4 Reasons Fewer Employees Are Engaged in Sustainability, and What to Do About It

WeSpire's sixth State of Employee Engagement report indicated a decline in the number of companies that are engaging employees in sustainability strategy, reports GreenBiz . Possible reasons for this slippage could be employee unawareness of company sustainability programs, participants lagging behind specialized, role-based engagement programs, a loss of "ownership" for engagement among sustainability teams, and too few companies measuring and communicating the business benefit of sustainability engagement. Suggested remedies for the first problem include the company viewing the engagement program as a vital effort worth communicating about regularly through various channels. To meet the second challenge, the recommendation is to include implementing role-based imperatives focused on employees with the ability to drive significant material impact; broader work-related projects to fuel innovation, and culture change; and personal activities that feel like the company cares about the employee at home and at work. Solving the third problem entails first unifying the design and delivery of engagement efforts, and then having each engagement area appoint or maintain a manager to make sure that the specific programming content is accurate and that the measurement strategy is in alignment with goals. Tackling the fourth challenge involves giving employees the means to understand the impact sustainability and other engagement programs are having on human resources by connecting program participation to employee engagement scores.