02.06.2022
Crossing HR Borders - Engagement
'Don't think outside the box, think outside your industry.' For a lot of HR problems today, a different domain has already solved that challenge. It can be very inspiring to cross some borders to gain new insights. And we're not talking about just crossing country borders, but also the borders of your discipline, industry or other unexpected resources. These insights can lead to specific solutions of the challenges that you're facing today.
Explore these examples in this monthly 'Crossing HR Borders' series.
One of the key factors to running a successful business is knowing how to engage employees. If the leaders of a business or organization understand the level of passion their workforce has for the job, they are a step ahead of the competition.
As a manager, you want your employees to have pride in what they do and in the company they work for. Those who work with purpose put forth their best efforts: a practice that can only benefit the goal of your organization. It’s important to look at every aspect of why people do the work they do and what drives them to do it.
In this newsletter you can find some inspiration from different sectors on how to engage your employees in an easy and positive way.
Engagement from the start
With Chrysostomos or Hundred Days, senior high school students celebrate the fact that they only have 100 days left to go to school. What if we introduced a variant of this momentum inside companies with new employees: what did they notice during the first 100 days at their new job? What do they find positive? What do they want to change? After all, during the first 100 days, you have not yet been shaped by the rules and culture. As HR and manager you enter into a unique dialogue to capture this fresh perspective!
>>> Do your employees get the chance to share their experiences after 100 days?
Engagement thanks to a clear why
Efteling doesn’t sell admission tickets, but memories, experiences and meaningful moments. The why of Efteling has been the same since the organization was founded: let visitors forget their daily lives for a while. Every employee can make a difference, as the goal is very clear. Even the director sells some fries now and then to be close to the customer. So, every day the employees feel that their contribution matters.
>>> How can you make your employees fulfil your customers' dreams?
Engagement thanks to transparency
More and more organizations are abandoning control & command where only the leaders have access to all information. Transparency increases involvement. You can start small by giving access to more information, perhaps together with a training to interpret the information. Open-book management can lead to employees better understanding how the financial numbers work and taking action to influence them. Some organizations (such as Morning Star) even let employees determine their salaries.
>>> How can your organization be more transparent for its employees?
Engagement thanks to trust
Tesla employees receive an Anti-Manual Manual at the start. There is no focus on rules. Everything is based on trust. The most important message is that Tesla employees are different. The manual includes things like the ability to communicate with anyone (feel free to send Elon Musk a message - if relevant), having fun and the responsibility to make Tesla a success.
>>> What would your organization’s manual look like if you deleted the rules?
'Crossing HR Borders' is the result of a co-creation between Marc Heleven, Innovation researcher and Cyriel Kortleven, Global speaker on the Change Mindset.
These articles were first published in the Flemish HR Magazine ZigZag.
More info: www.cyrielkortleven.com