Creating a culture of employee engagement is vital for the success of any business. It can help to boost productivity, creativity as well as higher levels of loyalty towards their organization. However, securing leadership buy-in for a novel employee engagement program can be a challenge. Here are five tips to help you get the support you need:
1. Start with data: impact of employee engagement programs
Numbers don’t lie and there are plenty of stats linking employee engagement to business outcomes. Gallup’s latest study on the relationship between the two shows that a more engaged workforce result in:
- 18% increase productivity
- up to 43% less turnover
- 81% more employees not missing work
- 41% in quality of work produced
- 10% in customer loyalty/engagement
- 23% in profitability
2. Build a business case to get leadership support
Explain how your proposed program will improve employee engagement and, ultimately, the bottom line. Be sure to include specific metrics and goals. For example, you might say that your program will:
- Increase productivity by 10%
- Reduce turnover by 30%
- Increase the quality of work by 20%
- Improve employee satisfaction by 15%
3. Get buy-in from key stakeholders
This includes employees, managers, and executives. The more people who are invested in the program, the more likely it is to succeed. Some ideas for getting buy-in:
- Survey employees to get their feedback and gauge demand
- Discuss the program with managers and executives showing how it will help address their goals and interests
- Present a strong business case to the board of directors focusing on how it will help grow the company (e.g. by reducing hiring costs, increasing output and its quality – or by increasing profitability)
4. Make sure the employee engagement program is aligned with the company’s goals
The program should be designed to support the company’s overall strategy. For example, if the company’s goal is to increase sales, the program could focus on rewarding employees for meeting sales goals.
It’s important to speak the same language as your leadership. Once you identify the key metrics that your organization cares about, it will be easier not only to create a business case targeting those metrics – but also to structure it accordingly.
5. Communicate the benefits of the program to leadership on a regular basis
Keep them updated on the progress of the employee engagement program and the results it is achieving. This will help to keep them engaged and supportive of the program.
It’s important to focus on the metrics that your company is trying to move the needle on – so present them first. However, if the program’s benefits expand beyond those, especially if there are any surprising ones, delight your stakeholders keeping in mind what they care about. This strategy will help strengthen their advocacy for your program.
Wishlist can be your partner in this process:
We will help you build and present a business case to your leadership, align the structure of your employee engagement program with company objectives – and with communicating its benefits.
At Wishlist we go a step further, harnessing the science-backed power of experiential rewards to deliver meaningful individualized experiences to employees. Our goal is to help you drive business outcomes by creating a sustainable shift in employee engagement – while relieving the administrative burden of such programs.
Ready to take your employee engagement programs to the next level? Fill out the form below and we will show you what Wishlist can do for your organization:
