Employee Engagement Trends

The pulse of employee engagement is constantly changing because of new knowledge, a more competitive marketplace, and the need to attract, and retain, new talent. The age-old idea of “be grateful for your job” has been replaced by a shift in organizational culture that is product-focused and, in turn, employee focused as well.

There are some interesting trends emerging in employee engagement that just ten to fifteen years ago weren’t a priority:

• The Right Fit: Organizational culture is a key component of engagement. Many organizations are now hiring employees that “fit” with their culture. Skills are important but many can be learned. This taps into an entire generation of workers who don’t have the technological skill sets that organizations “require.” However, they have the culture in their back pockets. Valuing this unemployed/under-employed population and tapping into their talents is a huge opportunity for organizations. Hiring processes are changing according to this shift in cultural focus.
  
  
• Candidate Experience: This is the buzz phrase in 2015. Candidate experience refers to the impressions and perceptions a potential hire has during the selection process. This goes back to our on-boarding series. Candidate experience is “candidate centered”, not organization-centered, as it has been in the past, and the experience is based on: information obtained, communication received, interactions, and what they see, feel, and hear during the process.
  
  
• The Workplace Itself is a Recruiting Tool: Some places simply speak for themselves. People scramble to get employed by companies, and not only because of competitive salaries. This goes back to culture. There is a Google culture, a Southwest Airlines culture. In Colombia, there’s a Frisby culture. All of these organizations offer employees room for growth, education, autonomy in their work, leadership and development opportunities among other perks.
  
  
• Organizations are Flattening Out: And in turn, there is an increase in employee autonomy. Strategic alignment is critical. Once employees are on board and know how their work benefits their organization, the sky’s the limit. And when employees feel like they play a part in change initiatives and organization decisions, their commitment to an organization and seeing these changes through are solidified.
  
  
• HR Departments Will have to Redefine Themselves: HR departments will be at the helm of new information, guiding change initiatives, and communication. Traditional hiring, exit surveys, and managing practices are dead. The trends are becoming reality and HR departments will be the ones to lead organizations through the murk.