3 Mistakes We Make That Prevent Employee Engagement

-Connect, October 06, 2011-

By: Brian Roland - CEO, Abenity

As an HR leader, you know that employee engagement is an invisible force that drives how well your company succeeds. For organizations desiring long term success--and who isn't?--employee engagement needs to be more than an HR buzz word. It must become an intuition that drives the way you run your business.

At Abenity we provide engagement solutions in the form of employee discount programs and benefit platforms. In working with scores of companies across the U.S. there's one key thing we've learned: Merely having a slick system in place isn't enough to engage workers; employee engagement only happens when communication is personal and intentional.

Voluntary benefits, like discount programs, can aid in our quest towards employee engagement. However, these 3 simple mistakes often get in our way, preventing improved employee engagement:

Mistake #1: Failure To Focus On The Positive

In the wake of the recent economic downturn many companies struggled to have consistent positive interaction with their employees. In the midst of layoffs, cutbacks and pay cuts, there wasn't a whole lot of good news coming out of the HR department. However, your voluntary benefit programs provide a positive conversation topic with which to start re-engaging employees. Of course employee engagement can't happen solely through benefits and perks, but it's a safe place to start, especially if you're starting from scratch. Failure to engage on this level is missing out on one of the best opportunities for positive communication with employees.

Mistake #2: Leaving Employees Confused About Their Options

The complexities of everything from life insurance to 401k investing leaves many employees confused, and too many organizations fail to educate effectively in this realm. But one of the most practical ways to increase employee loyalty and satisfaction is through purposeful communication around benefits opportunities. When employees better understand their choices they will be able to make more informed decisions and appreciate the value of the benefits being offered to them.

Something we often emphasize to clients of our Abenity Discount Program is that membership affords employees over $4,500 in available savings from thousands of retailers nationally. Employees need to understand that on top of their salary and health benefits they also have access to $4,500 in consumer savings through their employer. That's a fantastic figure for an employer's total compensation report, and a powerful employee motivator! Tally up your entire benefits package to determine a total compensation number that underscores the value of employment at your organization.

Mistake #3: Missing Out On Communication Opportunities

It used to be that a simple leaflet passed out during an employee's introduction program was considered a sufficient communication of benefits. But as technology has grown and developed, the landscape of benefit communication has changed dramatically. It's important to leverage all of your available resources, through handouts, printed flyers in the break-room, important email updates, accessible intranet links and when possible social media updates.  Plus, don't be afraid to lean on your vendors to provide assistance in communicating benefits effectively. For example, for our clients, Abenity sends out monthly and weekly newsletters to employees to communicate new discount offers available to them, and we're always happy to jump in and create personalized marketing efforts in the name of increased engagement.

The Human Resources department sits in the unique position as the cheerleader for the employee. And while motivation can be inspired from many different avenues, the use of voluntary benefits is too often not leveraged as an engagement tool. Take this opportunity to share some great news with your staff about their benefits; your value as an employer can only increase!

About Abenity
To learn more about Abenity please visit www.AbenityEmployeeDiscountPrograms.com. Brian Roland, CEO can be reached at 615-807-0303 or by email: brian@abenity.com.