Whilst many of the methods may differ in their exact approach the basic principle holds; make an employee engaged and he/she will deliver demonstrable results for the business.

Irrespective of the size, shape, location or type of business, one of the most important factors for effective employee engagement is that the employees must be willing to participate. Though it’s accepted that there will always be resistance within a workforce to any change or new concept, it is also true that the more employees who are enthused about the changes the more the unenthused will either join the ranks or are likely to look elsewhere. When a business decides to embark on a program of employee engagement, the first thing they need to consider is their senior and middle management as well as people who hold supervisory roles. After all, if those people are enthusiastic and actively involved in the process then selling the idea to the remaining workforce becomes instantly easier.

Many businesses choose to implement employee engagement by first finding out what the current thinking is among the workforce. They do this by way of collecting data in a variety of ways such as surveys (both confidential and non-confidential) and think tanks.

Once the information has been collected, the manager has the opportunity to review it and get a better idea of the level of employee engagement which currently exists. This knowledge also gives the manager the opportunity to set goals and work out an action plan for the employee engagement of the remainder of the workforce as well as continuing with whatever methods and policies make the already engaged employees feel engaged.

After the initial period of employee engagement, it is vital that any business remains constant and consistent in their policies. Failure to continue the methods and thought processes could actually end up with employees less engaged than they were prior to the start of the change to the point of being actively disengaged.

It’s very difficult to actually define an organisation as a “Best place to work”. Though there are many tools to quantify and measure engagement, it is a relative and highly qualitative concept. Having the maximum best practices as an organisation is what must be aimed at.

To exemplify the above said, let me talk about our attempts in becoming a great work place. At MOFSL, we begin engagement even before the person joins – the pre-engagement is done through various communication mails which not only help in engaging but also employer branding.

On the day of joining, everyone is well-informed - the reception, the team members and the HoD. This serves as a feel good factor to the newcomer. As soon as they join, they receive a Welcome Kit which consists of a welcome card with the Chairman's message, a stationery kit and a chocolate box. The newcomer is welcomed with a welcome tent on his desk. It is ensured that the employee becomes operational on Day 1 itself - he/she is given an access card, desktop/laptop and necessary configurations. This has a dual benefit; there is no loss of productivity and the employee feels taken care of right from the beginning.

Every associate is assigned a 'Buddy' for a period of one month to assist/introduce him to the company. This helps abetting him/her to sail through the initial period and settle down easily.

We make sure that all associates know about the new joinees every week through the insider (weekly newsletter) and featuring on digital signages throughout the corporate office.

Within one week of their joining, a one-day Induction program is scheduled for them where they learn more about the organisation, interact with other new joinees, and get any of their queries answered. It is a full day fun-n- learn program with games and competitions.

This is just one channel of engagement. We also have various inspiring, speaking, listening, collaborating, developing, balancing, supporting and including practices which are comprehensive in their own way.

Conclusively, being a great work place is definitely all about engagement!!