Introduction
The involvement of all team members in the work process can enhance the company’s productivity and employee efficiency, ultimately leading to increased profits. Involvement can depend on factors within the company and external circumstances. However, business managers must promote a culture of engagement and monitor employee sentiment. Therefore, this paper will analyze ways to create a culture of members’ engagement and the benefits it brings to the company.
The Culture of Engagement
Employee engagement strengthens employees’ mental and emotional connection to their work, their teams, and the organization (Illich & Hewrick, 2020). Employee engagement measures how employees feel about their organization. Businesses are better equipped to succeed when employees feel a strong connection to their work. Engaged employees have less risk of employee turnover, higher productivity levels, faster growth, and greater job satisfaction. Since highly engaged employees achieve better results, a culture of engagement contributes to long-term business success.
Many factors affect team members’ engagement. While a company’s performance depends on the overall performance of all its employees, the individual characteristics of each person need to be considered (Church & Dawson, 2018). If employees feel underappreciated or the company does not invest enough in their development, engagement rates may drop. Additionally, the level of engagement is influenced by employees’ motivation and the company’s adherence to its duties.
Business managers’ main task is to enhance employees’ involvement by understanding their capabilities, skills, and individual characteristics. Building a corporate culture and increasing member engagement are part of strategic planning (Rizan et al., 2019). If employees work within the same corporate culture and are aware of the company’s global goals and orientation, they make more efforts to achieve the expected result. Therefore, effective communication between managers and employees is a crucial factor influencing employee engagement.
Moreover, it is crucial to understand that employees’ happiness, well-being, and satisfaction are not direct indicators of engagement. However, these factors influence the amount of effort people will put into achieving company goals. For example, the higher the level of employee satisfaction, the more they are involved in the company’s work. They are more likely to participate in discussions and goal setting (Illich & Herwick, 2020). Moreover, these indicators influence how much employees are willing to develop and improve their skills to bring more value to the organization.
Enhancing the Members’ Engagement
A business manager’s task is to promote a culture of members’ engagement to improve company performance in the short and long term. The company must develop a strategy to allocate resources properly, plan activities to increase loyalty, and track results. Increasing employee engagement begins at the interviews and hiring stages.
First, the manager must assess how the candidate for the position corresponds to the company’s general corporate culture. Additionally, the candidate’s job skills and individual characteristics must be considered to determine whether they can effectively contribute to the team (Church & Dawson, 2018). Moreover, it is essential to determine whether working in an organization can enhance an employee’s professionalism and expertise. Employees lacking motivation and career opportunities are often less engaged (Illich & Herwick, 2020).
Another factor at this stage is the proper training and adaptation of employees within the culture of involvement. In addition, an atmosphere of trust and openness must be maintained. Collecting regular employee feedback and participating in discussions enables issues to be resolved within the team before they escalate into problems (Church & Dawson, 2018).
If the employee expresses dissatisfaction, the manager will be able to address the issue promptly. Church and Dawson (2018) state that “data-based feedback is at the heart of OD, as it provides both the input for change as well as a means for sustaining it over time” (p.296). Obtaining employees’ opinions about working in the company can be done anonymously for more accurate results and evaluation.
Furthermore, the company’s management must adhere to the principle of transparency. First, it is necessary to inform the staff about what is happening in the company. Secondly, tasks must be set clearly, considering employees’ capabilities, professional skills, and expertise. Different approaches, like FAST or SMART, can be used to set goals. By adhering to the FAST goal setting, managers “engage others in regular discussions to review progress, designate human and fiscal resources, and offer feedback” (Illich & Herwick, 2020, p.26).
Additionally, ambitious goals motivate employees to exert greater effort and enhance their skills to achieve them. Another critical factor is that employees must understand how their performance will be measured. The lack of established metrics and deadlines reduces employees’ interest in their work. Moreover, team members must have the opportunity to observe the progress and results of their work, which again underlines the importance of transparency in increasing engagement.
Additionally, it is crucial to educate and enhance employees’ skills, as well as train department leaders. Often, managers are role models for their subordinates and set the tone for the entire team’s work. Therefore, it is essential to regularly collect feedback on the work and improvements made by leaders (Church & Dawson, 2018). The employee engagement program should include leadership development activities, tools for interacting with subordinates, and training to improve communication skills.
Moreover, it is necessary to consider employees’ wishes and develop a system of motivation and encouragement. It may include financial rewards for the employee and communication of their achievements to other members. That, in turn, can be an additional factor encouraging others to put more effort into their work.
Importance of Culture of Engagement
Employee engagement is a key factor in a company’s success. Engaged employees do more than just their part well. They are always ready to help colleagues by offering a new, more efficient way of working. A positive and friendly atmosphere within the company has a positive impact on employees, who will exhibit a better attitude towards customers.
Additionally, the more team members are involved in the work, the higher their loyalty to the company tends to be. A satisfied and engaged employee is less likely to quit. It enables the company to reduce the cost of finding and integrating new employees into the work process. Moreover, the more the employee is interested in the job, the more time they spend on it and less on distractions, which ultimately determines the organization’s success.
Fostering a culture of member engagement leads to increased innovation capability. Employees are more interested in their work, offer more ideas, and contribute to improving business processes. Therefore, the company will be able to “adapt to a variety of competitive business and environmental conditions” faster and more efficiently (Rizan et al., 2019, p.3).
The introduction of innovations helps raise consumers’ interest and commitment and, as a result, contributes to an increase in the organization’s profitability. In addition, Rizan et al. (2019) argue that there is a positive relationship between innovation in an organization and its performance. The ability of employees and the company to adapt to new working conditions reduces costs and increases company income.
Another advantage of members’ engagement is the possibility of long-term strategic planning. Rizan et al. (2019) define strategic planning as “a systematic effort to build interaction among the main stakeholders to increase a company’s responsiveness to its business environment” (p. 3). Since employee engagement reduces the risk of layoffs and frequent personnel changes, it helps to set and achieve long-term goals necessary for the company’s stable development. Additionally, it enhances the company’s competitiveness and ensures its long-term success.
Conclusion
Thus, the culture of member engagement is one of the critical factors in the stability and development of the company. Its promotion contributes to achieving goals, which ensures the organization’s success in the short- and long-term plans. Therefore, business managers should help to promote this culture in the organization. Various methods can be employed for this, including establishing open and honest communication, organizing training for employees and leaders, collecting regular feedback with subsequent adjustments to work, and implementing a motivation system. However, several practices are recommended to achieve a high level of engagement, which, in turn, will help reduce company costs and improve performance.
References
Church, A. H., & Dawson, L. M. (2018). Agile feedback drives accountability and sustained behavior change. Strategic HR Review, 17(6), 295-302. Web.
Illich, P., & Herwick, S. (2020). Promoting engagement in strategic planning. Southeast Community College Used FAST goals to capture stakeholder interest. The Society for College and University Planning, 48(3), 23-32. Web.
Rizan, M., Balfas, F., & Purwohedi, U. (2019). The influence of strategic orientation, organizational innovation capabilities, and strategic planning on the performance of technology-based firms. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 18(3), 1-11.