We hear it all the time; empower your employees, give them autonomy, provide them the opportunity to work on projects that inspire them. It’s safe to assume that we know this. However, so often we accomplish this by listing the projects we have and providing employees the opportunity to 'sign up' for one that best aligns with their passion.
Sometimes this works, however, in some cases it doesn’t.
Ever hear things like: "this isn't what I thought I signed up for" or "how did I get stuck with this project?"
When you are hoping employees will feel inspired, engaged and passionate about an initiative, there is a disconnect with the "elect for what best aligns with your passion" method. When we put parameters around where an employee can take initiative, it can result in a lack of ownership which, in turn results in a lack of engagement. If an employee isn't inspired, how can we expect them to inspire others?
So, what's the solution?
Crowd-source your engagement initiatives.
I don't mean crowd-source in the way we know it today. I mean actual, literal, crowd-sourcing. From the hundreds of employees that make up your organization, your team or your colleagues. It starts with paying attention to where employees are already spending their spare time. It's about empathizing. It's about getting to know your employees beyond the "what are you working on today?" And the key is to spend time learning and listening.
For example, let's say you learn about two employees who go walking on their lunch hour three days a week. Another group of employees are staying after work once a week to move through a yoga sequence together. Another group is running a fitness challenge and yet another department has started their own run club.
Right in front of you is a pre-existing employee wellness program. A program where employees are already engaged, passionate and managing successful initiatives.
Instead of recreating the wheel - bring existing groups together.
Recently, we experienced a similar situation and when we approached each group to bring them together under one Health & Wellness Program. Each groups number one question was: "if we come together, will we lose our ability to still run these initiatives on our own?"
In other words, "will Corporate take over?"
You cannot be empowered without that ability to DO. To make an impact. To make a change. This is a just a small example of one situation and the difference it makes.
So, what was the impact?
Our employees had the ability to continue to run their programs with the support of the Company to act as a catalyst to help them grow. As a result we saw:
13% of employees participating in our Health & Wellness Program
Which breaks down to:
50% increase in participation in our walking group
100% increase in participation in our Yoga program
42% increase in our annual Walk of Life for the Cardiac Health Foundation
66% increase in run club participation
7% employee participating in a fitness challenge
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