What does a successful employee engagement program look like?

4 min read

So you’ve established goals, analysed data, reviewed the options and put an employee engagement strategy into action. Great! But now what?

Monitoring your program is one thing, but to continually improve your levels of engagement, your employee engagement program needs TLC.

It's all about your willingness to make those adjustments and the care you put into making sure your platform is relevant and exciting for all your employees is another necessary step to success.

Employee engagement is an ever-evolving area both within the world of business and within your own organisation, so it’s something that needs ongoing attention, measurement, adjustment and improvement. Ready to create a successful employee engagement program? In working with hundreds of different clients over the years, these are the best practices I’ve relied on to help create a successful employee engagement program:

Identify your goals

Starting with a clear goal or goals in mind for what you want to achieve means you’re focused on more than just ticking a box. Clear goals drive programs from inception to launch, and beyond. Without clear goals or genuine enthusiasm, you’ll have difficulty getting anywhere after launch. This leads me to my next point…

Find your champions

Engaging outside resources to launch a program or platform is smart–but who is going to maintain enthusiasm after launch? Answer: your employees. Turning employees into brand champions and engagement advocates will power the success of your program and/or platform. Moreover, look for champions at all levels–not just at the management level–and within every department. This will promote authentic and sustainable program engagement.

Listen to feedback

I’ve seen even the most well-planned employee engagement programs go stale quickly without constant, two-way conversations about what’s working–and what’s not. The most successful programs implement open and visible employee communication channels that offer a safe space for employees to provide honest feedback that both HR and leadership can respond to. My advice? Go beyond traditional employee surveys, and utilise an “always-on” feedback channel, such as Slack. These channels allow for real-time input and open lines of communication between all levels of your organisation.

Make data-driven decisions

Over the past 10 years, Reward Gateway has partnered with thousands of organisations to assist them on their journeys in employee engagement. One thing all successful companies have in common is that they constantly work on measuring their employee engagement and use that data to make informed decisions on how to adjust their strategy accordingly. Three key elements to monitoring employee engagement are:

• Measuring usage: How much is the program being used? Knowing this will drive how you grow your program, and where to invest in future programs, marketing, and more. For our clients, this often means looking at metrics like platform views, logins, repeat sessions as well as how employees are using the platform — are they engaging more with the eCards, or saving money through employee discounts, for example? Are there certain times of the year that engagement is higher than others? Why might that be, and how can you make engagement more consistent?
• Understanding sentiment: How do your employees feel about their benefits? I’ve found that even if people don’t use their benefits or discounts, they put a lot of value on the programs that they have access to. So make sure your employees are aware of what’s available, whether that’s through readily available information on your internal communications platform, or opening up a feedback channel like a poll or survey to continually gather the changing sentiment. With more awareness,  they’ll be your best advocates and unsolicited marketers.
• Reading the comments: How often should you ask for feedback? Answer: constantly. Feedback is critical to measuring program success and understanding where to tweak small parts or make broader changes. Use data to constantly analyse how you’re doing, and remember that scores are great, but comments provide really important insights, too.

Our Client Success Managers are as passionate about our clients’ employee engagement as our clients are, and we are here to assist you on your journey through detailed analysis of product statistics, employee feedback and industry standards and innovations. Get in touch if you’re ready to create an employee engagement program that your employees will want to shout about.