Research-Backed Tips to Follow Through on Employee Engagement Commitments

Research-Backed Tips to Follow Through on Employee Engagement Commitments
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn

Do Not Procrastinate – Follow Through on Employee Engagement Commitments
Putting off until tomorrow what you can or should do today is the classic definition of procrastination. Unfortunately, when it comes to employee engagement, most companies fail to fully implement employee engagement findings.  The good news is that employees who see action after an engagement survey are twelve times more likely to be engaged the following year compared to those who do not see follow-up.

It is very simple. The more you procrastinate, the less you accomplish and the more you waste all the time and effort of running an employee engagement survey in the first place.  In fact, if you are not going to follow through on employee engagement commitments, you would have been better off if you had never asked for employee feedback in the first place.

Tips on How to Follow Through on Employee Engagement Commitments
So much of employee engagement and satisfaction has to do with accountability and trust. Employees need to be able to rely upon one another and hold each other accountable for what they say they will do. Procrastination flies in the face of both these basic tenets of employee engagement. But there are ways to combat procrastination.

Here are a few tips:

  • Picture the Pros and Cons
    Just imagine the benefits of taking actions that create a more engaged workforce and how good it will feel once the task has been completed. Then think about what will happen if you ask employees for their candid feedback, they invest the time to let you know what matters most, and you do not deliver on your promises.  If this does not create enough performance pressure to act, then you need to ask yourself if it is worth raising employee expectations by asking for their feedback.
  • Realize that Your Integrity is at Stake
    You know that “doing what you say you are going to do” is at the core of being honest and having strong moral principles as a leader. That means being honest, open, transparent, and willing to hear and act upon employee feedback.
  • Visibly Commit to Following Through to Others
    Knowing that you have publicly committed to a deadline and taking action adds extra power to your need to make it happen. If you tell your boss, your colleagues, and the company how and when you will follow through on employee engagement commitments, the threat of embarrassment at missing your target will help spur you on.
  • Break It Down Into Manageable Chunks
    Analyzing engagement feedback and prioritizing actions to improve employee engagement can seem overwhelming until you break them down. With the right plan and support, following through on employee engagement feedback can be as simple as choosing and communicating a clear focus for your efforts, actively exploring viable options with your employees, and openly tracking issues, monitoring progress, and making necessary adjustments.

The Bottom Line
Research by Bain found that the active engagement of stakeholders during the strategy design phase has the highest correlation to strategies being successfully implemented. The same is true for employee engagement initiatives.  Smart leaders actively involve employees and make sure that they follow through with visible and meaningful actions.

To learn more about how to improve employee engagement, download Research Report – The Surprising Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Manager Effectiveness

Evaluate your Performance

Toolkits

Get key strategy, culture, and talent tools from industry experts that work

More

Health Checks

Assess how you stack up against leading organizations in areas matter most

More

Whitepapers

Download published articles from experts to stay ahead of the competition

More

Methodologies

Review proven research-backed approaches to get aligned

More

Blogs

Stay up to do date on the latest best practices that drive higher performance

More

Client Case Studies

Explore real world results for clients like you striving to create higher performance

More