Check out part 1 of this post covering signs your employee engagement programs need a makeover HERE. When you’re running successful employee engagement programs, it can have huge benefits for your business. In the new world of work, these efforts that used to be ‘nice to haves’ have quickly become ‘need to haves’.
But what makes for successful employee engagement programs? And how do you know whether yours are driving results? Here are some things to look out for:
Employees want to join in
When employees want to be a part of your programs, it’s a really good sign. It means they feel like your programs could make a difference to their lives, either personally or professionally.
Another sign of successful employee engagement programs is when people share their enthusiasm with their colleagues. This excitement is contagious and can spread the word without you needing to do as much promotion.
The more everyone talks about the benefits of participating, the more employees you’ll have who want to join in. People don’t like to feel like they’re missing out and will want to experience the benefits, too.
Everyone has a community where they belong
72% of employees feel lonely at least once per month. The same percentage of remote workers feel lonelier than they did when they worked in an office.
As well as being a sad statistic, the truth is that it’s also scary and dangerous. Loneliness is bad for our mental and physical health. It causes everything from anxiety, to a weakened immune system, to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Most people probably won’t admit to their colleagues that they feel this way. They may not even realize the impact their loneliness could have on their long-term health.
Even without these discussions or this awareness though, successful employee engagement programs help mitigate workplace loneliness. People can find colleagues nearby to chat over coffee with; pet sit so that they can travel more; or co-work together in a local space.
All these things help employees feel more connected to their teammates and organization, reducing the detrimental impacts of loneliness.
Employee program leaders aren’t drowning in admin work
There may be some people out there who like admin work (I’m not one of them). Regardless, there’s no denying how much it can eat into your time and mean you produce less as a result.
Reducing admin time for employee program leaders gives them more time and energy for their daily tasks while still championing engagement. With the right tools, they can do more in less time, and avoid burning out.
So instead of manually sending reminders about the next event, they can plan interesting discussions, connect with other engagement leaders, or get to know participants better. When tedious, time-consuming tasks are automated, it’s much easier to build successful employee engagement programs.
There’s a clear transition process in place
It’s common when a program or group leader leaves for things to fall apart. A successful employee engagement programs management solution means this doesn’t happen. It ensures there are already steps in place to facilitate a handover, and to make it as seamless as possible.
One thing you can do to help with this is create a list of potential leaders to step in when someone leaves. Or, you could always have a deputy leader who’s the natural next person to fill the position.
Whomever takes over needs to know where all the files are and have permission to access/edit them.
They also need access to any policies or documents which explain how the program or group operates. That way, they’ll know what’s expected of them as a leader and of group members, and can update things if/when required.
Having a central repository can go a long way towards helping you build successful employee engagement programs. That way, leaders, participants, and executives all know exactly where to look when they need something.
Every aspect is intuitive and user-friendly
The most important thing about a great user experience is that it just works. It’s so perfectly organized and logical that people barely have to think about it.
This is sometimes easier said than done, but when employees know where to find the latest information, they can log in to get what they want, maybe find something else that’s also of interest to them, then continue with their day.
It’s simple, it’s intuitive, and it allows them to make the most of your successful employee engagement programs with the least amount of effort.
What’s more, it doesn’t interrupt them. Rather than receiving emails and chat notifications about a free fitness class while trying to focus on a big project, they can learn what’s happening when it’s convenient for them.
They offer people opportunities to develop their skills
Many employees are always on the lookout for ways to improve their skills, grow in their roles, and advance their careers. If they don’t feel they can do that at your organization, they’re more likely to leave.
Successful employee engagement programs provide team members who want to grow their skills access to relevant training. They can also connect them to mentors or coaches.
They improve communication
When you encourage employees to interact with people from other areas of the business, it can improve relationships between different departments.
This makes collaboration much easier. It also helps prevent us vs. them mentalities and myths that can occur between different departments.
Successful employee engagement programs build cross-team links that ensure your business can stay agile and competitive.
You can track their effectiveness
If you want successful employee engagement programs, it’s important to be able to track their effectiveness. That’s how you know what you’re doing is benefitting your business and your staff.
Without any trackable metrics, your programs could be a huge waste of time and money. You wouldn’t know it, though, because you would have no way of measuring.
With metrics, you can clearly see what’s working and what isn’t. It’s important that you’re pulling information from a variety of sources and at different points in time. Relying on a once or twice yearly engagement survey won’t get you the data you need.
With automated, real-time analytics, you always know which programs are driving results, and which need some extra support. You can then use that information to make more informed decisions and maximize your ROI.
They benefit your business
The most successful employee engagement programs benefit businesses in ways both big and small.
They lead to employees being happier and more productive because they feel like you care about them beyond daily workplace activities. It’s a reciprocal relationship. And the more you foster that relationship, the more success you’ll both experience.
If you’re interested in building more successful employee engagement programs this year, Workrowd can help. With a one-stop shop for marketing, managing, and measuring all of your programs, groups, and events, everything you need is right at your fingertips.
Send us a note at hello@workrowd.com to learn more. We’d love to discuss how some easy-to-implement tools can take your employee engagement programs to the next level in 2023.
