Employment involvement is the concept of utilizing your employees to deliver value regarding the decisions that impact their work.

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Employee involvement teams typically perform to a higher standard because they feel they have a stake in the organization. Leveraging their input helps you to provide more autonomy to your workforce. Today, we’re going to discuss employee involvement and participation, along with
implementing employee involvement programs within your business.

What is Employee Involvement?

Job involvement, by definition, can be described as employees participating directly within an organization to help achieve its objectives and fulfill its mission by providing ideas, expertise, and sweat equity.

With just 35% of U.S. employees falling into the engaged category and 15% worldwide, making your team feel heard has never been more critical.

Team involvement can be further broken down into: 

• Representative participation (via trade unions) 
• Upward problem solving 
• Direct communication

Employee involvement and participation can be implemented to varying degrees throughout your organization with the support of culture, environment, and leadership. 

Employee Engagement Examples 

An employee involvement program can be as in-depth as you like. There are many ways employee involvement can become a part of your company's culture. 

For example, you may empower your team by encouraging them to take risks and to fail. Allowing employees to suggest and implement ideas, even on a small scale, encourages them to engage. 

Another one of the top employee involvement examples is Southwest Airlines and its company culture. The airline has established a pecking order that goes employees > customers > shareholders. The logic is that employees are proactive and are encouraged to take responsibility. 

In other words, it’s about turning employees into active parts of the company’s decision-making system.

Benefits of Employee Involvement 

Why should you prioritize team involvement? 

It’s a psychological truth that engaged people are more likely to go the extra mile. Studies have shown that engagement via involvement leads to 21% greater profitability from teams. 

Morale is also another factor. Employees that feel heard will naturally feel better about being in the office. With 47 million Americans quitting their jobs in 2021, an employee involvement program can also improve talent retention. 

The best ideas can come from anyone within your organization, which is what team involvement aims to promote. According to Adobe, 44% of companies incentivize innovative accomplishments. Rewarding employees by involving them in executive decisions increases your chances of the next big idea coming from your workforce. 

Other benefits of involvement programs include:

• Healthier workplace relationships 
• Aligned work ethics 
• Commitment toward the company 
• Improved ability to adapt to change 
• Better employee well-being 

While involvement initiatives require an investment of time and resources, there are no downsides to harnessing the collective power of your workforce. 

Developing an Employee Involvement Program 

Developing your employee involvement program is not a linear process. It requires wholesale cultural and environmental change spearheaded by your leadership and management teams. Success hinges on total commitment. 

Here are the essential steps to integrating employee involvement into your organization.

Proper Communication 

Flexible communication is critical to any involvement program. Ensuring everyone remains heard and that the latest developments are passed down the line is the foundation of any engagement initiative. 

Company goals should not be hidden away or reserved exclusively for management. Employees should know the specifics of which direction the company is pushing in and how it intends to get there. 

Total transparency shows employees that you trust them and are interested in hearing proposals for change.

Innovation Incentives 

One of the most significant benefits of getting your team more involved in the big decisions is encouraging innovation from within. 

However, employees are unlikely to be interested in trying new things if their reward is simply their paycheck. 

Well-defined incentive programs with recognition and tangible financial benefits are vital for encouraging commitment to the cause. 

Build a Feedback Culture 

Feedback often runs from top to bottom. Feedback culture runs both ways. Your employees need to feel like they can speak up and be heard, with their suggestions and concerns bringing real change within the organization. 

Developing this culture takes time, but it is a culture that breeds confidence among teams. In many ways, feedback culture is the ultimate example of workplace equality. 

Invest in Professional Coaching 

Employee involvement and participation spotlight the leaders within the organization. Invest in the continuing professional development of your employees with professional coaching services. 

You can’t underestimate the value of coaching. Teaching new skills and expertise from those who already have these traits increases what you get out of your existing team. 

Work with your employees to identify weak points and contact a professional coaching organization like LeggUP for advanced training using engaging coaching techniques. 

Equip Managers with the Tools to Succeed 

Many employee involvement initiatives fail because improvement is kept within a silo. Involvement programs must increase communication and trust between employees and management. 

Change begins at the top. Help your managers set an example with a new culture through management training for your existing leadership team. 

Hard skills are vital in every aspect of business, but to properly integrate an involvement program, you need managers with high levels of emotional intelligence. Your workforce is not a homogenous unit. It is a diverse patchwork of people with different needs and requirements. 

Management must identify the uniqueness within each employee and operate using an unbiased performance review and continuing professional development process. 

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Explore Professional Coaching Options with LeggUP 

Understanding employee involvement is the first step to reaping the benefits of this type of workplace culture. However, it is only the first step and requires wholesale change from everyone involved. You cannot expect managers to spin on a dime without the proper support. 

LeggUP is here to make professional coaching a permanent part of your employee benefits program. We support companies of all sizes in getting the most out of their teams while prioritizing the health and wellness of each team member. 

To learn more about LeggUp’s coaching platform and professional coaching options, request your demo now.