What are employee engagement committees?
Employee engagement committees are teams of employees who meet and work on improving workplace engagement. Participation is voluntary, with representation from different departments and seniority levels. Committee members share their input to shape engagement programs and become a voice for other employees. Specific committee responsibilities may vary based on the organization. However, all of their efforts focus on supporting employee wellbeing to build an engaged workforce.
Why employee engagement matters
If you’re seeing signs of employees being disengaged, you may wish to take steps to help them feel more connected to, and passionate about, the work they’re doing. This has a direct impact on employee satisfaction and work performance, both of which can significantly influence your company’s overall performance.
Benefits of establishing an employee engagement committee
Employee engagement committees can offer several benefits to your organization, including:
- Employee involvement: The act of inviting employees into the conversation about the topic can help boost engagement right away. Your team feels more involved when they have opportunities to voice their opinions and share their ideas.
- Inclusion: By allowing all employees to join the committee, you support your inclusive workplace efforts. It’s a chance for everyone to have their voices heard.
- Collaboration: The committee structure encourages colleagues to brainstorm solutions for engagement issues in the workplace . Working together allows participants to build on each other’s ideas, which supports teamwork in other work duties.
- Effective solutions: Giving employees a stake in engagement activities offers more effective options because you can hear directly from the people it affects. Managers might not fully understand what their teams need to feel more connected to the workload.
- Development opportunities: Participating in a committee can also provide your employees with valuable development opportunities. They gain insight into the company’s operations and can assume leadership roles within the committee, preparing them for future advancement within the company.
Employee engagement committee responsibilities
Deciding on specific employee engagement committee responsibilities depends on your company’s goals and your current engagement status. The primary goal is to come up with initiatives to improve engagement. Specific tasks to reach that goal might include:
- Asking for employee feedback through survey questions and conversations
- Analyzing the feedback
- Developing an employee engagement strategy
- Brainstorming employment engagement initiatives
- Planning events
- Serving as liaisons between employees and upper management
- Monitoring engagement initiatives
How to establish an employee engagement committee
Establishing an employee engagement committee requires planning and preparation before you ask for volunteers. Clear objectives, support and structure set the team up for success. The following steps can help you get started.
1. Secure buy-in from the leadership team
Support from leadership is essential for the committee to achieve its goals. The full leadership team must work with the committee to allow for real change. Support from the leadership team also helps the committee get the resources it needs, and executives might offer guidance and insight that allows for success.
2. Define the objectives of the committee
Well-defined objectives help you structure the committee well and guide participants in their efforts. Create an overall guiding vision for the committee along with specific goals to make that vision happen. Knowing what you expect from the committee can help you choose volunteers with the necessary skills to achieve those goals.
3. Allocate a budget to the committee
Employee engagement committees often host team building activities, employee recognition events and other events, which require funds. Allocate a budget to the committee along with processes for using or requesting the money. Informing committee members about the available funds in advance can help them plan budget-friendly activities.
4. Establish a committee structure
Determine the number of people on the committee. Establishing specific roles ensures all participants contribute meaningfully. It also helps the group use their time effectively by ensuring you have people to serve as leaders, note-takers and timekeepers. You might also establish procedures the committee should follow each time they meet.
5. Recruit committee members
When you ask for committee participants, share the details of the role, including the responsibilities and expectations. Ensure all employees hear about the opportunity. If you have team members in mind who would excel on the committee, talk to them directly about joining.
If you have a large number of volunteers, you may need to narrow them down to fill a specific number of committee seats. Establish a selection process before you announce the committee. You could create an application with questions to evaluate qualifications and how well each person might meet the committee’s needs.
Tips for making the committee effective
The following tips can make your engagement committee more effective:
- Offer guidance and training: While the volunteers might be eager to serve, some may lack experience with employee engagement. Provide training and information about their duties, as well as guidance on specific responsibilities like event planning and conducting surveys. This information gives the committee a solid foundation, which can help make their duties more manageable.
- Allow autonomy: The team should have some authority and decision-making power related to engagement activities. Autonomy enables the committee to take action and feel as if they’re making progress toward the goals.
- Provide necessary resources: Your committee may need various resources to carry out their duties. Examples include software to conduct employee surveys and analyze the results, training on engagement topics and planning tools to organize events.
- Utilize ongoing data collection: The work of an employee engagement committee is ongoing. Using continual data collection methods can help you monitor the success of the group and shape future goals.
- Show appreciation for the committee: Showing appreciation for employees across the board boosts morale. Team members who go beyond their duties to serve on committees deserve recognition for those efforts. Thank them for their time and offer other forms of appreciation periodically.
- Communicate with all employees: Share information from the engagement committee with the workforce as a whole. Keeping employees informed helps encourage them to look for changes and participate in events organized by the group.
FAQs about employee engagement committees
Who is responsible for employee engagement?
Employee engagement is typically a group effort shared among the human resources department, the senior leadership team and your managers. Your organization’s structure impacts who handles engagement efforts. For example, some larger organizations hire employee engagement managers to lead the efforts. In a smaller company without a dedicated HR department, the CEO might address engagement.
How often should employee engagement committees meet?
The frequency of meetings depends on the state of your employee engagement, your goals and the committee responsibilities you assign. For example, if engagement is low, the committee might meet more frequently to address the situation. A general guideline is to have the group meet once per month or quarter, but you can adjust the timing based on the committee’s progress.
What are other ways to improve employee engagement?
One way to improve engagement is to provide meaningful work for your employees and give them the autonomy to carry out their job duties without micromanagement. Employees tend to feel more engaged when the company values work-life balance and encourages them to take time away from the office.
