How do you adapt Employee Engagement and Motivation for global success?

Organizational values aren't real. They are words and concepts defined by leaders. Employees are keen observers. If leaders don't live the values, then they are just words on a page.

It's also important to define what 'global success' means for your industry, your organization, AND for your employees. Involving your employees in this process is paramount for ensuring that your vision is authentic and aligned with what actually motivates your global employees.

When involving your employees in shaping your vision, make sure to receive feedback from your frontline employees as well. This is because people on the front lines will always have the most recent and accurate information about what your competitors are doing, and how customers are responding.

Communication should be made keeping in mind the cultural nuances of the recipients. The one size fit all could spawn disaster if a raw nerve is touched through culturally inappropriate communication. Apart from culture sensitivity, geographical pitfalls should also be kept in mind. Ideally, communication for different cultures and geographies should be customised rather than a global one fit all one.

A good recognition strategy includes mechanisms for everything from low cost/no cost day-to-day recognition all the way up to high-cost big bang programs, and should be tied to your strategic priorities. Make recognition part of your leadership ethos and enable peer-to-peer recognition to foster a culture of appreciation.

Several recent surveys have shown that learning & development are some of the top-rated signs of a good work culture. Interestingly, while L&D programs primarily aim to enhance skills, they also become catalysts for greater employee engagement. When we provide our teams with the tools & opportunities to align their professional growth with their aspirations, they develop a sense of confidence. This confidence fuels employee engagement, motivating them to bring their A-game to work. For global success, it also means understanding & respecting different cultures & tailoring content & delivery methods accordingly. Also, it is important to measure what matters – not just how many people participate, but how it affects the business globally.

Retention rate is one of the most crucial factors that determine the "health" of your organization. If your company experiences high turnover, it indicates that something isn't quite right. Retention needs to be monitored on a month-to-month basis, then quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. To address retention problems, it's important to conduct regular pulse surveys, exit interviews and 1:1 check-ins with employees. Here are some questions you may want to ask your employees: "Do you receive feedback from your manager?", "What's the best way to recognize your efforts?", "Do you feel supported and have everything you need?"

Strong company values improve engagement regardless of background, across borders. 🌎 Equally a clear mission vision and/or purpose will get buy in globally.

As a former Communications and Engagement Program Manager, I focused on developing an Engagement Strategy for a multicultural, globally dispersed team, prioritizing areas like: 1) Connecting with organizational culture. 2) Ensuring employees feel valued, informed, and trusted. 3) Supporting career development. 4) Strengthening leadership. 5) Managing change effectively. Through virtual check-ins, Monthly Meetings, Town Halls, Coffee Talks, and open forums, employees shared opinions and addressed concerns, aligning with the strategy. Committees were established with a framework, roadmaps, and protocols, fostering cross-cultural activities, trust, collaboration, understanding among global teams, improving relationships and communication.

Post engagement survey, it is critical to conduct hierarchical engagements of teams, in following sequence: 1. Identify top & bottom 3-4 attributes 2. Each team leader to engage their respective team's on top & low scoring attributes 3. Celebrate/reward high scoring attributes of individual teams by their team leaders to ensure that teams continue exhibiting those behaviors. 4. Team leaders to discuss within teams on bottom 3 attributes & plan a way forward to address pain-points. Caution is to avoid any blames, disappointment or negativity for low scoring ones. 5. Resolve the pain-points as per action plan & visibly merchandise once resolved. 6. Periodic publishing of listed accomplishments will restore people trust & enhanced engagement.