It’s finally spring! Well, at least the calendar says it is. In NYC, the warmer temperatures haven’t yet come but the April showers have. It’s a time of new beginnings; A time to start fresh.
Growing up, spring was synonymous with gardening. We would begin preparing the beds, acquiring our seeds, determining placement, and cultivating the soil. Once planted, the garden required TLC, continuous replanting, and finally, enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor. It struck me how similar gardening is to employee engagement so I thought I would explore that in this post.
Prepare your Beds
Employee engagement is dependent on having a good base. For people to want to be in your garden, you must have a strong employer brand. Review how potential employees come in contact with it. Assess the competitiveness of your benefits offering, compensation structure, and the effectiveness of your management team too. These all impact the perception of your company and will help or hinder your ability to acquire the right people.
Acquire Your Seeds
Dig into your recruiting process and make changes based on any bugs you find. Onboarding is meant to help new employees get off to a great start. Weed it to eliminate any unnecessary or unneeded content and fertilize it with new, updated, useful information. When selecting candidates, look for perennials (they come back every year) versus annuals (they must be planted new every year).
Placement – Mix It Up
Placement is everything. Make sure the right people are in the right roles. Determine who needs to be in the sun and who needs to be shadowed. Look for ways to promote collaboration like the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash grow well in the same space.
Cultivation
Employees need to be able to develop the skills necessary to perform their work as well as to grow within the organization. Use performance management, development plans, and growth opportunities such as mentoring and leadership development programs to enrich them. Make sure your people have the tools they need to succeed too.
TLC
Like plants, employees will wither away without attention. The gardener, i.e., manager, has to understand the needs of each employee and nurture them with a shower of recognition. Manure only works in the garden! Remember, you can smell it a mile away.
Grow Up – Succession Planning
As employees develop, they need to understand the career paths available to them. Some of those paths will be up while others may need to grow across before being able to grow higher. Succession planning will help the gardener identify the next plant to take the place of one that has matured.
Reaping What You Sow
Employee engagement needs constant tending. If done correctly, you’ll increase your yield in terms of productivity and retention.
What are your thoughts on growing employee engagement? What other analogies can you share with fellow Agents?
Let’s Engage!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
Employee engagement is a critical mission. I hope I can count on your help! Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest intelligence/insights and/or register to make entries in the comments log.
You can follow me @agtinengagement.
Email me at g…@a…t.com.
Connect via LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/GregoryFSimpson.
Learn more about me at gregoryfsimpson.com.
P.S. First contact? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement community. Explore and join fellow employee engagement operatives in targeting a known thief – alias: Disengagement. Together we can bring this thief to justice and make the world a better place for all companies and their employees.
Other recent Agent in Engagement data/reports by Agent Gregory F Simpson:
