21st-Century Employee Engagement Strategies for a Thriving Workplace

Posted on 1 Nov 2021 in Business | Gabriel Chua

Let’s face it. The world that we’re living in is always in a state of constant flux and keeping your employees engaged is growing harder. In a recent survey, just a meager 11% of Singaporeans feel “fully engaged” at work compared to the global average of 14%. How and what then, can HR change, so as to effectively engage employees and build a holistically united workforce that’s best for the business and the people as well?

The Techniques

For active employee engagement, it’s important to determine the most effective techniques in this modern era. Truth be told, there are many factors but perhaps none are as important as corporate social responsibility and organizational culture. Why? A different generational workforce requires new means of looking at things. Employees now value certain aspects such as empowerment, volunteer work, and is included in the decision-making process.

When companies cater to such preferences of employees, employees will be more engaged, and it has even been shown to reduce turnover rates by 57%. Thus, when a company follows such a methodology, they’ll be able to leverage upon a productive and efficient workforce for improved business performance.

A Prime Role-Model – Hang Seng

A local Hong Kong bank, Hang Seng, is one of the best examples to look at when it comes to engaging employees in the 21st century.

By recognizing them as a key stakeholder group, Hang Seng was effectively able to conceptualize a plan of action that would not only keep employees productive but more importantly, keep them engaged. For instance, the “You Matter” Programme was established, which highlighted the various pillars of the bank’s key elements, such as high-quality customer service, inclusion and ingenuity. Moreover, the programme also allowed for town-hall meetings, dialogue sessions with upper management, and forums. All in all, under the “You Matter” programme, employees across the Hang Seng hierarchy were given an opportunity to have a say in the running of the bank, while simultaneously being empowered to give their best in their work.

In addition to participating in several volunteer activities, Hang Seng launched the H@SE mobile app in 2019, which acted as an internal Social Media Platform. Under the app, employees were given updates regarding the bank, allowed to post comments, and encouraged to vote on various topics. The app was so popular that just after two months of its launch, an 85% activation rate was achieved. All in all, this helped build an open, yet dynamic corporate culture where everyone was on the ball for the common good of the organization.

Under the practices put into place, it is rather evident that Hang Seng has catered to almost, if not all, of modern engagement techniques. Indeed, through their approaches, the bank has catered to the preferences of their

employees via active engagement throughout the entire organization’s hierarchy, community involvement, and personal empowerment. It is no wonder why then, that the bank has consistently been regarded as one of the top few organisations within the finance industry within Hong Kong.

The Singapore Scene

What could Singapore learn from this? Our country has one of the highest burnout rates anywhere across the world, at 44%, 5% higher than the global average. This suggests that organizations in Singapore are not doing enough to actively engage their employees.

Local businesses have to move on from their archaic ways of managing their staff. It is time for ways to be revamped, and learn through the lens of Hang Seng. As such, it is highly advisable that local organizations build an interpersonal connection with employees throughout all ranks of the hierarchy for active engagement.

In Short

When it comes to engaging employees, management always ought to be at the forefront. Clearly, in modern times, traditional methods are no longer effective and holistic means should be utilised, as seen from the example of Hang Seng.

If you are a local company in Singapore, you need to act now. Structure your organisational culture to be employee-centric, putting their needs first for a united and well-grounded workforce.

In engaging employees, you should have the right HRMS to assist you too. To help prepare your systems to deal with the next generation agile workforce as well, use QuickHR! With our comprehensive HRMS modules catering to Human Asset Management, Workforce Management and Human Capital Development, you will be empowered to streamline your organisations workflow and focus on dealing with the things that truly matter; democratising your systems, empowering your workforce and enabling agility.

Once again, we hope that you've enjoyed a good read. And remember, Think Now, Think Far, Think QuickHR.

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