We're a program administrator with a staff of 130. That's small compared to many insurers, but I believe the employee programs we've established are transferrable to any company, large or small. Here are some ideas for cultivating employee engagement to make sure you're operating at your best:

Manage by walking around. We're fortunate to have our staff on one floor. This facilitates open and free discussion. I know that when I walk through the office, it may take me up to half an hour to reach my destination. Along the way, I'm having face-to-face conversations with our employees. We have a companywide open-door policy. Any employee can speak to anyone on our management team, regardless of their position.
Seek input. We constantly ask our teams for feedback. We use anonymous formats, focus groups and one-on-one conversations. We want our staff to feel comfortable making suggestions and to know their ideas are valued. We listen to everyone and encourage collaboration across departments.
Engage employees through informal and formal programs. In addition to direct interaction, we've found it helpful to create several formal programs. These include BREAKING GROUND, a twice-yearly meeting where employees can submit ideas and make comments; Punch List, our monthly virtual meeting when staff can chat-text their comments and questions; and an email suggestion box.
Be intentional about culture. Our Culture Committee serves as our eyes, ears and boots on the ground to drive culture initiatives forward and promote our values across the organization. But we also have a Brand Culture Touchpoint Team to identify and resolve issues that are impeding success and are at odds with our brand. The team engages with employees to get their input and to form working groups to reduce the frictions that have been identified.
Build continuous improvement into performance goals. While you certainly want employee engagement to become an organic, self-sustaining part of your culture, you also need to have some accountability. Make sure your employees are living your values. Establish performance goals that promote communication, participation, collaboration, initiative, service and learning.

How do you know if it's working?

Companies with highly motivated employees that continuously improve always find better ways of delivering value more efficiently to the customer. McKinsey says insurers that "evolve with their customers constantly reassess all levels of their operations… they view problems as unique chances to improve, awarding recognition and career advancement to people who contribute effectively to the problem-solving process."

Special Reports /

Adopting employee engagement to improve products and processes

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