So your company is experiencing high turnover, disengagement or sluggish productivity?
These common warning signs are the result of deeper challenges your company is currently facing. The only way to solve them is to get to the root of the problem.
To have a positively functioning organization you have to meet employee needs which fall under these three categories:
Processes – aided by processes which are working for, not against them
Management – leadership able to provide clear direction, coaching and recognition
Environment – open company culture driven by strong values
To create an effective talent management strategy send out an engagement survey asking your people to rate the following questions on a likert scale from 1-5 (strongly disagree; disagree; neutral; agree; strongly agree). Make sure to provide a space for them to elaborate if they responded with a rating of 1-2.
Processes - Bureaucracy, salary/rewards, performance management, career mobility/development, transparency
Do you feel company processes help or hinder your work?
Do you feel there is enough transparency in company wide decision-making processes?
Do you feel salary and benefits are fairly distributed?
Do you feel our current performance management process is effective?
Do you feel you can develop your career at …?
Management - Clear expectations/goals, motivation/recognition, development opportunities/coaching
Do you know what’s expected of you at work?
Does your manager help you set effective goals?
Does your manager provide you with the coaching and guidance you need?
Do you know how your work contributes to the company’s overall objectives?
Do you receive sufficient praise and recognition for your achievements?
Environment - Culture, values, psychological safety
Do you feel comfortable giving feedback to your team?
Do you feel your voice is heard and respected?
Do you feel you can suggest new ideas/question ways of doing things?
Do you feel we’re living our company values and mission?
*Would you recommend … as a great place to work?
While fixing company processes is more straightforward, there are also ways you can influence management and your environment by combining training, habit-forming processes and technology.
Based on your results, here are some possible solutions:
Processes
Management
Environment
Processes
If you find out that your people view your company’s processes as being overly bureaucratic, intransparent or simply not effective, this is a clear sign that it’s time to rethink old ways of doing things. There are two strategies you can use:
1. Send regular engagement surveys
If you’re not already sending out regular engagement surveys this is an absolute must. Giving your people a voice will not only improve your processes, it will also signal that employee satisfaction is a high priority for your organization. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t send out engagement surveys if you’re not prepared to make changes. This will only undermine their effectiveness by making it seem like your organization is only paying lip service to engagement, rather than actively working towards it.
2. Redesign your employee experience
Once you find out what your biggest challenge is, what can you do to change things? Previously used by designers to improve user experience, design thinking is a tool which is more commonly being used by HR professionals to revamp old processes in a way that reflects your organization’s needs, culture and people.
For some actionable tips on how to get started check out our eCourse: Creating the Ultimate Employee Experience
Management
The common saying goes that people leave bosses, not jobs. Help managers become effective coaches by:
1. Introducing upward feedback
Studies show that upward and continuous feedback are key to developing effective leaders. Similar to engagement surveys, keeping open and honest communication flows between employees and managers will create a culture in which people can learn and improve, rather than holding things in. Everyone will have different coaching needs and preferences, the best way for managers to learn how to lead their team effectively is to simply ask.
2. Training effective feedback behavior
Now that managers are getting more feedback, are they getting the most out of it? Teach managers how to accept and get the most out of the upward feedback they receive. This step also includes learning how to give actionable feedback that sets clear expectations and motivates employees to improve.
3. Helping managers become coaches
Once managers learn how to use feedback to their advantage, it’s time for them to train their team how to use feedback to create an effective development plan, set goals and communicate with their teammates.
Environment
When people don’t feel they can voice their opinions, challenge ways of doing things, feel supported by their team or have a strong connection with company mission and values, they won’t be engaged. Community and purpose can be even more important than pay and benefits. Consider these steps for creating a psychologically safe and engaging work environment:
1. Help people communicate openly and honestly
People may want to share feedback with their colleagues but are reluctant to risk damaging their relationship with others. Similarly, when people receive feedback, they may still be struggling with keeping emotions in check. This can cause small irritations to blow up into larger problems. Provide extra training and guidance on how to express feedback in a constructive manner.
2. Create accountability within teams
Feedback shouldn’t only be shared between managers and employees. Everyone should be helping each other to improve on a regular basis. Including 360 degree feedback in your performance reviews will serve to: get people comfortable sharing feedback with teammates and facilitate knowledge sharing. This will create stronger teams which hold each other accountable.
3. Empower people to get help when needed
Rather than waiting for the next performance review to come around, empower your people to ask for insights or share critical advice with teammates when it’s needed most by introducing real-time feedback.
4. Include company values in performance reviews
To strengthen the influence of your company values and keep them top of mind, consider including them in your performance reviews. To do this, translate them into behaviors. For example:
“This person is accountable to their team.”
“They put customers first”
“They support others in their professional development”
Find out how Bynder shaped its talent management strategy to strengthen its processes, management team and environment.