“It is important for every organisation to be full of energy and that this energy is focused to where it is of use. The great challenge faced by all organisations is to create a culture in which this remains so for a long time”, says Guido Heezen enthusiastically. At the beginning of March, he published an article on sustainable employability in PW|DeGids. In his article he underlined the importance of an honest story about added value for a business culture that fosters sustainable success.
Sustainable Employability? Handle the Dip in Engagement Accordingly
Energy and Direction
According to Heezen, organisations that are buzzing with energy and in which this energy is properly focused, are organisations where there is both employee engagement and employee committment. This enables them to continue to be innovative, creative and customer-oriented. The challenge lies in the creation of a culture in which this phenomenon becomes sustainable. This is a great challenge for many organisations.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Employee Surveys
Sustainable Employability and the Dip in Engagement
Heezen tells us that dealing properly with maintaining the sustainable employability of staff plays a key role in business success. “Employee surveys have shown us that in the first two to three years of their employment, staff are hugely engaged and committed. This decreases strongly in the period that follows. After five or six years, this engagement and commitment slowly increases. However, the original level is never reached again.”
Use the Full Potential of Your Employees
Many organisations talk about using the full potential of their staff but only achieve limited success. In order to make use of the full potential of your employees you need to:
- make sure the period of dissatisfaction is as short as possible;
- make sure the dip is a shallow as possible;
- make optimum use of the period that follows.
A large number of organisations currently only achieve limited success.
“A fair culture is what increasingly makes the difference in making some companies more successful than others”
A Fair Culture
Heezen states that a fair culture is what increasingly makes the difference and makes some companies more successful than others. This culture is characterised by an open-minded conversation about the staff’s added value, about what they really enjoy doing, what interests them, their performance and an appropriate salary level.
Economic Consideration
When you involve your employees in the economic considerations that your company represents and enable them to make the same consideration, they will better understand that remuneration is a reflection of their added value. As a result, they will also understand the price at which you can attract a new employee from the job market. Heezen emphasises: “Organisations that work on engagement in a sustainable manner discuss this with their people. They let their employees share the entrepreneurial spirit and speak openly about added value and remuneration.”
Not Easy, but Necessary
According to Heezen, this is not easy, but it is necessary: “You will have employees who think they deliver more added value than the organisation is prepared to pay. This might mean that employees leave because they think they can advance their career more quickly or earn more money elsewhere. It is not always very pleasant but if you deal with it in an open and honest manner, it is good for the genuine engagement of your employees. It increases transparency, trust and predictability. These are important conditions for having engaged and committed employees.