In my last post, we met Robert, an ambitious young man becoming increasingly disenchanted with his experience at Acme Consulting. In this post, I will outline three strategies that can help Acme Consulting increase its workforce engagement:
Communicate the corporate mission
A corporate mission is a driving force within an organization. It inspires the workforce and informs all of the interactions, daily operations and decisions of the employees. The corporate mission acts as the standard by which employees interact with each other, customers, partners, and other external constituents. Acme Consulting needs to communicate its mission clearly to the workforce through written policies and consistent reinforcement throughout the employee lifecycle.
Identify corporate objectives
Clearly defined corporate objectives give clarity and direction to the workforce. The President of Acme Consulting should communicate the overall corporate objective and work with the senior management staff to determine the cascading functional areas goals. Senior Management will then be equipped to roll out the goals to the workforce, working with their staffs to determine performance objectives. When employees understand how their personal performance goals contribute to overall corporate objectives, engagement and productivity increase.
Formalize HR processes
HR involvement and participation in engaging the workforce is critical. Part of HR involvement should entail a well-thought out internal communication plan that outlines messages, communication channels and frequency. Guidelines and formalized processes for performance management should be established in addition to training and development policies.
Next up, what Robert can do to help sustain his enthusiasm and motivation at his job.
