{"id":40551,"date":"2022-11-24T21:31:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T21:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/articles\/most-employee-engagement-initiatives-fail-these-4-actually-work\/"},"modified":"2024-08-29T06:46:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T06:46:27","slug":"most-employee-engagement-initiatives-fail-these-4-actually-work","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/most-employee-engagement-initiatives-fail-these-4-actually-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Most employee engagement initiatives fail. These 4 actually work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class='inline-text-container MobileAlignment DesktopAlignment'>\n  <div class='richText'><p dir=\"ltr\">Which initiatives to improve employee engagement are the most effective?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Every talent manager, HR leader and C-suite executive would jump at the chance to improve employee engagement with minimal effort.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But most initiatives to improve employee engagement fail because they focus on the wrong elements of the employee experience.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This results in novelty initiatives (like free massages) that are temporarily appreciated, but ultimately fail to increase engagement and retention.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Strategically focusing on <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/totara-trade-show-partners-3\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"8f48d3a4-9496-4a4a-9352-c332e03dd429\"> talent experience<\/a>, (the practical and influential everyday elements of the employee experience\u2014employee development, collaboration, performance and mentorship)\u2014is what unlocks sustained engagement and workforce productivity.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ahead, you\u2019ll get a list of\u00a0employee engagement initiatives that improve talent experience and result in a stronger sense of purpose, development, collaboration and engagement among your people.<\/p>\n<div class=\"note\" role=\"note\" aria-label=\"Information\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Table of contents:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li><a href=\"#Employee-satisfaction-&amp;-employee-engagement-surveys\">Employee satisfaction &amp; employee engagement surveys<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Mentorship-through-performance-management\">Mentorship through performance management<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Team-based-knowledge-sharing-and-collaboration\">Team-based knowledge sharing and collaboration<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Favorable-work-life-balance\">Favorable work-life balance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Employee satisfaction &amp; employee engagement surveys<a id=\"Employee satisfaction &amp; employee engagement surveys\" name=\"Employee-satisfaction-&amp;-employee-engagement-surveys\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Should you use\u00a0<a href=\"\/node\/1842\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"95f4c52b-bf2d-4267-8e71-6a2766afa2c4\">gamification to improve employee engagement<\/a>, or introduce\u00a0wellbeing-related perks?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys are two effective ways to benchmark employee engagement levels in your organization and decide which initiatives to deploy.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">They\u2019ll reveal how engaged employees are right now, and how current levels of employee engagement compare to previous years. But given that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leadershipiq.com\/blogs\/leadershipiq\/only-22-of-companies-are-getting-good-results-from-their-employee-engagement-survey\"> just 22% of organizations get good results <\/a> from their employee engagement surveys, how can you avoid the common pitfalls?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The main thing to remember when you\u2019re building employee engagement or satisfaction surveys is to keep them relatively short to avoid abandonment.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You also want to include both qualitative and quantitative questions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Include at least one open-ended response where employees can share their thoughts, and keep the metrics consistent for easier comparison between answers (e.g. from 1 to 5, strongly agree to strongly disagree).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span class=\"bg-warning\">Recommended read: <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/96-employee-engagement-survey-questions-open-close-ended\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"e51ba297-7948-41db-bb95-36004227d28c\"> 96 employee engagement survey questions (open &amp; close-ended)<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Mentorship through performance management<a id=\"Mentorship through performance management\" name=\"Mentorship-through-performance-management\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Did you know that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globoforce.com\/press-releases\/globoforce-shrm-human\/\"> 89% of HR leaders <\/a> agree that peer feedback and regular performance check-ins are key for successful engagement?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The more managers and employees speak, the better the understanding of what needs to happen, whether that\u2019s offering up training opportunities, removing blockers or reviewing achievements.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Linking your learning platform, whether that\u2019s a learning management system (LMS) or learning experience platform (LXP), to your <a href=\"\/products\/totara-perform\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"af0303bf-a392-4f6b-9fe8-4742697a313d\"> performance management system<\/a>\u00a0ensures that there\u2019s a clear link between\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/name-badge\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"63b57bd4-51c3-4d02-be8f-bf3a61ae5e73\">employee performance and development<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After each <a href=\"\/node\/1794\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"6e42d0cd-66c6-4dcd-9ce0-77a473645715\">performance check-in<\/a>, managers can record the conversation in the system, and employees can see what short-term tasks they need to complete in order to work towards their long-term goals.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Team-based knowledge sharing and collaboration<a id=\"Team-based knowledge sharing and collaboration\" name=\"Team-based-knowledge-sharing-and-collaboration\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>A <a href=\"\/products\/learning-experience-platform-lxp-totara-engage\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"ffe4c8df-9537-4f19-9315-98644b74237e\"> learning experience platform <\/a> (LXP) such as Totara Engage is a highly effective way to encourage collaboration and contributions from every member of the organization, ensuring everyone has their say.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">From brand-new employees to experienced senior management, an LXP connects people with similar learning needs\u2014whether that&#8217;s by role, location, seniority level or skill set.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Not only will this help your people share knowledge, collaborate on projects and communicate with colleagues, but it also opens up the opportunity for better succession planning and <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/become-a-partner\/totara-trade-show-partners-1\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"0f2398b8-b827-43bd-8d3e-e65af5516dd8\"> career development<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Experts can curate training resources from multiple channels to create personalized development paths, answer questions from mentees and track how engaged mentees are.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This provides employees a dedicated place to develop their skills, discuss ideas with colleagues and solve problems together in an engaging, interconnected way.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And with more employees expecting to keep working remotely in a post-pandemic world, an LXP also acts as a central <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/historias-de-clientes\/easyjet-drives-a-702010-learning-culture-across-seven-countries\/partner-guidelines-2\/\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"3910fa53-d261-45d0-bf68-b5b350014857\"> collaborative online workspace <\/a> for complex tasks and projects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Wikis<\/strong> help employees navigate policies, governance or independently troubleshoot and self-serve issues<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Forums<\/strong> document deep discussions, facilitate valuable team brainstorming, stimulate new ideas and enable peer reviewing<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Surveys<\/strong> capture ideas and sentiments from large groups<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Content playlist<\/strong>s can be assigned to foster continuous learning and upskill employees on specific subjects or competencies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Badges <\/strong>and labels gamify knowledge sharing, reward subject matter experts and recognize frequent contributors<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span class=\"bg-warning\">Recommended read:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/the-only-3-ways-to-use-technology-to-improve-employee-experience\/\">How to improve employee experience with technology<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Favorable work-life balance<a id=\"Favorable work-life balance\" name=\"Favorable-work-life-balance\"><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Employees will always appreciate their employer supporting wellbeing initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>However, as mentioned above, while free massages, cycle-to-work schemes and office fruit boxes can play a part, what really matters is trusting, respecting and empowering your employees.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Happy employees are engaged employees. And supporting personal development, championing a healthy work-life balance and creating an open dialogue between managers and employees ensures your workforce stays engaged and productive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>","protected":false},"template":"","tax\/tags":[724,806],"tax\/solutions":[],"tax\/topics":[731,808],"tax\/industries":[],"tax\/article-types":[1021],"class_list":["post-40551","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/40551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/tags?post=40551"},{"taxonomy":"solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/solutions?post=40551"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/topics?post=40551"},{"taxonomy":"industry-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/industries?post=40551"},{"taxonomy":"article-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/article-types?post=40551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}