The most successful companies start the strategic planning process with a focus on engaging employees. These are frequently the same companies that eventually incorporate strategic priorities into team meetings, budgeting procedures, and regular employee activities. So today we will focus on modern ways to involve employees in achieving company goals.
Many of these modern ways to involve employees are technology related. Printed pages and drawn tables are no longer the most efficient way to communicate and spread company goals around. Engagement is oftentimes provided by real time information and interesting data visualizations.
Therefore in this article we will take a look at some of the most modern ways to involve employees in achieving company goals – both with the help of technology and simply some fresh approaches in strategy.
1. Introduce gamification
Our first tip in improving engagement while also putting employee’s focus on company goals, is through gamification. In simple terms, that is the process of applying game-like elements to non-game contexts, such as work tasks, to increase engagement and motivation.
You can read more about what it is in our article on Is gamifying employee engagement worth it.
But the gist of it is that organizations can use gamification to create challenges and competitions that encourage employees to work towards common goals. It can help them with tracking their progress in the assigned tasks. This can be done through employee recognition programs or leaderboards, for example.
2. Use social collaboration tools
Another way to involve employees in achieving company goals is through social collaboration tools. There are many to choose from. Social collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Asana, can be used to encourage employees to work together towards common goals.
These platforms allow employees to communicate in real-time, share ideas and work collaboratively on projects. Each tool varies with its offer however most of them provide similar, basic necessities for any company.
3. Improve employee empowerment
Empowering employees means giving them the authority to make decisions and take action to achieve organizational goals. This can involve steps such as providing employees with the necessary training and tools to perform their jobs effectively.
One of the best methods to generate early support for your strategic plan is to involve employees in the planning process itself. That is why we cannot recommend this approach enough.
The development of action strategies and performance metrics that add up to support the plan’s main outcomes have to include participation from every department. Only then a good and objective strategy can be developed.
4. Incorporate digital signage
Yes, digital signage is another modern way to involve employees in achieving company goals. Digital signage allows companies to communicate their goals and objectives to employees in a visually appealing way.
It involves displaying relevant information, including:
- company goals,
- progress updates,
- performance metrics etc.
All that on digital screens located throughout the workplace. Digital signage also enables companies to display progress towards those goals in real-time, which can help motivate employees!
We have written more on digital signage in our other posts such as Recognize employees with digital signage.
Overall digital signage can be used for multiple reasons. That includes to highlight individual or team achievements, and of course recognize outstanding performance as mentioned in our linked article.
5. Lead by example
It’s difficult to overestimate the significance of having engaged and prepared leaders when it comes to gaining staff support.
The Executive Sponsor, the Project Manager, and the Facilitator are the three leadership positions that we’ve discovered are essential to the accomplishment of your strategy.
1. The Executive Sponsor sets the tone by prioritizing strategy and using staff effort to guide decisions.
2. The effective execution of the plan is the Project Manager’s responsibility. They are in charge of managing the plan’s operations and fostering relationships with the owners and contributors of the plan’s elements. The project manager establishes the reporting schedule, ensures that metrics are measurable and practicable, and makes sure that all actions have start and end dates.
3. The facilitators that assist you establish and develop your strategic planning process are typically outside of the organization. If you choose the proper facilitator, you can coach and involve employees to ensure that your strategic plan does more than just remain on a shelf.
In conclusion
There are multiple modern ways to involve employees in achieving company goals. Some of them include the use of technology – gamification, social collaboration tools, digital signage. And some of them are traditional and still very crucial – empowering employees through participation in the planning process.
Additionally, leaders play a huge role in gaining employee support by prioritizing strategy, managing the plan’s operations, and coaching and involving employees through the help of a facilitator.
We hope this article on modern ways to involve employees in achieving company goals was useful to you!
