Engagement, sustainability programs can drive a sense of empowerment

Amid such a tight job market with stagnant wage growth, many organizations are searching for new methods of stirring employee engagement. At the same time, companies are faced with determining how effective their employee management and sustainability programs have been.

A report released this week by GreenBiz.com found most organizations are using employee surveys to gauge the success of their HR strategies. For example, the study found 33 percent of companies measure corporate sustainability through comprehensive staff surveys.

GreenBiz contributor John Davies argues that this should be seen as an opportunity to further develop both employee engagement and empowerment.

“[Employees] want to learn more but want the messaging in easy sound bytes that they can remember,” said one respondent to the survey. “They want constant accessibility to information and prefer that we not bombard them with messaging. They are most interested in local efforts – what's in it for me and my direct community.”

Another participant went so far as to claim that substantive and credible sustainability programs make their employees feel proud of where they work. This is the first step in driving engagement levels.