In today’s competitive business and employment landscape, creating an award-winning workplace is more than just a nice- to-have or a bonus. It’s essential for long-term success and puts your organization a step above the competition. 

Gone are the days when you could have superficial perks and trendy office spaces and expect that to be all you need to attract and keep top talent. Today, organizations must invest in a solid employee engagement strategy that includes learning what your employees think, feel and understand about working for your organization. 

As a leader, you are there to be a strategic guide to your organization. You understand the impact of leading with empathy, being a great communicator, and empowering your employees.

You also serve a vital role in prioritizing employee engagement and fostering a great culture that sets your organization on the path to creating an award-winning workplace. Let’s explore how.

Why Strive for an Award-Winning Workplace

Becoming an award-winning workplace brings numerous benefits that align with your organization’s strategic goals and long-term success. 

Here’s a few reasons why this recognition is helpful:

1. Recruitment and Retention Strategies – In today’s competitive talent market, attracting and retaining top talent is crucial. By focusing and prioritizing employee engagement, it helps to create a workplace that stands out above the crowd. Candidates are not just looking for a job. They want to work for organizations that value their well-being , provide growth and development opportunities and foster a supportive work environment. By building an award-winning workplace culture, you strengthen your recruitment strategy and become a destination employer for top talent. 
2. Guiding Your Organizational Vision – Striving to become and maintain an award-winning workplace serves as a guiding beacon for your organizational vision. It becomes the WHY behind your initiatives and the motivation to improve and be recognized for your efforts. Your WHY ties back to pain points your organization may be experiencing. By focusing on employee engagement, you can address these pain points, align your strategic goals accordingly, and drive continuous improvement
3. Enhancing Credibility and Generating Business Opportunities – Organizations that invest in their people are highly regarded in the marketplace.  When you prioritize your employee engagement strategy and create a strong workplace culture, your customers and community notice, and are more likely to do business with you as they see your commitment to excellence.

Leadership’s Role in Employee Engagement

Leadership serves a pivotal role in promoting a workplace dedicated to employee engagement. It’s not just HR’s job. It requires a partnership between leadership and HR to drive meaningful change.

There are areas where leadership can steer the ship with the organization’s employee engagement strategy. For those organizations focused on becoming an award-winning workplace, a key component of the process includes conducting an employee engagement survey. Although the administrative responsibility of this award process often is under the direction of HR, the leader of the organization is encouraged to be actively involved as well.

Here’s a few ways leadership can be involved:

• Share with your organization your WHY and how it relates to the strategic direction and goals for your company.
• Express gratitude to your employees for their participation and thank them for providing valuable feedback.
• Commit to sharing what you learn about your employees from the employee engagement survey. This demonstrates transparency, accountability and a commitment to continuous improvement. 
• Champion continuous improvement by leading the direction and empowering your teams to evaluate and assess what action plans can be set to address any gaps in employee engagement. 
• Define next steps and timeline for implementing improvement initiatives. This is a great time to align these initiatives with your strategic direction and goals. This clear roadmap sets expectations and allows employees to see contributions to creating an award-winning workplace.

Leadership’s involvement in an organization’s employee engagement survey is key to the success. Before and during this initiative, it’s imperative for leadership to demonstrate their support and commitment to the process. Creating an environment of transparency and consistent open communication builds trust. Your employees can instantly lose trust if they feel leadership at any time is not committed to them or withholding information.

Although there is data that remains at the executive leadership level, it’s important to keep employees aware of the overall direction and performance of the organization. This creates a feeling of security and of being valued, which is crucial to employee engagement and a thriving workplace culture.  

Supporting a Corporate Culture for Long-Term Success

Employee engagement is not a one-time effort, but rather an ongoing strategy. Leadership, in collaboration with HR, is most successful when both support a thriving corporate culture that fosters growth, learning and development.

Topics such as recruitment challenges, toxic culture, communication inconsistencies and turnover may begin with HR but when leadership prioritizes employee engagement to address these issues, organizations thrive. Leadership’s commitment is vital in setting the tone and driving meaningful change. 

By investing in employee engagement strategies and creating an award-winning workplace, you pave the way for sustained growth, innovation and employee commitment. 

Prioritizing Employee Engagement at the Leadership Level

Having engaged employees and becoming an award-winning workplace is not just about getting recognition – It’s about creating an environment where employees thrive and businesses succeed. Leadership plays a crucial role in fostering employee engagement throughout the organization and championing a best workplace culture. 

By prioritizing employee engagement and investing in your employees, you build a culture and reputation that attracts and keeps top talent, enhances credibility and aligns strategic direction.

Together, leadership and HR can create a workplace culture where employees feel valued, secure and energized to support the organization for continued success in the future. Remember, creating a thriving workplace culture with engaged employees is absolutely within your reach, and it all starts with investing in your employees and fostering a culture of engagement. 

To explore more ideas and strategies for supporting a corporate culture that leads to becoming and maintaining an award-winning workplace, check my book, CULTURE IMPACT. This comprehensive resource will empower you to take steps to create an extraordinary workplace culture and unlock your organization’s full potential.