Strategies to Elevate Employee Engagement in Automobile Industry

Employee engagement plays a pivotal role in today’s growing corporate world. From recognizing employees to elevating job satisfaction levels, employee engagement is the key to organizational success. HR managers must understand the organization’s right employee engagement strategies to improve the workforce’s overall efficiency. The need for a robust employee engagement strategy has increased with the changing dynamics and fast-paced industrialization. From the aviation industry to the e-commerce sector, companies have now acknowledged employee engagement's importance.

Let’s not forget how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of the corporate world and forced organizations to opt for work from home policies. While most corporate sectors had the flexibility to adapt to work from home, few industries had no choice and worked on-site.

One such sector was the automobile industry. This particular industry saw a massive decline in sales while the whole world went into lockdown and incurred huge revenue losses. Organizations were forced to let go of their employees and decrease salaries, resulting in higher levels of burnout and much more. This harmed the overall morale and engagement of the workforce.

However, with an appropriate employee engagement strategy, organizations can turn the tables and retain their prized assets while improving performance in the long run.

This article will focus on engagement strategies, especially for the automobile industry, to improve employees’ morale.

Employee engagement strategies that will help the automobile industry

1. The Power of Rewards and Recognition

As an HR manager, you might wonder if it is possible to facilitate a system of rewarding and recognizing employees on time. Well, the answer to that question is an obvious ‘yes’. The focus should be on curating a system that caters to the employees’ critical needs and requirements. It’s about understanding their perspectives and respecting their opinions.

Rewards do not have to be necessarily monetary. A few words of appreciation for their dedication can do wonders in improving the overall morale. During such difficult times, the care you will show your employees will matter the most. Employees crave acknowledgment, and managers must focus on the same to elevate job satisfaction. Appreciating employees for their hard work establishes good work ethics, improves productivity, and builds enthusiasm to do better.

You can acknowledge them publicly with the help of virtual platforms that have an interactive social feed. One such platform is Vantage Circle’s Rewards and Recognition tool which allows employees to interact with each other. The best thing about the platform is that peers can like and comment on the social feed. They can also use badges or pictures in the comment section and engage with each other in a unique way.

Know More: Vantage Rewards- Helping Elevate Your Employee Engagement Efforts

2. Communication

Communication has always been a crucial part of a workforce that excels well. It is a two-way street. Employers and employees have to be transparent and work together to accomplish tremendous success. The pandemic has made communication even more essential to keep daily operations intact.

Here is a quick question for you. How well is your internal communication, or rather how well do the leaders and the employees communicate? If the answer is yes, then you are on the right path toward an engaged workforce. However, if the communication is ineffective, you must improve it for the greater good.

Do not forget that your employees are the backbone of your business, and keeping them updated about every critical piece of information is a must. They have the right to know what is going on internally and externally. Include them in every decision if possible so that the matters stay transparent. It will help you open up to new ideas and build strong trust and mutual respect in the future.

3. Reinventing the Function of HR

A study by Mckinsey found that half of the HR respondents in the automotive industry were never functioning properly to deploy the right talent for the organization. If you consider this survey, it can threaten your employee engagement efforts in the long run.

When you hire a new candidate for a vacant position, the hiring managers must ensure they are the right fit for the organizational culture and the job you offer. New employees need to understand their roles. If they are not clear about their expectations, it can harm their productivity and decrease morale.

If we talk about the automobile industry per se, then it is critical that the employees perform at their best. The essential factor here is that the industry itself is based on customer success.

They have to deal with the general public and keep them satisfied directly. But if the employees are unsatisfied with their job, it can negatively affect the customers’ overall experience.

The HR department has to revolutionize its work to keep the workforce happy and engaged. They must think outside the box and facilitate ways to elevate employee engagement while keeping their traditional roles intact. It should be more about people management rather than managing people. The main focus should shift towards building an employee-centric culture while elevating the overall customer experience.

