Dec 01, 2021

Creating the Future Together

Engage, connect, and inspire the people who power your organization

As of Winter 2021 there’s still a great deal of uncertainty around what the future holds for daily behavior in the workplace, in healthcare environments, or classrooms and campuses. But one thing that’s certain across all industries is employee, teacher/student, and provider engagement is key.

Employers face even larger challenges engaging employees post workplace shutdown. The latest Gallup poll from July 2021 showed the percentage of actively disengaged employees is up slightly in the U.S., from 14% in 2020 to 15% through June 2021. Actively disengaged employees report miserable work experiences and are generally poorly managed. Recent Gallup analysis showed that nearly half of U.S. workers (48%) are actively job searching or watching for job opportunities, and the most common conversation at Corenet Global Summit 2021 (themed “Be the Bridge”) was the need to build employee engagement. In the healthcare industry 2020 turnover was a staggering 30% and the current burnout rate for teachers ranges from 17% - 44%. Organizations are cautiously announcing their positions on hybrid, in-office, or remote work. School districts are dealing with politics, parent and educator positions and health systems are struggling to retain adequate staff.

No matter what stance organizations take, committing to an employee engagement strategy is critical. Numerous initiatives, tools, and best practices have been identified and are being piloted to support engagement strategies. They fall into specific buckets.

Communications: no matter your industry, make them regular and open. Share internal news as well as clear workplace/campus/facilities expectations, policies, and procedures. Reevaluate often, adjust as necessary but keep people informed.

Data and Metrics: measure and manage what’s most important to employee and business needs. Develop KPIs that reflect your organizational values and goals.

Quick Action: employee surveys can have negative impacts with no observable response. Employees are twice as likely to be engaged and stay with organizations when they see immediate activity.

Train and Empower Managers: they still own the relationship card. Managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. Give them the news, tools and training they need to be successful engaging their teams. Encourage active conversation at the 1:1 relationship level.

Culture and Purpose: make organizational purpose explicit, build authentic messaging and action plans to remind employees why they affiliate with your culture/purpose through internal and external activities and rewards.

Inclusivity/Wellness/Wellbeing: Not only does a healthy, diverse, and inclusive workplace have clear linkage to engagement and positive employee experiences, it is vital to attracting and retaining top talent. Places, policies, and people must work together to support successful inclusivity and wellness initiatives.

Sustainability: Responsibility to protect natural, social, and economic resources for future generations falls on all our shoulders, and most employees today expect obvious action. Employers of choice engage their entire workforce in sustainable practices.

Environments: Use your workplace/school/healthcare facility as a tool to connect. Make work/school/staff areas desirable destinations. What types of gatherings appeal to your employees/educators/staff and providers? How do they like to connect and collaborate? What physical, emotional, and psychological needs can the environment support? Are you providing the spaces, activities, and amenities that best support employee needs and interests? Are there successful space types or attributes for other organizations in your business/industry, company size, or similar culture?

Existing and Emerging Technologies: Identify needs and gaps, evaluate options, and empower employee/educators/students/providers and staffs with technology solutions to support engagement and varied work styles. From communication tools, display and collaboration platforms to workplace/campus/facility apps to simplify access, build understanding and engagement, the right tech tools contribute to engagement and digital equity.

Solutions

We’ve uncovered solutions to many of these challenges in our efforts to support customers with their employee engagement efforts. And we’re developing our own programs and policies, using exploration and identification of best practices on ourselves.

We offer workplace and culture consulting, design workshops and consultation, research and thought leadership, and best practices across multiple industries and vertical markets, to support individual customer success.

Let’s create the future together.