I’ve talked in the past about the importance of employee engagement to the success of your business. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that at least some businesses will be operating in a hybrid mode with some people working in the office and others working virtually, it seemed like a good time to revisit the subject.
I came across an article by Beth Kempton, content strategist at Hireology, about how technology can enable employee engagement. If we learned one thing from the pandemic it is that technology enabled workers to be productive from home and even allowed us to keep in close communication.
Just because the workplace is opening up, does not necessarily mean there is a need for everyone to return to the office. If possible be flexible in your work arrangements. There are lot of employees—especially younger ones—who consider work-life balance a key condition of employment. Kempton says, “To stand out and attract qualified employees, consider offering flexible work arrangements. For example, you can allow employees to work remotely one day a week or adjust their work schedules to come in a little late or leave early pending they don’t have any important meetings or deadlines at the time.”
The onboarding process is another place where you can impact employee engagement. Many of us recall that our first day of work was spent filling out endless documents. That’s not a very exciting or productive way for someone to begin their tenure with you. In fact, most new employees are eager to get down to tackling their day-to-day responsibilities and spending their first day filling out forms can be a bit demoralizing.
With technology employees can sign all the necessary documents digitally once they have accepted the job offer. Kempton says this includes things like the employee handbook, filling out direct deposit information for automated payroll, completing tax forms and filling out benefits paperwork. Getting all the paperwork out of the way before the employee’s first day goes a long way to helping the employee be productive from day one.
Consider seamlessly integrating your hiring platform with your other HR programs. According to Kempton, companies can “partner with a seamless hiring, payroll and benefits provider to decrease manual tasks.” For example, “If an employee changes his or her benefits election…the change will automatically be reflected across your payroll and benefits rather than your HR team needing to manually make updates and ensure all information is accurate.”
It’s also a good idea to have information on all benefits in one central location. “It is a good start to include a list of benefits on your career site or in your offer letters, but to maintain employee engagement, you should also make it easy for employees to access an overview of the benefits you offer,” Kempton says. Being able to see all the benefits you provide—health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, flexible spending, life insurance, commuter benefits, retirement benefits, time off, etc.—will make employees feel valued, according to Kempton.
When employees feel valued, engagement improves, and productivity goes up too. As we navigate employees returning to work and possibly a hybrid workforce, the more ways you can make employees feel connected and engaged the better for the long-term success of your company.
Jane Clark focuses on managing the member services operation at NationaLease as vice president of member services. She works to strengthen member relationships, reduce member costs, and improve collaboration within the NationaLease supporting groups.
