” People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, an American poet has perfectly described what matters the most to the people. The memories of how one makes them feel are the most crucial ones to retain their relationships. Successful organizations are not just built upon expensive capitals, they are built upon core foundations and values which are upheld by their people. Hence, for organizations maintaining and retaining relationships is extremely important.
Employees are vital contributors to any business. When these employees are emotionally invested with their organizations, they contribute far more value through their dedicated efforts, as rightly pointed out by Simon Sinek.
Therefore, Employee Engagement is critical to a company’s success as engaged employees are in it for more than a pay check and may consider their well-being linked to their performance (Smith, 2020).
The unprecedented attack of Coronavirus disrupted the well-managed nature and flow of work of all the organizations and businesses around the globe. From the top-most businesses to the SMEs, everyone took the hit and is trying to stand firmly in the whirlwind of a major Paradigm Shift.
Organizations have become even more cautious and observant. Especially about the needs- physical and emotional- of their employees. Almost everyone followed the pursuit of working from home / remote working to minimize the rising spread of the virus.
In the Post-COVID-Era, working remotely for more than a year has affected the lives of everyone. Managing the work-life balance has become even more difficult. Hours are flexible but the work isn’t. Deadlines are supposed to be met on time which makes the flexible hours take up the time beyond working hours. Hence, there are a lot of mental and physical problems that have emerged due to unprecedented changes in lifestyles. These changes directly affect the working potential and ability of the employees.
Many organizations have been hit hard by the consequences of this Once in a Century Crisis. Downsizing has become a resort for most organizations to sustain. This has created a sense of insecurity that haunts the employees. It has made contributing and committing to the work difficult as fear of being laid off is lingering in the minds. Thus, it has become far more necessary for organizations to rethink their methods of managing people. The resilient organizational drivers- Managers, Leaders, HR- are now rebuilding their businesses by rebuilding the people.
Many have been utilizing tech-based Employee Engagement survey for collecting employee engagement data. These methods have become far more essential now. But how can the organizations ensure the engagement of their employees, is collecting data enough?
Proper analysis of the data is a boon especially in crisis times where people have become distant. Hence, in-depth analysis of the recorded data is crucial to rebuild and modify the organization from within. As stated by Harvard Business Review, “Data can be thought of as digital records of employees’ behaviours and people analytics as to the science that translates these data into actionable insights that improve the organization’s effectiveness”, (McCullough, 2018). Therefore, if the organizations are looking forward to getting up and fight this luminal period with agile solutions and resilient efficiency, they must know if their people are geared up to pave the path for their organization’s reconstruction towards success. And the only way to understand this is through a 360-degree analysis of the organization through Employee Engagement Survey.
Now more than ever, knowing and understanding the concerns and expectations of the people is critical for any business. The only logical way to acquire the answers to many escalating questions is by listening not just for the sake of listening but to empathize and act upon those queries for rebuilding the trust between the people within and outside the organization.
To conclude, Employees, especially, engagement of employees is a paramount area on which organizations must emphasize in the post-covid-era. The best possible way of doing it is through a well-constructed Employee Engagement Survey.
References
McCullough, C., & Natalie, N. a. (2018). How People Analytics Can Help You Change Process, Culture, and Strategy. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from Harvard Business Review Web site: https://hbr.org/2018/05/how-people-analytics-can-help-you-change-process-culture-and-strategy?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=linkedin&tpcc=orgsocial_edit
Smith, T. (2020, December 16). Investopedia. (C. Silver, Editor) Retrieved February 13, 2021, from Investopedia. com: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/employee-engagement.asp
