Employee Engagement & Retention _ Keeping the Right People _ HR Toolkit _ Hrcouncil

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22/04/2016 Em ployee Engagem ent & R etenti on | Keeping the Ri ght Peopl e | HR Tool ki t | hr counci l.ca

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Home » Resource Centre » HR Toolkit » Keeping t he Right People » Employee Engagement & Retention

Keeping the Right People

Employee Engagement & Retention

Employee engagement illustrates the commitment and energy that employees bring to work and is a key indicator of their

involvement and dedication to the organization. Employees who are engaged are more productive, content and more likely to be

loyal to an organization. When organizations put sound HR practices in place, they are more likely to discover that employees

feel satisfied, safe and will work to their full potential...and that means they are more likely to stay put.

HR R espo nsib ilit y Ho w it relat es to emplo yee engagement

A BOUT US WORKING IN NONPROFITS LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION ISSUES & INSIGHTS HR RESOURCE CENTRE NEWSROOM

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Getting the Right People

Keeping the Right People

Overview

Employee Engagement &

Retention

Employee Recognition

Performance Management

Supervision

Discipline

Employment Termination

Exit Interviews

Compensation & Benefits

Diversity at Work

Workplaces That Work

Learning & Development

Resource Index

Take Stock

Strategic HR Planning People are the main resource that organizations have for delivering services

Strategic HR planning links HR management directly to an organization's strategic plan and that

means that staff will have meaningful roles tied to the strategic direction of the organization

Strategically planning how your organization will meet its current and future HR needs and how

people will be supported and nurtured within your organization is critical for success

Operational HR Planning At an operati onal level, organizations put in place HR management practices to support

management and staff in achieving thei r day-to-day goals Whether it's determining how many em ployees are needed to deliver services over the next year

or how performance will be monitored, the HR management practices and activities need to be

planned to answer the question: "Where is our organization going and how will it get there?"

An operational plan ensures that employees are properly supported

Compensation and

Benefits

Though usually not ranked the most important, compensation is an important factor in job

satisfaction

An employee who feels adequately compensated monetarily is more likely to stay with your

organization

Developing HR Policies Policies and procedures both communicate the values of your organization and provide everyone

with a consistent process to follow

Policies and procedures provide your employees with a process to follow and that knowledge can

help them confidently approach situations, particularly difficult situations

Employment Legislation

and Standards

Provincial/territorial and federal governments outline the minimum requirements to ensure a

safe and equitable work environment for employees

Job Descriptions Job descriptions are basic HR management tools that can help to increase individual and

organizational effectiveness

A well-written job description sets an employee up for success by outlining their responsibilities

and the parameters of their position

Job descriptions also show how an employee's position contributes to the mission, goals and

objectives of the organization

Performance Management Performance management is an ongoing process where the manager/supervisor and employee

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Looking for a specific checklist,tool, template or sample policy?

Find it fast in the Resource Index.

work together to plan, monitor and review an employee's work objectives or goals and overall

contribution to the organization

Motivates employees to do their be st

Establishes clear communication between the manager and the employee about what s/he is

expected to accomplish

Provides on-going, constructive feedback on performance

Establishes plans for improving performance, as necessary

Identifies the skills and abilities of each employee so that work assignments build on and reflectan employee's strengths

Identifies i ndividual employees for m ore challenging work

Assists and supports staff in achieving their work and career goals by identifying traini ng needs

and development opportunities

Contributes to the succession management plan so that employee skills are developed and

employers develop the skills they need to fill an potential HR gap in the future

Learning, Training and

Development

Investing in training programs helps employees develop personally and professionally

Workplace Diversity Creating an environment where people feel welcome and safe from harassment and

discrimination motives staff to perform

Absenteeism and performance problems decrease while productivity, morale and em ployee

retention increases

Work Teams and Group

Dynamics

When you develop and support effective teams, you enhance the power and feeling of satisfaction

of individuals working on the team

When a team works well, it m eans that staff trust one another and that leads to better sharing of

knowledge and understanding

Conflict Resolution In a healthy workplace, there will be conflict

Having a conflict resolution policy and a process will mean that conflict is constructive and not

destructive

Workplace Wellness

Initiatives

A healthy workplace means more than just warding off colds and the flu

It is more holistic and takes into consideration the physical, spiritual, environmental, intellectual,

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emotional, occupational and mental health of employees

Wellness promotion doesn't just benefit the employee — an organization filled with healthy,

balanced and fulfilled employees is a productive workplace that retains its employees

Employee Recognition Giving employees a sense of shared values and purpose by creating a relationship with them is

important

When you thank employees you value them and that, in turn, is m otivating

Updating staff on organizational issues through internal communications like e-mail updates andnewsletters builds the sense of team and their value to the team

Staff-volunteer relations Develop a sense of team with staff and volunteers contributing to the organization's mission

Employee Satisfaction and Engagement SurveysListening to employees' insights and suggestions for improvement will provide the organization with valuable information that

can be acted upon to increase the level of employee engagement in the workplace. Employee surveys are an important tool to

solicit employee feedback. They can be administered internally or externally as long as responses remain anonymous. Employee

engagement surveys provide a way to improve productivity and emotional commitment by identifying the root causes of

workplace issues.

Guidelines

The following steps provide a guideline for how to conduct an employee engagement survey:

Determine the purpose of the survey.

Determine the design of the survey (i.e. online versus paper-based; open-ended questions versus multiple choice or rating scale,

etc.).Develop the questionnaire based on desired outcomes, while ensuring the collection of accurate of data.

Send employees the questionnaire for completion.

Analyze survey responses.

Prepare a summary report of the findings and recommendations for management (and possibly employee) review and

discussion. (Ensure survey responses remain anonymous.)

Prepare an action plan

Benchmark survey results for a year-to-year comparison.

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Action Plan

An action plan should be developed after discussing and prioritizing the results of the employee engagement survey. Although

the plan is dependent on the outcomes of the engagement survey, it should be realistic and include the following items:

Action item

Person(s) who will be responsible implementing the action item

Resources required (i.e. money, materi als, people)

Timeline – with expected completion date(s)

Expected outcome and/or how success will be measured

The action plan should be reviewed regularly and adjusted as required in order to achieve desired results. It is important to

communicate and follow through on action plans. If employees see that action plans are implemented, they will be more likely to

participate and provide feedback in the future.

Communication with Employees

Communication with employees is important to the success of the employee engagement survey. It should be done before,

during and after implementation. This will generally make employees more likely to participate and provide feedback in the

future. Communication to employees should include i nformation about:

How the results will be used.

How specific action plans will be developed from the results of the survey and that input is required in order to properly

formulate these plans.

How the results of the survey and any action plans developed will be reviewed and discussed.

Good Practice

Sample Employee Engagement Survey (DOC 51KB)

Next Section: Employee Recognition

http://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/keeping-people-employee-recognition.cfmhttp://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/documents/Sample_Employee_Engagement_Survey.docx


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Employee Engagement & Retention _ Keeping the Right People _ HR Toolkit _ Hrcouncil