13% of the global workforce is “psychologically committed to their jobs and likely to be making positive contributions to their organizations” according to a 2012 Gallup Poll. Newer data is available from other sources and indicates a lack of improvement over the past two years. That’s the “glass is half full version” the number that cries out is interpreted as “87% of people could care less about their employer”.
Consider the opening paragraph with the fact that 70% of college graduates leave their jobs within the first 2 years and the task of employee engagement seems vast.
2015 is a significant turning point in the labor market; it’s the year where over 50% of the workforce will be in their 20’s. The landscape of the workforce continues to change; another consideration is 10,000 baby boomers exit the workforce everyday.
The way current and future employees of the world consume information is immensely different. Baby boomers have adopted newer technology while Gen Y (or millennials as they are labeled) view it as “the way it is”. Gen Y does not talk about “getting on social media”, it would be like this Gen X’er “getting on the communicator i.e. telephone”.
Instant everything; a $1,500 dollar television is but 2 clicks on Amazon and at your door in 1-2 days with a simple return policy. The birth of your first child is announced to the world with a simple mobile click and upload to the masses before the doctors have cut the umbilical cord.
Engaging employees through this lens is the key. The days of stumbling through a career site because “you have to apply this way” are gone. Sitting down at the tube and completing paperwork on your first day and faxing in your signed copies are archaic. Below is an overview for a successful employee engagement program.
Mobile
Create mobile optimized everything (career pages, benefits information, open enrollment etc.. The percentage of U.S. smart phone owners by age group are;
- 86.2% of 25-34 year olds
- 80.7% of 35-44 year olds
- 70.8% of 45-54 year olds
- 61.1% of 55+ year olds
Utilize a customizable mobile app to pull all mobile optimized information into one common source. This is a great and cost effective internal communication tool.
Simple
- On-boarding should be easy and not a boring day of classroom nonsense that no one remembers past the pizza lunch. You are hiring adults who like to have fun and not waste time…make it interactive
- Mobile based scavenger hunts so you can learn about the company while interacting with employees and the companies social platforms; check out great examples at Mobile Scavenger Hunt Examples
- User designed forms that capture pertinent information with a click; no more Word documents, PDF’s or broken systems based on a 15+ year old platform
Openness
- Encourage grass-roots efforts by the employee (everything does not have to be started or controlled by the company)
- Open policy on social media; banning social media usage equates to employees calling home on the office phone
- Encourage employee feedback at 30/60/90 days, for that matter have an open forum accessible via mobile where employees can tell you instantly how they feel
- Reward: never tell an employee “to be a _____ you need at least ___ years of experience” instead tell them “once you accomplish ____ then we can move you into _____ role/opportunity”
Make it Fun
- Gamify where you can; employee referrals, leads, incentives are great starts
- Treat everyone like an intrapreneur….this will be the biggest challenge in retaining a workforce where 30% start a business while in college
Listen
- Read Glassdoor reviews, compile the common issues and address them in an open forum
- Host town halls and reserve a portion for employees to voice their opinions, if a subject is overly sensitive give them an outlet to express
- Encourage employee blogs posts and social media interaction
We could make this list into 10 blog posts! Want to investigate this further? Check out our full presentation and leave your ideas and comments.
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