Last week’s #HRforAll Twitter chat with People Element was fantastic. We came up with engagement strategies and paradigms that really push HR — and the employee experience forward.
Check out the chat highlights below.
But first….
SPONSORED BY
We’re thrilled to be partnering with our friends at People Element for this chat on Employee Engagement! People Element offers and innovative platform that makes it easy for people teams to achieve and exceed business goals and increase employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction. With People Element, you get a survey solution that works for the full employee lifecycle – from new hires to exits, and everywhere in between, leading to better insights and proven outcomes.
Learn more about People Element and review their 2021 Engagement Report here.
Twitter Chat Highlights on Employee Engagement
Welcome to #HRforAll! We’re thrilled to have you here with us to talk about #EmployeeEngagment! We’d like to give a warm welcome to our sponsor @People_Element and guest @MKY1979. Thank you for joining us today! Check out their 2021 Engagement Report here: https://t.co/LMWLEwiz57 pic.twitter.com/dP1DZx8cNK
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Q1. What is one thing you’ve seen organizations do to positively affect employee engagement? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/nBuMevSfYH
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
A1: Understand the most impactful key drivers of engagement for THEIR organization and build a cross-functional committee to recommend action steps. Then actually (and this is where the nuance comes in, she said somewhat sarcastically) take action #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
That action part is the big differentiator between a 🚩 company and a company that truly cares about their people. #HRForAll #HRCommunity
— Chris Hadley (@TheRealGappa) August 10, 2021
A1. When they listen, ask about “pain points,” adjust policies, focus on work/life, and treat employees with respect. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Q2. How do you know you need an employee engagement software/tool? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/Dxr6zlJiKp
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
If Collecting employee feedback is hard, laborious or intimidating for your organization… #HRforAll
— People Element (@People_Element) August 10, 2021
A2: You don’t have the bandwidth to administer employee feedback events on your own, and even if you do, you’re not sure the best ways to go about it to get good participation and actionable feedback #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
A2. Companies looking for continuous feedback, analysis, and anonymous survey options should consider looking into a tool. This could improve adoption rates and make tracking, measuring, and improving over time much easier. #HRforAll
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Q3. What are some indicators that you may have a disengaged population? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/uRDsqGhhau
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
A3. The revolving door. It’s happening in numbers never seen before, esp. with working women/mothers at all levels as well. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Business outcomes can be a sign as well: affected by poor productivity, absenteeism, & lack of teamwork across business units #HRforAll
— People Element (@People_Element) August 10, 2021
A3: Increased absenteeism, increased turnover, decreased productivity, increased safety incidences, lack of employee voice #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
Q4. How do you encourage participation and honest feedback when collecting employee feedback? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/aNcwZQnXhF
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Assure anonymity while also providing regular updates on changes made. #HRForAll
— Wendy Get Vaxed & Wear a Mask Dailey (@wyndall93) August 10, 2021
A4. I’ve done “off the record” talks with employees, mainly when they need to voice their opinion/frustrations but don’t want to do that with their direct supervisor or management. #HRForAll #HRCommunity
— Chris Hadley (@TheRealGappa) August 10, 2021
A4. From my experience, it requires outside intervention . Employees worry, and rightfully so, about self-disclosure, intimidation, retribution, lack of confidentiality, etc. Huge issue when seeking honest input/feedback. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Q5. Are you or your employees struggling to disconnect from work? What are some resources or initiatives that you’ve seen to help support work/life balance? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/RMwh05T47a
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
This. It must be modeled. Leaders need to not send emails on weekends and in the evenings. Send notes/emails enjoying staff to log off. #HRForAll
— Wendy Get Vaxed & Wear a Mask Dailey (@wyndall93) August 10, 2021
You are too kind! I borrowed it from a post @KatrinaKibben shared a few years ago, and I have taken it with me ever since! Several of us have it at MVAH. #HRForAll #HRCommunity pic.twitter.com/EMMRsIBVnn
— Nicole Roberts (@NRobertsHR) August 10, 2021
Our amazing CEO and Leadership team rolled out unlimited PTO, the real genuine version, and I’m out here living it right now! pic.twitter.com/L5gL6Vjlhh
— Tom “Work Like a 🦆” Horne (@EngagementHr) August 10, 2021
A5. I’m honestly loving all the synchronous days and weeks off. Although unlimited PTO is great, employees will always feel pressure to keep working if there’s pressure from the top or if they’re getting slack messages nonstop while they are out. #HRforAll
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Q6. We’re hearing a lot about DEI initiatives over the past year. What actions do you think companies need to take to truly improve inclusion and belonging? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/Z4NzsGwyfr
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
A6: This isn’t a full strategy of course, but I’ve seen great things happen when leaders survey their people on whether or not they feel like they belong and that their opinions matter. If you know where you’re starting, you know how to act to improve. #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
A6. I think recruiters and T/A’s need to be held way more accountable for things they do or publicly say about not pursuing a candidate. #HRForAll #HRCommunity
— Chris Hadley (@TheRealGappa) August 10, 2021
A6: Instead of the believing in the word inclusion, we as an industry should change it to transformation. Inclusion signifies that we should “include” people in the current system. The current system is broken #HRforAll
— cory kapner (@ckapner123) August 10, 2021
So true. It’s not possible for people to feel like they belong in a system that was designed to exclude them. #HRforAll https://t.co/6ga3cAgCDU
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Q7. Knowing line level managers rarely receive enough formal training, how can organizations better support them (and their teams) to be more effective? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/XI1iL9VzcR
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Step one: we get this exact conversation and Idea out there
— Tom “Work Like a 🦆” Horne (@EngagementHr) August 10, 2021
Training doesn’t have to be a full day in the Marriott courtyard meeting room. It should include feedback and micro learning along the way.
