July 2020CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9We are equally obsessed with our employees and are striving to meet their expectations. In our 2018 employee engagement survey, our employees let us know they didn't feel heard. We were asking them questions and seeking feedback throughout the year and working hard to make improvements based on the feedback, but we were not great at letting them know what we did with their input. Our feedback loop was broken. In 2019, we doubled down on our communication efforts to ensure that we were giving feedback to our employees throughout the year, on all fronts. When you have a two-way conversation, you know how to best meet the needs of your employees. An ongoing dialogue establishes trust in the organization by helping employees feel seen and heard, which ultimately builds engagementMaigen RoweIt takes more than a corporate communications team to make a difference. We reached out through corporate and local publications, and channels and Allegion leaders began sharing feedback in myriad ways ­ town halls, email, webinars, Yammer, and even hand-written cards, in some instances. While some of our leaders embraced this communication strategy whole-heartedly, some asked for help to share the right information at the right time to the right audience. So, we educated them. Through a two-day intensive workshop, leaders learned how to package and deliver feedback tailored to the individuals on their teams ­ the right message at the right time. Team engagement for participants of these workshops more than doubled, over the rest of the organization! And because we're an organization of high achievers, we added one more communication element to the mix. In 2019, we introduced the Allegion Listening Tour, and a short, two-question survey posted each month on our intranet and Yammer. Anyone can participate in the surveys, and we share the results with everyone when the poll closes. This Virtual Listening Tour is a way for our employees to give us feedback on a variety of topics throughout the year--everything from recognition to company values to greatest accomplishments. Managers can use the survey results to have meaningful discussions with their teams that help build engagement throughout the year. The Listening Tour is a continuous conversation that reinforces to Allegion employees that their opinions count and that we want to hear from them more than once a year. And it's working. In 2019, we saw a significant increase in our engagement score, with particular progress in areas related to communication and employee value. If you are trying to raise the engagement of employees at your organization, consider these three elements. Do you understand and embrace the shifting nature of the workplace and recognize what employees need to be engaged in 2020? Is your engagement program more than an annual survey? Is your feedback loop broken? When you have a two-way conversation, you know how to meet the needs of your employees best. Ongoing dialogue establishes trust in the organization by helping employees feel seen and heard, which ultimately builds engagement.
< Page 8 | Page 10 >