Towergate Health & Protection is warning employers they urgently need to improve engagement with employees as the economy moves out of lockdown.
Employers who fail to do this could lose staff warns Towergate head of specialist consulting Debra Clark. She says this is particularly important as the economy starts to reopen, and more people take stock of their working lives.
“If you do not engage with your staff, you will lose them,” she says.
She points out that all employees have had their working lives affected by the pandemic in some way, be that working from home, being put on furlough, or having to change working practices to allow for social distancing. Now is the time for employers to make sure they feel part of the fold again, she advises.
In order to achieve this Clark has suggested a number of issues firms need to take into account, as well as suggesting steps they can take to facilitate this process.
- Lockdown isolation: Clark says that feeling isolated in lockdown has not just affected those working alone from home. A sense of remoteness has crept into many people’s working lives, exacerbated by physical distancing. “There is a real feeling of detachment among many employees at the moment,” she says. “Staff need to feel part of something again.”
- Tailored methods: It is not just about engaging with employees en masse, but doing so in a tailored way. Communication and delivery needs to differ and evolve depending on the individual targeted. Utilising creative ways to engage employees has been particularly valued during lockdown and self-isolation. Technology, such as portals and apps can help provide an innovative way to keep in touch and this also provides an opportunity to personalise employee benefits that are offered to staff.
- Tangible benefits: Demonstrating how benefits are tangible also helps engage employees. Likewise, reminding staff about benefits that support the four pillars of wellbeing – physical, mental, financial and social – and can be used regularly helps keep them front of mind. Clark says it’s important to remember such benefits are not just for when a person makes a claim, but can be used whenever needed. For instance benefits that support fitness, access to virtual GP and counselling, nutrition advice, rewards and discounts on groceries and white goods and, even free coffees. Benefits that provide regular touch points for employees and help them in their daily lives, help them to feel valued by and connected to their company.
- Breaching the transition: Employees are currently in a transitional phase. With a roadmap for easing lockdown, some will be thinking about returning to the office, others will want to continue to work from home. Others still will have remained in the workplace throughout but under very different conditions. Clark says it’s important that employers take steps to engage with their workforce that may be more disparate at the moment. Utilising employee benefits is a great way to demonstrate that employees’ needs are understood, provide valuable support and build a sense of community.