Employee Engagement expert Jill Christensen is one of the most in-demand and highest-rated female speakers in the world today. Named a Top 200 Global Thought Leader to Watch in 2021 and Top 101 Employee Engagement Influencer, she takes audiences on a journey that educates and inspires people to act. In the past three years, Jill has presented her proven strategy to re-engage employees to 250,000 people in 33 industries, 38 U.S. states, and 10 countries. A former Fortune 500 Corporate Communications business executive with a Six Sigma Green Belt, Jill understands how organizations operate, and what they need to do differently to attract, retain, and engage both on-site and remote employees. 

Jill’s book, If Not You, Who? How to Crack the Code of Employee Disengagement, is a global best-seller, and her popular weekly blog was named a Top 100 Corporate Blog alongside of Apple and Microsoft. These resources are being used by SMBs, Fortune 500s, startups, government agencies, non-profits, and family-owned businesses around the globe. 

In an exclusive interaction with us, Jill, who will be speaking at the People Matters EX APAC 2021 Conference, sheds light on some of the strategies that organizations can employ to re-engage employees today.

What do you think are major causes of disengagement in today’s work reality?

Lack of communication, connection, and collaboration.  Because many people are no longer physically co-located, we’ve lost these things.  It’s up to managers and leaders to create this for employees and here are some tips for doing that. These include creating a buddy /support system for every worker, delegating a major project to several remote workers to lead rather than leading yourself, recognizing employees monthly, and rewarding collaboration which in turn will encourage more employees to cooperate, among many others.

Why do you think the traditional approaches to employee engagement don’t work in the hybrid world?

“Traditional approaches – outsource EE to HR – never worked and it really won’t work now.” 

To change a culture, you have to approach employee engagement as a team and someone from the senior leadership team needs to champion the journey.

What are some of the strategies that organizations can employ to re-engage employees today?

In a hybrid model, there are things managers and leaders should be doing to ensure employees stay engaged or re-engage.  Some tips for doing that are here.  Organizations must also measure progress, so as to know if the efforts are working or if leaders need to course correct.

How can technology be leveraged to deal with employee engagement?

“One of the simplest ways to use technology is to shift your recognition system from manual to online.”

There are so many wonderful online recognition platforms today that make is incredibly easy for employees to recognize one another daily. 

What would be your advice to leaders to amplify employee engagement going forward?

Approach it like a strategy vs. a program or initiative.  It’s a journey – it takes time.  Let managers know what they need to do and measure your progress, so you know if what you are doing is working.  It’s not rocket science.  Meet employees’ needs and they will engage!

Meet Jill Christensen at the  People Matters EX APAC 2021 on 9th September. Click here to register.