COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY
Employee Engagement –
An Enabler of Customer Engagement
A happy employee leads to
happy customers
The rising afkuence, ease of access to information and
social media have empowered consumers to an extent that
their opinion on products and services cannot be ignored.
Thus, customer-centric businesses should provide
channels for consumers to voice their opinions and in turn,
be the jrst to learn about issues and provide solutions to
resolve them. Satisjed customers will continue to engage
with the business and share their positive experience with
their families and friends.
‘You don’t get engaged customers
without engaged employees.’
‘The service-value chain
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and growth not only to customer
loyalty and satisfaction derived
from good external service
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employee loyalty and satisfaction
which derive from good internal
relationships and working
environment.’
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Many businesses conduct annual surveys to measure
Employee Satisfaction. However, researchers have shown
that satisjed employees do not necessarily take a personal
interest to ensure business success as they are generally
content with their current status. Engaged employees, on
the other hand, will be passionate in ensuring that every
customer interaction generates truly loyal and satisjed
customers who will be sharing that experience.
How can SMEs nurture satisjed and engaged employees?
The journey begins with the SMEs’ intention to entrench
employee engagement as a long-term corporate culture.
Next, the SMEs should assess the current state and
determine the key drivers of employee engagement. Tools
have to be in place to collect feedback from employees
and action plans have to be implemented. This follow-up
is critical in building trust between management and staff
to facilitate frank and open exchanges in the future.
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COMMENTARY
It is imperative to note that employee engagement
strategy should support and bolster the organisation
vision, mission and business objectives. In general,
employee engagement initiatives can be broadly grouped
under employee well-being, information sharing, fairness
and involvement. With the key drivers for employee
engagement identijed, initiatives are developed in these
key areas to raise level of engagement.
Well-being
Employee well-being is affected by his/her feelings about
the organisation, work-life balance, job design and
structure. A strong corporate brand and culture that are
aligned with an employee’s value will instill pride in the
employee. The appropriate training, tools and resources
made available to execute the job competently and
knowledge of how he/she contributes to the organisation’s
success reinforce that sense of pride. The kexibility of the
organisation in terms of working hours and staff benejts
will alleviate some stress, thus raising the employee’s
overall well-being.
Information Sharing
The sharing of appropriate company information provides
an opportunity for the SME owner to express appreciation
for the employees’ contribution to the business’ success.
Regular information sharing will foster a sense of trust
and ownership among the employees, in turn motivate
employees to be participative and enthusiastic in ensuring
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further successes. The leadership of the business should
take the lead in sharing key information. The keys to these
communications are clarity and regularity. Just as it is
important to reach out regularly, it is equally important for
two-way and multichannel communications to take place.
Fairness
Fairness begins at the recruitment phase. It is only fair
for the recruiter to hire the right candidate for a job,
provide comprehensive and realistic expectations of the
job. Once on board, regular performance appraisal based
on the objectives that were clearly spelt out between the
employee and superior should be provided. The presence
of gaps between what was promised to the employee
and his actual experience will result in distrust. Distrust
impedes all forms of employee engagement activities.
Involvement
Employees like to be involved in making recommendations
on issues that affect them. Involvement empowers the
employees, allows them to determine their course of action
and thus increases their level of commitment. Trust and
openness are two key drivers for continuous involvement.
Senior management have to trust that the employees
are capable of taking the right actions while employees
have to believe that senior management will act on their
inputs. Rationale for decisions made which are different
from employees’ inputs should be shared to foster trust
and shape employees’ thought process for future inputs.
COMMENTARY
Soverus Group Pte Ltd
Soverus Group Pte Ltd, a leading company providing
services in Security Guarding, Security Systems, Security
Consultancy and Private Investigations, has implemented
many best practices to boost the morale of its Security
ofjcers, a group that has suffered from low job prestige,
resulting in poor performance and high turnover. Soverus
has the lowest attrition rate and no-show rates in the
industry. It has become projtable within three years after
the current management team took over the helm.
Soverus’ journey into employee engagement started
with the inclusion of ‘We will respect and nurture all our
employees to be the best that they can be’ in its Core
Values. It recognised the low sense of pride among the
security guards and how that affects the service quality. It
knows that sense of pride and engagement are keys to
transform the mentality of security guards.
Soverus’ solution addresses the issues psychologically
and jnancially.
Its jrst move to address the psychological aspect was to
instill a sense of pride in its security guards by featuring
them as the face of the company in its advertising
materials and press releases. It has also raised their sense
of belonging by providing all guards with company email
addresses and handbooks. Signages posted at Security
Posts with warnings against abuse are commitment from
the management to ensure the safety and well-being of all
its guards.
engagement measurement as part of their performance
target. Last but not least, Mr Paul Lim, Group CEO,
will personally recognise all employees with exceptional
performance.
‘Engaged employees lead to higher
levels of engaged customers.’
Walt Disney Management
In conclusion, for employee engagement to be sustainable,
senior management have to incorporate employee
engagement as part of the business strategy. It is critical
that there is absolute trust between Management and
staff and this trust has to be maintained through clear and
regular two-way communications.
Once employees are taken care of in a business, both
the customers and bottom line will be taken care of
automatically. E
Chong Eng Hock
Consultant
ECCA Consulting
Soverus takes care of the jnancial aspect by paying its
employee at the top 10 per cent pay scale in its industry
and lowering their cost of living through corporate discount
tie-ups with telecommunications and healthcare service
providers. Soverus is probably the only company in its
industry to include a Conjrmation increment amount in
its employment contract and provide bursary awards to
family members of employees.
Employee engagement will continue to be a culture
in Soverus. All management staff carry employee
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