You might know the 4 C’s of diamonds (color, cut, clarity, carat) or the 4 C’s of credit (capacity, collateral, capital, credit), but do you know the 4 C’s of Employee Engagement? If you want to lead a productive and engaged workforce, introducing the 4 C’s of Employee Engagement to your culture will immediately boost its productivity and help curb turnover.
But – what are the 4 C’s? Communication, Celebration, Collaboration, and Culture. These are four of the most effective drivers of employee engagement, and are the kind of qualities that help pull businesses up from Main Street to the Fortune 500.
The modern world of work, however, is different than it was when today’s Fortune 500 companies were back on Main Street. Most organizations are still experiencing low retention rates thanks to the effects of The Great Resignation, which is a phenomenon that partly owes itself to difficulties arising from juggling hybrid teams. Approaching the 4 C’s is straightforward with an on-site team, but you can’t master them without implementing them for your remote workforce as well.
Communication
Great communication is paramount to simultaneously engaging your remote teams and your on-site teams. You’re not going to master effective communication by simply responding to emails quickly or remaining active online – there are all sorts of types of communication to nail down with your workplace.
Keep your team plugged in to your long-term goal progress by updating them each week during meetings, or in a public forum like Slack or the office bulletin board. You can do the same thing with company news by pairing it with a weekly digest email or newsletter.
Encourage communication between your on-site squad and your remote squad; one of the biggest challenges to employee engagement is the separation that often develops between teams that work in different environments. Quick task discussion is extremely important to productivity, but what might be even more important is fostering casual conversation between the two sides. Hybrid teams have lost the ability to talk at the “water cooler” of their office, but the same type of chat is more than possible online.
Feedback is yet another vital type of communication. Absolutely everyone should be comfortable giving feedback as well as receiving it and acting upon it. Keep in mind, feedback isn’t necessarily bad – telling an employee they should keep up the extra effort is just as valuable as telling one they’ve been slacking off.
A lot of feedback is given in one-on-one meetings, but your team can also give you feedback through company surveys. Whether you’re asking about marketing ideas for the next quarter or the flavor Friday’s cake should be, giving your team a voice through surveys is excellent for employee engagement. Conducting these surveys on an online employee experience platform gives your remote folk an equal say (although they may wish they had a slice of that cake).
Celebration
Did you know that when employees are consistently recognized for accomplishments, they’re 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged? Celebrating your team’s milestones isn’t just a fun addition to a workday, but is a piece of the employee engagement puzzle that can make or break a culture.
These celebrations can come in the form of anything from a virtual high five on an HR platform to a fully fledged, rent-out-a-ballroom party. The reasons to celebrate can vary just as much, whether your company just launched a flagship product or an employee updated a social media page.
If you don’t want to plan a party, you can also give your team members something to take home through a rewards program! There are plenty of rewards applications that support customizable prizes such as gift cards, clothes, and pieces of tech. Earning a prize will always be a satisfying feeling, especially when it’s the exact prize you’ve been hoping for. Implementing a program that rewards employees for a job extra-well done will be the effective motivator you need.
Workers need consistent appreciation to do their best work, feel engaged, and as the statistic above indicates, stick with their team. Celebration leads to good work, which leads to more celebration, which leads to employee engagement and retention. It’s the Circle of Engaged Life. Read more about Employee Incentive Programs here!
Collaboration
Collaboration among your staff is, of course, a healthy habit to get into. When your team comes together to get projects done and quell five-alarm fires, great things get done. However, while collaboration between employees isn’t essential to every single work day – collaboration between the manager and employee always is. This doesn’t mean that they’ll be working shoulder-to-shoulder on projects, but it does mean they should always be on the same page. Scheduled one-on-one meetings and consistent feedback help ensure alignment and collaboration.
One-on-ones, which are their own kinds of communication, serve as a way for managers to get updates on their team’s progress & well-being and a way for employees to pass that information along. These meetings are also a great place to practice giving 360° feedback, in which the employee can remark upon their experiences in the workplace after the manager gives their side. Listening is only the first step, though – collaboration is the next step.
Managers and employees can work together on something as simple as a font selection or as complex as the year’s budget. Taking action is what counts – if an issue arises, listen to those giving feedback and tackle it alongside them.
Culture
88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success. As crucial as building a culture is for employee engagement, however, it’s one of the harder aspects of leadership to measure and define.
A great workplace culture inspires employees to strive for excellence both in and out of the office and truly motivates them to work for their business for reasons outside of personal profit. If you want to determine how healthy your culture currently is, send out a pulse survey with open-ended, anonymous questions. If you want to guarantee a great culture going forward, start with the steps above.
Building a culture of recognition and communication are two of the biggest steps to becoming a “talent destination” – an organization whose culture is particularly attractive to up-and-coming talents. Another aspect that we haven’t touched on is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Accessibility (DEIBA). Diverse and inclusive workplaces are a top priority for young talents seeking new positions, and 62% of organizations have added DEIBA as part of HR’s role, which is a number that’s trending upwards.
Companies with DEIBA programs tend to see improved organizational health, global competitive advantage, increased productivity, better online reviews, easier hiring and retention, and a positive public image. Great DEIBA practices can lead to a complete and positive culture overhaul.
Another way to give your culture a boost is by creating a new company vision/mission statement. These tell both your customers and your employees three things: why the business exists, what makes it different, and what its people stand for. A great one will give your team a shot in the arm and motivate them to succeed, and might even motivate your customers a bit too!
We’re not done yet!
We’ve got plenty more resources on building the best workforce from the bottom to the top. Take a look at our e-book on Mastering the Employee Experience, or our analysis of Gallup’s 12 Elements of Employee Engagement. All of our resources can be found in our Library – check them out here! To see HelloTeam in action, click here — and to set up a meeting with us, go here!