It’s easy to focus on the numbers. Business executives were taught since business school that balance sheets and profit-loss margins are what they should focus on. But Human Resources is responsible for making employees happy and productive. And what’s the best way to do that? Make employees feel alive.
What Does ‘Make Employees Feel Alive’ Mean?
Since you’re probably asking that question, I’ll address it right away. What are some of the best things about being alive and how do you know when you feel ‘alive’? Without getting too existential, feeling alive at work is feeling fulfilled and satisfied with your work. There are of course aspects of being alive that can’t be fulfilled or satisfied in an office (unless you work for the circus), but from a work perspective, the key to feeling alive is having a purpose.
We’ve been over how to engage employees and communicate openly with them before on this site but for first-time readers, here’s a short rundown:
- Make your company’s purpose clear and prove that it’s a righteous and helpful one.
- Keep your door open for employee concerns, questions, or just to give advice.
- Make sure everyone is included in the company’s mission. No man or woman left behind.
- Keep criticism constructive and always to the benefit of the individual and the company.
- Recognize and celebrate good work and accomplishment.
Think of those points as employee engagement 101. What keeps employees rushing to work with smiles on their faces is the feeling they get when they first walk into the office every day. If they feel dread because their boss is going to hammer them for not turning in those TPS reports on time, they won’t be fully engaged in the company’s mission, nor will they truly feel alive at work.
Where Employee Video Communications Come In
You’ve likely been blasted constantly with endless ‘Ten Reasons Why Employee Video Communications Enhance Employee Engagement’ articles advertising one employee communications dashboard or another. But here’s the truth, and there’s evidence to back this up: Video keeps people’s attention better than any other medium. At work, HR managers have to engage and communicate with their employees. They have to impart important information to them, and they have to know that their messages are being understood and acted upon. Communicating through video using livestream or pre-produced video can have a huge effect on improving engagement.
The bottom line is, life is about relationships, happiness, and fulfillment for most people. You can’t fulfill every need of your employees every day at the office as an HR manager, but you can nourish their work lives by engaging them every day, any way you can. If you can feed your employees responsibility and trust, they will respond, as long as you also make sure to keep that coffee pot functional.
