. There are lots of ways you can do this as a leader, including:
There are also changes you can make to the working culture, which can help to improve engagement and wellbeing. Firstly, you can encourage your team to take regular breaks and work standard hours, simply through leading by example.
You can also bring in recognition programmes to highlight and reward achievement. You’d be amazed at how effective a simple ‘thank you’ can be in boosting engagement.
Looking to hire in 2023? Find exactly who you’re looking for with Castlefield Recruitment – get in touch to discuss your requirements.