4. Surveys and Feedback

Organizations today rely on employee surveys that help generate critical feedback. In fact, 52% of senior managers think surveys provide a very accurate assessment of reality. Conducting surveys and giving importance to employee feedback is essential to keep the workforce motivated. It is one of the best employee engagement strategies that a leader can facilitate.

It becomes crucial when discussing pulse surveys and employee feedback in the automobile industry.

You may ask why it is important precisely for this particular industry? There are two essential factors to it-

• The first is the existence of the industry geographically.

• The second is the number of employees that this particular industry consists of.

Taking care of the employees of such a vast workforce can be a difficult task. And the main challenge arises when you have to cater to the employees with limited knowledge about employee engagement. You have to make them aware of the concept and help them understand pulse surveys and employee feedback. Facilitate a workflow that will help the employees to get a clear grasp of what the organization wants to achieve.

You need to have a strategic approach of how you are going to conduct the surveys and heed to the employees’ feedback. The surveys should be employee-centric, which can help you determine the employees' problems. And that is something that you can explore with the help of Vantage Circle’s Pulse Survey tool. Not only does it provide a wide range of questions, but it also provides an in-depth analysis of the survey. With the help of the analysis, you can make informed decisions and create a better working environment.

Make sure that the queries and questions are resolved in a timely fashion. Doing so will help the leaders maintain a good working relationship with their employees while establishing high engagement and trust within the organization.

5. Employee Well-Being

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the dynamics of how we used to work before. But most importantly, it made afloat that employee well-being was much more important than any other aspect of people management. With no socializing and long periods of isolation, my mental health took a heavy toll. On top of that, the pandemic has also resulted in companies laying off their employees, resulting in job insecurity. Thus, increasing stress levels, anxiety, hypertension, and a drop in productivity.

These are a few factors that have played a part in deteriorating your employees' overall mental and physical health. However, The crucial aspect is finding a solution to minimize the after-effects and care for your employees’ well-being.

As a manager, you can introduce programs that can help decrease mental stress or conduct virtual events that can improve physical health. Moreover, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to show empathy, understand their problems, provide a helping hand in the time of need, and acknowledge their work in every possible way. The main objective is to improve performance and engagement levels to keep the workforce happy, highly motivated, and satisfied.

Summing it Up!

Implementing the right employee engagement strategy will need patience and an approach that will be the right fit for the organization. As a manager, you need to figure out the best possible way that will not only increase the overall engagement of the workforce but also improve the bottom line.

FAQ

1. Why is employee engagement important in the automobile industry?

A. Employee engagement is crucial in the automobile industry as it directly affects productivity, quality of work, and customer satisfaction. Most importantly, the employees in this particular sector need to understand the existence of employee engagement which will positively impact their performance and lower turnover rates.

2. How can the automobile industry improve employee engagement?

A. The automobile industry can improve employee engagement by recognizing and rewarding employees, promoting transparent communication, reinventing HR functions, conducting regular surveys and feedback sessions, and prioritizing employee well-being.

3. What challenges does the automobile industry face in terms of employee engagement?

A. The automobile industry faces several challenges regarding employee engagement, including managing a diverse workforce, dealing with the physical demands and safety risks of the job, maintaining morale during periods of economic downturn or company restructuring, and adapting to technological changes and automation.

4. How does employee engagement affect customer satisfaction in the automobile industry?

A. Employee engagement directly impacts customer satisfaction in the automobile industry. Engaged employees are more likely to provide better customer service, be more productive, and produce higher quality work, all contributing to a positive customer experience.

5. How can rewards and recognition improve employee engagement in the automobile industry?

A. Rewards and recognition can significantly improve employee engagement in the automobile industry. Recognizing employees for their hard work as most employees have to do their work on the ground level and achieve the physical demands. Acknowledging them in a timely manner can boost morale, increase productivity, and encourage a positive work ethic.

Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle. He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com