8 Elements of Effective Employee Engagement

Introduction

The recent Gallup State of Global Workplace 2023 Report calls out that only 23% of global employees identify themselves as feeling engaged and thriving. Even more alarming is that the report suggests 59% of the employees surveyed are quiet quitting meaning these employees are doing the bare minimum required and are psychologically disconnected from their employer. The remaining 18% employees surveyed are loud quitting where their disengagement is more obvious and even more detrimental to the organisation and team. Further the report identifies the quiet quitters are the greatest opportunity for growth and awaiting a leader or manager to engage and to encourage and inspire them.

Countless research have identified that direct and effective engagement between a leader and subordinate is the most effective way of increasing employee motivation and retention of talent. The above Gallup report calls out that 70% of team engagement is attributable directly to the manager. It also identifies the lack of engagement as one of the biggest stress factors and cause of burnout for employees.

The situation today

Many leaders may simply lack time or know how to have engaging conversations with their team members. This is usually due to the pace and demands of their jobs and a broader focus of keeping the business running optimally. This makes engaging team members a low priority, much to the detriment of the team and organisation. However, I have also observed that when provided with the right guidance, tools, and possibly a process, leaders have been able to enhance their engagements with employees and effectively elevate the motivation of individuals and teams.

8 Elements of Effective Engagement Conversations: The RETAIN Model

In an attempt to bridge the above-mentioned gap, I have developed the below simple tool to help leaders have regular effective conversations and engagement with team members in order to retain their motivation, inspiration, passion, and eventually to retain their talent. The tool is called RETAIN and it encompasses 8 elements focusing on allowing employees to release their emotions and thoughts and taking that through empowering, inspiring, and motivating them into action. Below I take you through these 8 elements, accompanied by a cheat sheet with guiding questions you can pose to aid the employees through.

RETAIN Overview

The R in RETAIN

RESPECT – This is fundamentally what all of us look for. Make the conversation about the employee. Engagement conversations should put the employee at the center, and it should first consider what the employee would like to talk about and cover. Attention should also be given to your tone of voice, choice of words, and courtesy. Create a cordial environment where employees feel safe and comfortable from their perspective and not yours.

RELEASE – Everyone of us carries the burden of our emotions with us throughout the day. The stresses of the day, week, month, and even year build upon us and may come in the way of effective conversations. Allow the time and space for employees to release these emotions and clear their minds while making space for comfortable, effective two-way interactions. Enhance this by eliminating judgement, removing bias, and applying empathetic listening and responses. This creates a psychologically safe environment for employees to express themselves and ease their emotional burdens. This in turn enables the conversation to be more productive and beneficial to both parties.

The E in RETAIN

Empower – The ability to express our best selves through the work we do is an inherent desire for most, if not all, of us. Many a time, however, leaders impose their thoughts, ways, and ideas onto their team members be it knowingly or unknowingly. Many leaders forget the fact that they painstakingly hire the best to tap on their thoughts and ideas and instead end up imposing their own views on them. As leaders, it is wise to be mindful that even a suggestion by you can be perceived as an instruction by your team members. As such, create an environment where employees you engage with feel safe to voice their thoughts and ideas, they feel that these thoughts and ideas are heard and considered, and they are free to materialise them knowing they have the support and backing should it fail. In the process, help them enhance their ideas with open-ended, non-suggestive questions, and make clear the help, support, and assistance you are able to provide to bring these thoughts and ideas to fruition.

The T in RETAIN

Transparent – Think of a time when you were in a conversation and you could sense through the speaker’s words, actions, and body language that they weren’t speaking the truth. How did it feel? If you were like most people, you would sense a lot of discomfort, pessimism, and if prolonged, distrust. It is no different with your team members. They would need to know that everything you say and do in conversations with them is genuine and with good intent. No doubt, as leaders, there are times when you are unable to divulge certain information. In these circumstances, it is perfectly fine to call out that the particular information cannot be shared. It is better to acknowledge that than to pretend ignorance. There may also be times that information shared may no longer be valid. In these situations, it is best to loop back with the team member in a timely manner on what had changed. Take accountability of every message delivered to and information shared with the team member as your own which in turn enhances transparency and elevates the trust between the two of you.

The A in RETAIN

Appreciate – A recent Harvard Business Review study states that employees who reported that their managers were great at recognising them were 40% more engaged than those with managers who were not. Several other studies have revealed a similar finding and impact of effective recognition and appreciation. Despite the well-researched benefits of appreciation on employee morale and wellbeing, research has also shown that many managers still don’t take time to appreciate team members enough and some aren’t even aware how to appreciate. In every opportunity with the employees, try to identify a couple of their achievements that you want to amplify or values demonstrated that you may want to reinforce and call it out to them. Also call out the effort and process they went through to showcase the resulting achievements and values. Appreciation does not only make the recipient feel good, it also reinforces the behaviours and values that help the organisation and inspiring team members to continue to demonstrate them. Deliver the appreciation or recognition in a way that resonates best with the employees.

Read: 5 Ways Belongingness Impacts Employee Engagement

Advance – Fulfilment and self-esteem are part of the basic human needs as called out by psychologist Abraham Maslow in his theory of human motivation captured in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In terms of one’s career, these needs can be achieved in the form of advancement. Many often mistake advancement as progress in grade or title. However, advancement can also be in the form of growth of skills, capabilities, character, and experience. In conversations with employees, identify what advancement means to them. Call out in what ways you have seen them progress and identify in what ways they would like to continue to see progress. Come to an agreement on what they need to do to see that advancement and regularly check in on progress. Also, determine what kind of support and guidance you can provide as a leader for team members to continue to see progress and advancement in the identified areas.

The I in RETAIN

Inspire – “Believe you can and you are half way there” – Theodore Roosevelt.  While enabling opportunities for advancement creates a sense of purpose and excitement among employees, it is crucial that leaders also inspire a sense of belief within employees to help them achieve their desired outcomes. This can be done in several ways. One effective way is to get them to reflect on past achievements as well as habits and behaviours that have helped them get there. The approach of reflecting on past achievements and the journey that enabled them will instil a sense of familiarity and the belief that the present goals they are embarking on is also achievable. This can be followed by positive affirmations of strengths and behaviors these individuals have demonstrated, which helps reinforce the belief in themselves. Unless requested, try to avoid using your own personal examples too often as they may not be relatable to the employee and may be counterproductive to the conversation.

The N in RETAIN

Next Steps – Walk away from the conversation having clearly defined actions. Co-develop follow-up actions with the employee with clarity on accountability. Allow the employee to identify not only the actions they would want to take but also what actions they would like your help with. This way the employee feels there is continuity to the conversation and that the conversation is not all talk nor is it a one-off commitment from you. Do ensure the actions are precise and well defined with dates and desired outcome. Ensure there is closure to the next steps with clear communication to one another.

Employee satisfaction is a journey. And it is a journey that requires frequent and consistent engagement. I hope the above tool provides you with a simple approach that you can effectively use to engage your employees to enable them to be their best selves at the workplace.

Gold Employee Engagement Award for Budaya

The RETAIN cheat sheet

RETAIN Cheat Sheet

This article was first published in Vellu Mahadevan's LinkedIn.