Maintaining your employee engagement has never been more important since due to COVID-19, working conditions in most companies are completely different than they were before.
In the current work climate, keeping your workforce motivated has never been more critical – and complicated. Fortunately, there are great tools on the market that can make the lives of HR easier and boost employee engagement.
Amy MacGregor from global HR firm Manulife and a speaker at the upcoming HR conference in Toronto, shares some of the ways she tries to keep her company's employees engaged.
1. Mobile – make it easy, simple and accessible
HR professionals need easy and effective ways to quickly communicate with employees, which means mobile is really key, says MacGregor. Mobile interfaces allow HR teams and employees to handle things related to their work right away.
2. Peer-to-peer recognition
Nothing can motivate an employee better than recognition of their efforts.
“Employees feel good when their efforts are recognized,” notes MacGregor, adding that leaders and employees can earn points by participating in Podium, a global recognition program.
3. Collaboration
Manulife uses a tool called Mural for collaboration. Teams can use it to create diagrams, , in collaboration with their colleagues.
“The tool can be used to bring together different teams to solve real business problems,” says MacGregor.
4. Ongoing and regular feedback
“Continuous feedback is very important for employee evaluation,” says MacGregor. Manulife has multiple channels for collecting feedback, whether it’s via email or through its HRIS tool.
5. Data
HR teams can use data to support decision-making related to people issues and understand the current state of their workforce – data is key to truly knowing your employees and understanding their needs, says MacGregor.
6. Stay in touch with your colleagues while working from home
Finding ways to stay connected to the workforce is one of the biggest challenges employers face in the current climate. As Manulife, like most companies, operates remotely, MacGregor says they are using technology like Microsoft Teams and are constantly holding virtual meetings, regular “ask me anythings” (AMAs) with senior leadership teams, happy hours and motivational speeches. Opportunities to interact with colleagues outside of the daily grind are key to maintaining a strong company culture.