Yes! I also wonder, too, how much better managers would be if their 1on1s with their own manager were focused on “how are your direct reports doing?” as opposed to performance metrics. I feel like management would look SO different. #HRforAll
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
This begs the question why we feel senior managers are trained any better
— T Koirtyohann, SPHR (@HRwhale) August 11, 2021
A7. Training, but not “one and done” on company-specific skills development but far more. Ongoing support…a facilitated ERG for them. Access to mental health supports as they’re under enormous pressure to do it all. And encouraging them to take leave & time off. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Q8. How do you continue to capture the value of incidental or informal interactions that occurred naturally before we were in hybrid/remote environments? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/16tUurCBBc
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
A8: Time for informal, virtual gathering (we’re all over the country); we call it a coffee break, and people come for no other purpose than to connect and see faces. Monday’s coffee break discussion: would you rather have to fight a shark or a mountain lion? #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
This is a tough 1 but one that needs to be answered by each org in a manner that works for their team. Slack, Teams groups like our team’s “what are you listening to” or “shark lovers” groups get ppl chatting & I’ve personally remembered “oh hey Eric, i got a Q for you #HRforAll
— Tom “Work Like a 🦆” Horne (@EngagementHr) August 10, 2021
Q9. What are some things that employers can do to increase employee engagement? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/Dof2nDlx3i
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
A9: It really depends on the organization, but I can say that for most orgs we work with, two top drivers of engagement are 1) employee voice and 2) appreciation from leadership. How is your company doing with those two things? Ask, listen, and act. #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
A9. Sometimes the simple solutions are the best. Ask and listen. Employees know what they need and want. And if you ask, be sure to follow it up with the other “A” word – action. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Q9. Listen. Recognize any achievement in and out of work. And fist bumps, or air fist bumps, for those that are in office. #HRForAll #HRCommunity
— Chris Hadley (@TheRealGappa) August 10, 2021
Q10. What does the future of employee engagement look like? #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/XyMPZmwkLi
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
We saw a 5% increase in #employeeengagement with our clients over 2020 during the pandemic. Companies that engage and action their companies Absolutely benefitted and many more are jumping on
— Tom “Work Like a 🦆” Horne (@EngagementHr) August 10, 2021
A10: It feels (fortunately) like there is more of a shift to making sure we’re supporting front-line leaders – their engagement, as well as their ability to improve the engagement of their teams. Engagement is not just on HR’s plate anymore. #HRforAll
— Megan Younkin (@MKY1979) August 10, 2021
A10. It looks like rethinking everything we thought we knew, evaluating the policies/programs/systems we have, dropping assumptions, and engaging with employees as equals meaning with respect. #HRforAll
— Debra Isaacs Schafer (@DebraISchafer) August 10, 2021
Huge thanks to our partner @People_Element for sponsoring this incredible event and helping us learn about #EmployeeEngagement strategies. Make sure to check out their 2021 Engagement Report: https://t.co/LMWLEwiz57. #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/rJNw6excLH
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Shout out to our guest @MKY1979 for sharing her expertise in employee engagement at this month’s event! #HRforAll pic.twitter.com/ZYqgnYCEtf
— Micole Garatti, MBA (@socialmicole) August 10, 2021
Your Hosts
Cory Kapner
Cory is the Vice President of Global Sales for Recruitics – a recruitment marketing analytics and optimization platform. Over the past 8 years Cory has helped major Job Boards, Staffing firms and Fortune 100 companies with their talent acquisition and retention strategy. Cory brings a data driven, subject matter expert approach to all situations and has proven to be a strategic partner for clients in both, North America and Europe. His past experience includes Michael Page International, Indeed.com, and is a founding member of Recruitics. Learn more here and connect with Cory on Twitter at @ckapner123.
Micole Garatti
Micole is the founder of SocialMicole, author of The Most Inclusive HR Influencer List™, and the community manager and host of #HRforAll. She’s passionate about diversifying the voices of influence in HR and work tech, and has been featured as an expert in Inc., VentureBeat, LinkedIn’s Talent Blog, Workology, SHRM, and more. Learn more about Micole here, and follower her on Twitter at @socialmicole.
Megan Younkin
HUGE thank you to our guest Megan and our sponsor People Element! Check out People Element’s free 2021 Engagement Report here.
Please join us on September 14th from 1 to 2pm EST for another #HRforAll Twitter chat with GoCo.io!
See you at the next chat!