When employees  feel part of a strong and winning team,that is when they will be most engaged. (Photo:Shutterstock)

The tech industry has seen great change andinnovation throughout the 21st century, with more on the horizon.Employees have been able to take advantage of new opportunities anddevelop new ways of working and they are in turn making new demandson businesses. Those new models are spreading out of the techsector and impacting employee expectations across manyindustries.

Here are some tips on how to meet these expectations:

Employers need to be challenged to improve workplaceculture

There is pressure for employers to work harder to ensureimprovement in many areas. One way to do that is by supportinggreater diversity across the organization andproviding equality of opportunity and equal pay. Another is moresocial engagement, such as taking action on issues like climatechange, or supporting fundraising and other charitableactivities.

Additionally, take into account quality of life, the ability towork remotely at certain times, or to fit work around parenting andother responsibilities.

Related: Employees want a company culture that makes themfeel connected

We see a growing demand for workers to self-manage as far aspossible, to take more responsibility at work and to accesstraining and education to continually improve their skills.

Leaders need to recognize their employees in the workplace

Put processes in place to offer praise outside of your linemanagement structure. It's one thing for your boss to say welldone, but it's even more powerful if an employee knows that theirboss is championing them to their peer—that demonstrates that it'snot just platitudes.

Make sure that you are rewarding the right behaviors. Reward thebehavior you want to drive.  in most organizations, thisis about being customer facing, and yet many people appear to getrewarded for doing things internally, making their bosses liveseasier, for example.

Celebrate team victories and accomplishments. I recently heardabout a company that offers team incentives—if 90 percent of theteam adopted a new initiative, everyone gets a day off. That's anice idea.

Keep employees happy and engaged

If the business is growing and innovating effectively, if it isproducing products and services that people love, that is the bestrecipe for a happy workplace. When employees are working togetheras part of a team that is having a real impact on customers orclients, when they feel supported to do their best work, and whenthey feel part of a strong and winning team, that is when they willbe most engaged.

Don't let people get stale. Even if they are doing a great joband you are worried that changing their role will risk problems intheir current area of responsibility, you have to be open toletting people grow and develop in new directions.

When offering people the chance to develop new skills, maketraining available. But think outside the box a little; perhaps anHR Director course for the IT Project Manager, rather than moreproject management training. Perhaps offer media training ratherthan presentation skills for customer-facing staff.

It is also important to have a culture of openness andtransparency rather than a blame culture. Allow employees the spaceand opportunity to learn new things. Accept that where employeesare making decisions, they will make mistakes—everyone can learnfrom these and move on.

Know the differences between engaging employees of differentgenerations

I don't believe that the generation coming into the workplacenow is much different from any other. Wanting to do interestingwork, wanting to be part of the team, wanting to be respected—thatgoes for every age group. People of every age group also want somelevel of autonomy in the work they do and some flexibility in theirpattern of work. Employers who don't do the right things tend tohide behind this by saying that it's the fault of the newgeneration – isn't that just an excuse for being a pooremployer?

Meaningful work isn't just a millennial thing, it is a "greatemployer" thing. Today's generation has perhaps brought thisconversation to the forefront. But it may not be that they havedifferent ideals, but just that this is more possible now. Technology is agreat enabler in the workplace. In the last century it was thatmuch harder to share information in real-time and to create theinstant communication that we have access to today. That meantthere were usually more layers of management and workplaces weremore hierarchical. In fact, the digital workplace functions betterif people self-manage more, and that is engaging for everygeneration.

This starts from day one when they sign on the dotted line.Involve people in communication right away; invite them tojoin the Fantasy Football League or to join a chat channel. Fromthe job interview to the start date is an opportunity to capturehearts and minds so that new people feel excited about walkingthrough the door on their first day.

Have a monthly induction course but don't just have newstarters. Cycle everyone through it so you get a mix of people andthat it works as a refresher for old hands. Make sure that seniorleadership engages in this as well.

Encourage communication among teams and across departments.Cross-collaboration and multi-functional teams are great as theyhelp people to see the bigger picture. Ensure that remote workingemployees are included in communications channels. All staffmeetings are always helpful for keeping everyone on the samepage.

Fun events and socials are good team-builders as well.Organizations often have a company day for all staff, but why nothave a weekend away for all staff with partners and families? Thenthe family gets engaged with company too!

Stay competitive in a busy space

Look ahead to the future. If you are very tuned into the market,customer needs and interests, you will be more aware of theemerging skills you want to hire for. Look for opportunities torecruit – being ahead of the game gives you more time to find theright people with the right skills.

Make sure your workplace is an excellent place to work in orderto attract and retain high-performers. There is room for incentivessuch as extra holiday for each year's service, paid sabbaticals forpeople who have stayed for five years, and so on.

Of course, people do move between jobs more than they did in thepast, so have a plan in place for that. There will often need to besuccession planning and onboarding initiatives in place. This canbe an opportunity for people to move into different roles and tobring on new talent. Employees are generally a business' mainassets. They are the people who are responsible for realizing thecompany's vision on a daily basis; they interact with customers andthey are often the source of innovative ideas. Making sure that thebusiness is doing a great job for both employees and customers isvital for success in today's competitive environment.

Mark Robinson is chief marketing offer atKimble Applications.

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