Post-covid employee engagement

Fiona Passantino, Late December, 2022

Engagement Managers are often measured by how they move the needle on employee net promoter scores or attrition rates. But in fact, it’s all about the details. Conveying the feeling of being heard, seen, valued and respected in the workplace, and allowing for empowerment, inspiration and joy.

It’s about the details

Many people say that being an Engagement Manager is about the big picture. KPIs and moving the engagement numbers higher.

But in fact, it’s all about the details.

Starting with onboarding, that first opportunity to bring in new members of a community; the first chance to make an impression. This is the moment to celebrate a new arrival in a personal way, one that is warm, effective, and fun. Once that new joiner is passed through the necessary schooling they need to become a lode-bearing members of the community, their data is fed into the system: their birthdays, countries of origin, native languages and any loose information about their hobbies and ideas they chose to share.

The Engagement Manager is the Chief Survey Taker, keeping track of the sentiment scores on an annual basis.

After that, it’s the Engagement Manager’s job to see to the details. To make sure that every birthday is celebrated and that every milestone anniversary is recognized. That every leaver is thanked for the hours and minutes of their lives they have given to the organization and told that the door is open for a boomerang should things in the new job not work out.

Making sure that all diverse holidays are celebrated, from Eid to Easter, from Hannukah to Halloween, from Ferregosto to the Fourth of July makes everyone feel like their culture is as important as the dominant one. That people are informed that random food is put away during the month of Ramadan out of respect for fasters.

Making sure that the restaurant has vegan and Halal options, that rainbow flags fly on Pride Day, that there are places to pray, meditate, pump breast milk and fridges to store it in. That the cafes feature cappuccinos and chai with plant-based milk, and baskets of snacks and fruit are available to grab on every floor. That the monthly drinks feature non-alcoholic options.

Then, as a coach to team leads, teaching them how to actively reduce workload that is non-essential. How to communicate in a way that conveys empathy and display active listening.

And finally, that the Engagement Manager is there to listen. To walk the corridors, physically and digitally, sit down with strangers during lunch and listen to what they’re saying about their jobs.

Being a mom to some, a therapist to others, a tour guide for new arrivals from other countries. Having 1:1 sessions with those who feel like they don’t belong, can’t connect to the purpose of the organization, feel invisible, unempowered, unhappy and unwell. And having the means to do something about it, on a granular scale. And listening to those who are experiencing troubles at home – a sick child, a divorce, aging parents – who might need a bit of slack from their managers for a period of time.

Every employee, no matter how visibly engaged, is a potential flight risk. Holding these two thoughts simultaneously in the mind of the Engagement Manager is the “secret sauce” that separates the good from the great, and is the difference between a loose collection of professionals working for a company to a community of irreplaceable, inspired individuals aligned behind a common purpose, belonging to a tribe that, simultaneously, respects and sees who they are, has their back and won’t let them fall.

KPIs and targets fade with every passing quarter. But the details? Stick.

Listen to the podcast: “Engagement is About the Details”

Engagement Managers are often measured by how they move the needle on employee net promoter scores or attrition rates. But in fact, it’s all about the details. Conveying the feeling of being heard, seen, valued and respected in the workplace, and allowing for empowerment, inspiration and joy.

Listen on APPLE.
Listen on SPOTIFY.

No time to read? Watch the video.

Engagement Managers are often measured by how they move the needle on employee net promoter scores or attrition rates. But in fact, it’s all about the details. Conveying the feeling of being heard, seen, valued and respected in the workplace, and allowing for empowerment, inspiration and joy.