How HR Sets The Stage For Employee Engagement
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind just how important employee engagement is to a company’s growth. However, that leaves one very important question. Who is actually responsible for seeing to engaging employees so that they are actually happy with the company they work for and the jobs they do? According to most analysts, employee engagement falls to HR and it is their responsibility to measure current job satisfaction while setting the stage for future engagement. The following two questions are representative of how it is that HR should and can set the stage for employee engagement.
Does Employee Engagement Fall to Team Leaders or HR?
One of the most common organizational questions being posed currently is in regards to who is actually responsible for seeing to employee engagement. Most often it is seen as the responsibility of HR for at least one very good reason. Team leaders and foremen are tasked with getting jobs done. They are often heard to say “I am not here to babysit. If the numbers fall, the onus is on me so I don’t have time to play therapist or best mate to team members who are disenchanted. They either want to work or they don’t.”
It is easy to see how team leaders would feel this way because they are right to a great extent. Company directors are looking at the bottom line. If one department isn’t producing as it should, profits fall and the team leader or foreman is held responsible for a lack of production. What ‘should’ happen here when confronted with an employee who is showing signs of lethargy or apathy is to notify HR to step in and counsel that particular team member.
How Can HR Keep Track of Employees Who Are Disengaged?
In what is often the most over-taxed department in any company, it may be mind boggling to find ways for HR to keep track of employees who are simply disengaged. They may show up on time, routinely do their assigned tasks but lack that extra bit of effort that goes a very, very long way toward increased production and higher profits. How can the HR department, sometimes located at a totally separate location, keep tabs on those employees that need a bit of extra TLC?
Before going any farther, it should be said that these are the employees who have the ability and have shown in the past that they can be very high performers. Something has gone wrong or is missing from the current equation and it is up to HR to find a solution. Customized cloud-based HR software designed by companies such as xcdhr.com can be the answer. If team leaders are given access permission to make notes to that employee’s file, HR can be notified that it’s time to step in.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is that HR is specifically trained and knowledgeable on ways in which to communicate with disengaged workers to improve the company’s profitability through increased production. Is it something job related or are they having problems on the outside? Sometimes it is a very simple problem with an even simpler solution. Although some team leaders may take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the problem, HR is better equipped to handle the situation. Those employees who never met or exceeded expectations can safely be let go, but for those with a strong history who have hit a temporary snag, let HR set the stage for re-engaging them. It may be easier than you think.
