Employee Engagement is not an Initiative

​There are any number of mistakes that companies make when the decision is made to improve employee engagement, and, hence, the culture. 

But, by far, the one that will derail all efforts, no matter how on-board everyone else may be, is a CEO who is not.

Because CEOs must be committed and involved, or nothing will change. 

At least not fundamentally enough to achieve all of the advantages a truly engaged workforce brings.

🚩 Their buy-in and public support is critical.

🚩 As is not making the mistake of viewing this important work as an HR- or Culture Committee-driven initiative.

🚩 That involves only minimal CEO input.

This could not be farther from the truth.

𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

Then continuing with that new way of doing things from that point forward. 

✅  It is not a short-lived initiative or program with no CEO involvement. 
✅  Where life returns to normal once the initiative has been rolled out.

Every single employee plays a role in an organization’s culture. 

And an employee’s direct manager is also vitally important to employee engagement.

Because employees are not going to stay working for a manager they don’t like or respect.

But the CEO must be the one leading and driving the change. 

Working hand-in-hand with HR.

Or it will fail.

Making the necessary changes is not easy, but it’s not overly difficult either. 

It’s just a new way of being, of putting some new practices consistently into practice.

And not slipping back into the old way of doing things.

Which will result in the advantages organizations experience when they commit to engaging their employees, such as: 

✅  More productive
✅  Stay longer
✅  Are absent less
✅  Easier to hire top talent
​
All of which positively impact the organization’s bottom line.