Employee Engagement in a Virtual World
Employee Engagement is one of the most challenging as well as an exciting opportunity for any leader. It becomes all the more interesting and mandatory when most of us have to work virtually in this Covid 19 driven lock down period!
One of the books I read couple of years ago on Employee Engagement is “Engaging Hearts and Minds of your Employees” by Lee J Colan. As per the author, the following factors drive the intellectual side (Engaging the Minds)
- The need for achievement
- The need for autonomy
- The need for mastery
Whereas the below factors drive the emotional side (Engaging the hearts)
- The need for purpose
- The need for Intimacy
- The need for Appreciation
The above factors do hold good for virtually driving employee engagement as well.
What could be some of the additional points we can be more attention as we go through totally unprecedented times of our personal and professional lives?
1.Connect More and show you care
Each one of us could be handling this situation very differently. There could be some one left all alone at home due to lock down, some one worried about their old parent away in a different town or some one extremely exhausted as she or he has to take care of every house hold chores, kids and continue to perform at the same level in the work front. Talking one on one at a personal level will be very helpful in this situation and this will also help to generate more trust in the overall organization itself.
2. Communicate and share information (within the allowed boundaries)
As we go through these uncertainties, every one would like to hear more on whats going on within the organization. Communicating well and being as transparent as much as possible will help the team to have more confidence in you and the organization. Gently reassure them and help them to focus on things which are in our control especially on their own goals and objectives. One of my Favorite book on this is “That’S Outside My Boat Letting Go Of What You Can’ by Kim Doren.
3. Re-affirm the purpose of the team , Discuss Goals
Try to walk through the purpose of the team and have open conversations on how each ones goals and objectives tie back to the overall purpose of the team and the organization. Utilize the one on one conversations to understand how every one is working towards their goals and what help you could offer . One of the common challenges I have heard is ‘too many meetings’. As a team, brainstorm on how could you address these issues. One of the solutions my team brought up is to have ‘heads down core working hours’ every morning which is meeting free. Each team’s challenge could be different. Involve the team in coming up with ideas and solutions.
4. Listen More
More than ever, this is the time for each one of us to literally ‘listen’ more. What we miss out is the visual cues and the body language that give insights into a what a person must be thinking. Utilize the formal or informal discussions to encourage the team to talk and try to understand their perspectives.
Doing some short focused surveys will also help to understand what goes through the mind of people and will help us to come up with suitable actions.
Encourage the team to challenge themselves and come up with ideas which will help the team or the organization. Understanding each individual and their interest will help a leader to coach them effectively and bring out the best in them.
5. Recognize, Celebrate and Have Fun!
Agree, we are not living in happier times. But continue to discuss the positive things around us. Share your new learnings, fun things you are doing, some help you could offer…have candid discussions.
This is also a time to recognize performance, innovations etc. Encourage the team to recognize each other as well and try to come up with creative recognition ideas.
We have tried virtual fun games in our team like ‘quarantine bingo’, fun quizzes, cooking challenge etc. That definitely lifts the spirit up!
As the famous phrase goes, “This too shall pass”, lets focus on what we can learn from this situation and come out more successful and engaged as a team!
