Playgroup | Helping brands build genuine brand equity

What do employers want? 

Employees that go the 'extra mile'

What do employees want?

Work and jobs they enjoy and feel are worthwhile, for a company they believe in.

The two go hand in hand, if employees have what they want, then they will deliver above and beyond their requirements i.e. employ their discretionary effort driving towards meeting business objectives more effectively.

To achieve this level of employee engagement, employees want to be satisfied at the psychological level. There is an intangible psychological contract which is the agreement of effort required to meet the expectations of the other party (employer and/or employee). Stimulating this can be more influential than the formal contract in affecting how employees behave from day to day.

To stimulate discretionary effort, employees must understand the bigger picture and how they and their work contribute to the business goals. Communication must be open, and two-way dialogue encouraged to build trust between employer and employee. Recognition and an appreciation culture are also key to delivering psychological satisfaction at work. When implemented successfully, these elements result in employee satisfaction and therefore increased productivity.

An Internal Communications Strategy including a Reward and Recognition Programme are practical applications to achieving employee engagement. The strategy must communicate the bigger picture and business goals, help ingrain a consistent culture in line with the brand values, and encourage appropriate behaviours throughout the business.

Communications need to:

• Grab attention – cut through apathy created by communications overload
• Explain how employees work contributes to business strategy
• Encourage employees to contribute and feed in their opinions upwards
• Inform of, and involve in, organisation activities and change
• Motivate action or behaviour change.

Top level benefits seen by stimulating employee engagement are:

• Improved business results through an alignment of goals between employees and the employer.
• Brand strength – engaged employees will help promote the organisation via positive word of mouth. The organisation will be a place employees want to work and will attract the best talent.
• Through commitment employees will deliver consistent quality output which helps protect the brand.

The root of employee engagement is the satisfaction of employees psychological needs. A strong brand and values that align with those of the staff, along with a culture supported by communications developing trust and appreciation are the first steps to achieving employee engagement.

Posted by Clare on 24 Jul 08, at 9:13 am

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