8 Top Tips For People (& Organisations) Starting Their Employee Engagement & Culture Journey

1. Don’t Leave Out Emotions

Everyone in your organisation is a human being. This means that if you don’t measure emotions you’re only getting half of the data story. Measuring your people’s emotions will help you get greater clarity on how your people are thinking AND feeling and maximise your impact. 

2. Listen First (But Act Soon After)

We’re all about listening, and this is something that you should do as soon as possible. But make sure you have the resources and time to act on the data you gather!

3. Anonymity is Vital

When gathering employee feedback the most important thing is to be able to guarantee your employees’ anonymity. Otherwise you won’t get accurate (or useful!) data.

4. Benchmark & Track Your Progress

Once you have your initial data, you should see this as a benchmark. Keep measuring and collecting data so you can see the impact your work is having. You may also find seasonal variations, so don’t get discouraged. 

5. There Are No Blanket Solutions

Something that even the most seasoned professionals need to remember - just because something worked for one organisation does not mean it’ll work for another. Just because something used to work doesn’t mean it still does. Just because something works for one person does not mean it’ll work for everyone. Keep collecting data and personalising your offering. 

6. Involve Your Senior Leadership as Soon as Possible

You need buy-in from your senior leadership, but they don’t have all the answers. Make sure you involve them from the beginning of your programme, but validate any assumptions they may bring into the room with hard data too!

7. Learn From Other Organisations But Don’t Compare Your Journey

Lots of organisations want to compare their culture or engagement to their competitors. Although there may be learnings that can be gained from looking at what others in your space are doing, comparing directly may be misleading. Comparing against other organisations of your size or stage of development may also be useful. But remember your journey will be unique. 

8. Plan To Change Direction

Culture and engagement are a journey, not a destination. Don’t get so tied into following a roadmap that you can’t see when your people need you to change tack. Keep checking in with your people to make sure you’re on the right track.