When I was a teen and into my early 20s, I vacationed with my family every summer for a week at a resort in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, we returned there for the first time in 30 years to celebrate my mother’s upcoming 75th birthday, introducing spouses and children to the experience.
I immediately was struck by how much had changed—and at the same time, how many things stayed the same. One thing that stayed the same was the engagement and loyalty of the staff. I recognized several names and faces from three decades ago, including one of the events coordinators, “Joey The Kid,” who is no longer a kid but clearly still loves and takes pride in his job.
That was the case for all of the other staffers we encountered—from the recent high school graduates to the retired corporate Baby Boomers and everyone in between. Our meal server greeted us with a smile and correctly memorized every breakfast and dinner order not only for our table of eight, but for the table of 16 behind us—no pen, paper, or tablet in sight for those four days. The drivers of the resort shuttle buses (which my husband only half-jokingly referred to as “white angels on wheels” after three consecutive 18,000-step days) cheerfully circled the property hour after hour transporting guests from their rooms to the lake, pool, recreation areas, and dining hall. The staffer overseeing the bocce tournament happily proclaimed he had “the best job in the world” as he handed out gold medals to the winning team.
The Secret Sauce
So what’s the secret sauce for engaging and retaining employees—for lighting the spark at work? It may very well be treating them like customers, believes Krysta Van Ranst, CEO and founder of learning and development consulting firm Building PPL. “Providing our employees with the same attention, resources, and five-star service we extend to our clients creates a work culture where they feel valued, have the tools to do their best work, and gain a deep understanding of their role in achieving business goals,” she explains. Find out the three steps to create a customer experience for your employees in “Why Treating Your Employees Like Customers Is Key to Their Retention and Engagement.”
Another ingredient is ensuring employees care about their work, notes John Jordan, an L&D manager at Sendero Consulting. He details how L&D can be the guide that helps them discover their professional purpose and bring next-level passion to work.
Similarly, Jayson Krause, founder of training and coaching firm Level52.ca, advocates for a paradigm shift—a move away from conventional engagement tactics toward asking each employee a simple yet profound question: “What will make this the best year of your professional career?” This inquiry slices through the peripheral concerns and zones in on what genuinely motivates people individually, he says.
“Starting with this simple question centers on personal values, growth, overcoming challenges, and the visceral thrill of achieving one’s own metaphorical podium finish. Engagement is not a static process but an hourly emotional event that, at its best, is tethered to a compelling vision,” he explains in “Disturbing the Status Quo: A Simple Yet Disruptive Approach to Employee Engagement.” “It revolves around feeling valued, challenged, and fulfilled. It’s about perceiving a clear trajectory toward one’s goals, backed by the necessary support and resources to get there. The anticipation of creating the best year of one’s professional life is an incredibly motivating force.”
Connecting to your organization’s why, providing employees with the space to innovate and create, and promoting a health-focused environment are all factors in an engaged and satisfied workforce, adds Helena Tönne, HR manager at helmet-based safety company Mips AB. “At Mips, we conduct a weekly anonymous pulse survey, designed to measure employee engagement, enjoyment, and perceived work situations.”
Educational Opportunities
InStride Chief University Officer Michelle Westfort notes that one of the top methods companies have developed to increase employee retention is providing educational opportunities so workers can advance in their careers. “In fact, up to 71 percent of global organizations plan to rely more heavily on upskilling and reskilling for retention this year,” she writes in “Customizing Employee Education for Better Retention.” “Unfortunately, at the moment, only 34 percent of workers feel supported by their organization’s skill development opportunities, so it’s safe to say many of these current efforts are lacking.”
The answer, Westfort says, is to tailor development programs to better meet the unique needs of the organization’s workforce. This includes aligning educational programs to in-demand job roles to address employees’ individual career goals and desires for advancement, and to meet organizational objectives.
Incentives for Learning—And Performance
As organizations seek to reskill and upskill employees, some are turning to incentives to increase employee engagement in training and help reinforce the knowledge and skills they are learning. Indeed, 72 percent of Learning and Development (L&D) professionals use incentive, award, and/or recognition programs in their current role, with gift cards being the most popular reward, according to a Training magazine survey of 215 L&D professionals. See “Incentivizing Training” for more survey results.
Today’s employees don’t just want to be rewarded for learning, though. Research from Blackhawk Network (BHN) finds that the right recognition and rewards at work are needed to make employees feel more loyal, motivated, and valued. “Our data shows that employees now expect a regular drumbeat of recognition at work—a single reward at the end of the year is no longer enough,” says Jeff Haughton, SVP, Incentives, Corporate Development & Strategy at BHN. “The sooner a recognition can happen after a key achievement, the better. This means employers need to rethink how they distribute rewards and recognition in today’s modern workplace that is increasingly dispersed and digital-first.”
GiftCrowd founder and CEO Eshed Doni notes that companies with recognition programs experience 31 percent lower turnover and 28.6 percent lower frustration than those without. But, he writes in “Fostering Humanity at Work: Innovative Approaches to Demonstrate Appreciation for Employees,” fostering a culture of appreciation requires targeted training. “Organizations build this culture by allowing managers to acknowledge and recognize team members regularly. Some incorporate formal recognition programs into the workplace; others find informal ways to add appreciation to regular team meetings and interactions. For maximum impact, he says, “employers must learn to personalize the gifting experience.”
How Do You Engage Your Employees?
We want to learn more about your organization’s effective talent development and employee engagement strategies. Apply for our 2025 Training APEX Awards—which recognize excellence in employee training and development—and highlight how you are empowering your employees to reach their peak performance and potential. To download the 2025 application and the quantitative and qualitative scoring guidelines, please visit:
The deadline to apply is September 3, 2024.
Let’s Connect at TechLearn!
I hope you’ll give us the opportunity to engage YOU at our upcoming TechLearn 2024 Conference taking place September 17-19 in Austin, TX, where you can experience:
- 35+ Innovations in Training Test Kitchen demos
- 50+ breakout sessions, including a new series focused on “Fostering a Culture of Learning in High-Risk Environments”
- 8 hands-on clinics
- 2 tech-savvy keynoters: Mairéad Pratschke, professor and chair in Digital Education, University of Manchester, and Mona Chalabi, Data editor, Guardian US
- 2 Austin experiences (Lone Star Dinner Cruise and Bat Viewing and the Twisted Texas Brew Bus), plus a small group dine around mixer event
- 3 pre-conference certificate programs
- 2 pre-conference events: GamiCon ATX24 and Learning Leaders Summit
It all adds up to a winning combination for skill building, career growth, and next-level training.
Download a brochure to learn more and click here to register. You’ll get an automatic $300 discount on the TechLearn Conference with the Super Early Bird Rate if you register by JULY 26.
As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas—including the learning and inspiration!