The face of HR in 2022 is widely different from what it was ten years ago. In fact, it is even vastly different from two years ago. Two years after the world was turned upside down by COVID-19, HR managers are finding a whole lot of new challenges springing up when managing staff.
Work-from-home has become more and more prominent, there has been more call for work-life balance and four-day workweeks are being trialed in countries all over the world. With all of these challenges looming, how do you keep up with keeping employees engaged and satisfied in their working environment? We took a look at what some of the most successful companies are doing and what could work for you.
Show Appreciation to Your Employees
What many companies have missed out on for years is actually showing gratitude, appreciation, and rewarding employees. The truth is that the “paycheck should be enough” mentality is no longer viable. Employees have been seen to be more satisfied and productive in companies that regularly reward and appreciate them. Turnover is lower and the general overview of employees is a positive one.
Consider bringing in elements like month-end awards, awarding hard-working employees with days off or vouchers, or investing in employee appreciation gifts. It may be small efforts from your side, but once your employees start to feel that their efforts are being recognized and celebrated by management, you will see a difference in the overall work ethic in the company.
Even though many companies are working with a large base of remote employees, things like team-building activities are incredibly important for your team satisfaction and bonding. Employees who interact on a more personal, out-of-office basis tend to develop a deeper bond and work more closely together. If you do have a large remote team, consider various digital team-building exercises and virtual socials.
Change Your Communication Style
Management chains are important. Reporting structures are vital to keeping the company flowing correctly and employees reporting to the right structures. But, communication is vital, and communicating effectively means taking the time to really understand your employees and their needs.
Transparency needs to be key for employee relations. Making roles, structures, and tasks clear is the foundation of good employee relations, but you will need to start taking it further. Set aside time for regular check-ins and brainstorming sessions. Make sure your employees feel like they are heard by the relevant structures and take their feedback into account.
Employees are more loyal and productive when they feel like they are being heard by the company and are included in daily communication. Keep in mind that it is your employees who are facing clients and dealing with the day-to-day work. When they feel like they are included, you will find more and more useful information and feedback coming from the ground.
Digitize Your Task Management
Whether you are working with remote employees or not, workflows and task management can easily be automated. There are a number of great platforms which allow you to have a full view of the company’s tasks and workflow and know the status of each project.
Platforms like monday.com and Trello are highly effective in having a birds-eye view of what is happening in your company, in teams, and with each individual. You are able to create projects and split up individual tasks. You are then able to assign tasks to employees and monitor the progress throughout the project.
Deadlines can be set, time can be tracked, documents and files shared and instant communication makes it easy for check-ins and status updates. What is more, you are able to integrate plug-ins for various other tools. Real-time chat like Slack is easily integrated, and other handy tools like calendars can also be integrated.
Re-Focus on a Work-Life Balance
We mentioned this earlier, but this is rapidly becoming an important element for workplaces. The usual nine-to-five is simply not cutting it anymore and employees are leaving companies in search of a more flexible, balanced working environment.
Whether you start implementing more work-from-home policies, the four-day work week, or a lifestyle change in your workplace, not acting on it will be detrimental in the long run. Companies are also beginning to implement health and wellness programs. From healthy eating to exercise programs, the benefits of healthy, fit employees are far-reaching.
Companies around the world have seen an overall increase in productivity and overall employee happiness after changing their lifestyle. With healthy lifestyles becoming increasingly popular around the world, implementing simple health and wellness initiatives in the workplace is an excellent way to show your employees that you care about them. Simple group exercise programs or discounted fitness memberships could be considered.
Bottom Line
Employee management will not stop evolving from here. The work we used to work in a decade ago will be vastly different from what we will see in the next five years and beyond. Cloud-based technology will continue to evolve and grow which will mean more opportunities for digital growth and remote work.
