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The summer months can be a lull period for lots of businesses as members of staff take time off and go on their summer holidays; this can be especially worse between the end of July and August due to school holidays.
Due to this, work can be difficult to progress forwards or at a quick rate possibly because the person you need to talk to is on annual leave. For HR though, this could be ideal, as it can provide that bit more time to focus on more than just the usual day-to-day tasks and processes; and allow time to begin planning to get ahead and focus on some priority initiatives.
As this lull period occurs every year, it’s something you can schedule in as a reoccurring annual task to ensure that your HR planning gets done in an effective and timely manner. We all know that sometimes HR find it challenging to give focus to those value-adding initiatives or strategic planning they need to be doing to support their organisation’s leadership, workplace culture and employee engagement. So, you can rest-assure that by doing this, you will be prepared and have time to create your HR plans to start getting ahead.
A focus area every HR lead should be thinking about in their HR plans is: Employee Engagement.
How engaged are your employees?
Staff surveys and employee feedback systems have really helped businesses make the most of understanding employee satisfaction and engagement through the HR software used within their organisations. It’s great to have the right tools in place to gather the data but it’s finding the time and resource to understand the data and start acting on the insight. So why not use this summer to take the lead on employee engagement and start developing employees that are truly engaged in your organisation.
Employee Engagement: What to consider
Most of your employee engagement initiatives will focus on your existing staff and workforce which could then focus in on a number of different aspects from physical working environments, learning and development, or mental health and wellbeing, as a few examples. All whilst taking into consideration the types of contracts your organisation has and the different needs of your employees.
Ultimately, your people should be happy to come to work and take an interest in the work they do for your organisation; so it’s important to ensure that each individual feels supported and valued as an employee. So consider thinking about this from an employee journey perspective.
Employee engagement encompasses all aspects of the employee journey – even before a new recruit has joined your organisation - so having an understanding of your present employer brand position is a great starting point to begin planning on where and how you can make improvements.
Begin reviewing what you are known for and then start to shape what you want to be known for and how you are going to get there. This needs to be reviewed from the initial touchpoints a prospective employee might have with you, right through to your internal exit process when someone leaves your business. All these touchpoints have an impact on your employer brand so putting in place the right processes and initiatives to ensure positive experiences are had with your organisation at any stage of the employee journey will go a long way to instilling positive brand perceptions, developing engaged people and becoming a place people know about and want to work for.
Be part of an elite group
Businesses that have engaged employees as a part of their organisation are known as ‘Destination Employers.’ They are also known for their strong leadership and dynamic workplace culture too. If you’re going to use this summer to start getting ahead in HR, then take a look at our free quick-start guide to becoming a Destination Employer. You can get inspiration to help you navigate the journey you want to go on and once you’ve determined this you can begin drilling down on actionable tips and improvements to get you there. Whether you want to focus on your employee engagement, strong leadership or workplace culture - there’s a guide to help you get there. Download it today.
