Engagement has to be a way of life

Engagement is not a one-time activity but an on-going process, much like transformation. It becomes all the more vital to ensure that employees are engaged and aligned with the vision of the organization and are ready to take on the challenges that every new day hosts during times of transformation.

The focus should not be to chase engagement scores but to ensure that managers and their teams have candid conversations on engagement and work towards improving areas that are low hanging fruits for the team

The outcome of engagement is the emotional attachment and commitment that employees display towards an organization and that gets reflected in behaviors such as discretionary effort, pride, satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. However, the ingredients that result in this outcome are multi-fold. Especially during change and transformation, it is important for employees to be aligned with the overall vision inspired by leadership, and a compelling value proposition, empowered through various avenues of growth.

There are essentially 5 things that organizations need to focus on to keep employees engaged during transforming times.

It all begins with reinforcing the culture of One-Team. When employees feel involved, and when their opinions and efforts are recognized, the sense of ownership in them is automatically ingrained. At Britannia, the engagement survey, Dil Se, is not just about attaining employee feedback but also about taking action on their feedback. Action planning on the basis of such survey results bridges the gap between what employees expect from the organization and what the organization has to offer. Appreciation should also not be restricted to a team or a time span. Our internal platforms nudge employees to appreciate peers, managers, subordinates and leaders on a continuous basis so that a nurturing culture of appreciation, involvement, and collaboration is maintained. Balancing a culture of digital appreciation with Functional Excellence Recognition programs for each function likes sales, marketing, R&D, manufacturing is also an imperative in the times of today and this happens at a periodic basis at Britannia. Such initiatives help in setting the right culture of performance and meritocracy driven from the top echelons of the organization. 

Secondly, the importance of communication cannot be undermined especially during times of transformation. With the breaking of demographic barriers and newer markets being explored, it is not only critical to reach out to employees who are located at different locations but also keeping them engaged and aligned so that no silos are created. Although the age of disruptive technology and digitization has made it easier for organizations and leaders to do this, regular and timely connect of leaders with their teams is essential to align the teams towards the same organizational goals. At Britannia, a social platform, Brit-One, helps us connect, collaborate, communicate, socialize, celebrate, learn, share best practices, appreciate and do much more. This platform not only offers continuous, open communication and interaction channels with leadership and peers; it also engages employees and keeps them in line with where the organization wants to reach. 

Third, the role of Leadership and Senior Management during transformation is indispensable. Inspiration and purpose are two core elements that help in motivating and engaging employees. Leaders have to walk the talk, lead by example, and inspire employees to march on with that very belief. At Britannia, engagement is not just an HR intervention, but a KRA in every leader’s scorecard. People managers are expected to include team engagement related milestones in their annual goals basis the manager index scorecard they receive which has the consolidated team sentiments. The focus is not chasing an engagement score but ensuring that managers and their teams have candid conversations on engagement and work towards improving areas that are low hanging fruits for the team as a unit. Leaders also need to take coaching or capability-building sessions to become mentors and enable other employees to achieve their aspirations while working towards the goals of the organization. Britannia’s openness and cross-functional collaboration is deeply rooted in its culture. On a semi-annual basis, employees across the organization engage in an intensive study of markets, regions, factories beyond their scope of accountability and provide their findings and recommendations from a fresh perspective which are vetted by the leaders and the Chairman during town-halls that in turn builds a culture of trust and transparency. 

Fourth, along with the growth and evolution of the organization, it is imperative to provide appropriate avenues for employees to Grow, Empower and Develop themselves. It is crucial for leaders to focus both on performance and potential, develop employee capability, and also give employees the visibility into where they can see themselves over a period of time and what they need to do to get there. “What got us here won’t take us there” does not only apply to an organization but also its employees. Hence, continuous manager feedback and development is essential. We endorse ‘Britannia for Britannians’ in our culture, our first bet is always on homegrown talent and potential. Many leaders in the Organization have grown from within and the organization has stood by them in their personal and professional growth story. 

Britannia fosters a Young Manager’s Council with the belief that it is the people who can catapult the company to its next orbit of growth. These young managers are selected on the basis of their potential and capability, are mentored internally by leaders with tremendous experience, and given the accountability, resources and opportunity to innovate, ideate, research and strategize the growth roadmap for the organization. This team then works in a cross-functional fashion to actually see their ideas and strategies come to life and benefit the organization. Apart from the year-end performance conversation, we also have mid-year development oriented conversations where the focus is on how to accelerate one’s career and move forward while performing par excellence in the current scheme of things. To up the ante on the quotient of meritocracy and openness, our performance management process from goal-setting to final evaluation is completely tech-based and transparent. Employees, along with their managers set goals for the year, followed by periodic milestones like development conversations, employee self-appraisals and final evaluation that is visible to employees and managers alike. This combination of technology and personal interaction is significant to set the note of consistency across the organization.

Lastly, as an organization transforms and evolves, employees will often seek “What’s in it for me?” With new-age businesses offering exciting, challenging opportunities, great career paths, conducive cultures and environments, real-time result visibility, entrepreneurial prospects, attractive benefits etc., maintaining an engaged workforce also entails providing holistic living, work-life integration, flexibility, giving employees the eco-space to bring their personal selves to work and space to pursue their passion, apart from just focusing at work. At Britannia too, policies like work from home, option for sabbatical etc. help employees integrate their work and personal lives while achieving both personal and professional goals with equal passion and enthusiasm.

An Employee Value Proposition needs to be compelling for employees to stay engaged, committed, and proud of the organization they belong to.

This serves as a lever to attract potential talent, which is another key element of transformation. 

All engagement related interventions work well only if they are sustained over a period of time. One-time launches can never garner the benefits of continuous efforts; and neither can the onus of engagement rest solely with the HR function. For an organization to truly experience the advantages of engagement efforts with maximum impact, business and HR leaders, managers, employees, with the aid of technology and without compromising on human interaction, need to weave it into the culture and make it a way of life.