What do you do if your employee engagement program is not yielding results?

Always start with understanding the actual root cause. For employee related initiatives I always recommend 1:1 discussion led by people who have trust and relationship with various employee groups. You can of course use surveys questionnaires, but those aren't bringing the meaningful feedback, at least not very often. Seeking people who are open to discuss and share their and also their colleagues feedback can be the best way to truly understand employees needs.

Start with interviews and surveying teams to find out their understanding, views, and opinions of the current program. Assure contributors their answers are confidential, and no backlash will occur. Ask questions about all aspects of the engagement program. Nothing is off limits to get opinions about. Get feedback from administrators and leaders about the purpose, execution, and effectiveness of the program to see how it matches with employee responses. Look at the current program to check it aligns with values and mission of the company. Make adjustments based on the feedback you receive. Test out the new program with a pilot group to compare results. Be willing to start over if needed.

Conduct thorough assessments and gather feedback from employees to pinpoint the underlying reasons for the program's ineffectiveness. Analyze factors such as communication gaps, lack of participation, or mismatched incentives. Identifying root causes allows for targeted interventions to address underlying issues and improve program outcomes.

Nearly 80% of employees worldwide are still not engaged or are actively disengaged at work, despite more effort from companies. The greatest cause of a workplace engagement program's failure is this: Employee engagement is widely considered an HR thing. It is not owned by leaders, expected of managers nor understood by front-line employees. The result is that some organizations believe they have exhausted engagement as a performance lever before they truly explore its full potential to change their business. These leaders consistently experience low engagement, and eventually decline despite repeated attempts to boost scores. Other times, they have high engagement numbers, but their business results tell a different story.

Importante avaliar e escutar as pessoas para colher insights que promovam melhorias, por meio de pesquisas de engajamento, rodas de conversa e grupos focais. Ações como estas levantam dados e ideias e evidenciam a participação de todos. Uma alternativa também é envolver a gestão, buscando o comprometimento e ações mais assertivas para aumentar a percepção. Oferecer dados de outros cenários de mercado para conhecer realidades paralelas e reconhecer esforços internos. Sempre cuide do bem-estar da sua equipe, investindo na saúde física e mental dos profissionais para equibrio.

Look at what you want to achieve with your program and the different ways to fill the objectives. Get feedback from a diverse group of people in your organization on how they would like to participate in the program and what recommendations they can give. Give options to those you survey and ask for their ideas. Look at what other organizations have done to meet the same objectives for more ideas. Test out proposed changes with a pilot group who can give feedback and suggestions on improvements and effectiveness.

Review the program's objectives, strategies, and implementation methods to assess its alignment with organizational goals and employee needs. Evaluate factors such as clarity of communication, accessibility of resources, and alignment with employee interests and motivations. Identify areas for improvement or adjustments in program design to enhance engagement and effectiveness.

Engagement programs are about improved work satisfaction and increased productivity. Share changes to the program based on how it impacts the employees. When changes take place have additional help available to assist employees to navigate the changes. Communicate ahead of changes being made and regularly get feedback for understanding to ensure that employees know what changes were made and how it impacts them. Share success stories with your employees of how other employees liked the improvements and how it helped their work satisfaction. Show how the program also improves productivity and profitability.

Collect data and stories of employees who realized improvements in work satisfaction, productivity, and organizational profitability. Be honest in findings - good, bad, or indifferent. Own the results as a leader and be willing to make adjustments to improve. Look to other models from other organizations get ideas about how to improve, benchmark, or revise your employee engagement program.

Consider consulting with experts or hiring external consultants specializing in employee engagement and organizational development. Professional guidance can provide fresh perspectives, best practices, and tailored solutions to revitalize the program. External consultants bring expertise and objectivity to identify gaps, offer strategic recommendations, and support the implementation of effective engagement strategies.

I can help you with employee engagement and creative ways to achieve desired outcomes. Work with me and understand the difference. Write to me at sneha.gupta@igcentre.org or call me at +91-7770025686 Learn more at igcentre.org

In my experience, treating employee engagement like a "program" is the number one reason it doesn't work. It has to be the way you operate as an employer. Leaders need to be trained and held accountable, staff need to know their expectations and offered the support and resources to be successful. Yes there needs to be objectives and when they are not met intervention needs to take place. But employee engagement is the culture of your organization and she be as in the forefront in everyone's mind as is managing finances.