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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: PRIMER
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!EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
This Green Key Global toolkit was developed in collaboration with Loop initiatives.
Employee Engagement: Primer
WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY?
Employee buy-in and participation are essential to implementing sustainability initiatives and achieving sustainability goals. Employee engagement is a process used to create a culture of sustainability across your organization.
WHY ENGAGE EMPLOYEES IN SUSTAINABILITY?
Employee engagement harnesses the efforts and energy of your staff to improve environmental performance and reduce costs through your sustainability program. It also provides additional benefits to hotel management and staff.
RETAINS EMPLOYEES STIMULATES INNOVATION
Engaged employees are more satisfied In their workplaces, leading to increased retention and productivity. A successful engagement program can also attract top-quality staff to work at your hotel.
Bringing together employees from different parts of the business under the common goal of sustainability creates conditions that drive innovation and efficiency. As team members collaborate they develop more holistic perspectives allowing them to identify process improvements across the organization.
DEVELOPS PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Engaging employees in sustainability initiatives allows them to gain new knowledge and develop their professional skills. Staff participating in your hotel’s Green Team can also gain experience in leadership and project management.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: PRIMER
!!!!!
!EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
This Green Key Global toolkit was developed in collaboration with Loop initiatives.
WHAT ARE COMMON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES?
Pursuing the following strategies and processes will not only enable your employee engagement success but will also improve your performance in the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. These strategies are relevant to certain questions within the assessment.
1. RAISE AWARENESS
Raising awareness is the first step to engagement. Employees should be made aware of: your
hotel’s Green Key rating; your sustainability policy1; your sustainability standards, including any written policies related to the environment, sustainability and IT, hazardous waste and environmentally-harmful substances, and handling environmental complaints; and
your sustainability action plan1. Consider including these documents as part of your standard orientation for new employees, and remember to introduce new and updated policies to current employees.
You should also communicate how sustainability initiatives benefit the hotel and employees. Having your executive director or other senior leaders address sustainability in their official communications will convey to your employees that sustainability is an important part of your hotel’s business.
2. PROVIDE TRAINING
Formal and informal training can educate employees on the principles behind your environmental policy and sustainability action plan, and can support the implementation of sustainability standards at your hotel. For example, train employees in green cleaning procedures or how to respond to guests who ask about the hotel’s sustainability initiatives. It is crucial that you include a comprehensive, periodic training program for all employees on knowing their respective roles and responsibilities regarding; Environmental awareness, Social and cultural practices, economic and quality issues, management of health and safety practices.
3. OBTAIN COMMITMENT
Once employees are aware of general sustainability issues and the specifics of sustainability at your hotel, consider asking them to sign a pledge to engage in sustainable practices or to sign up for specific responsibilities. Stating a commitment has been shown to drastically improve the likelihood that people will engage in sustainable practices.
1 See the Environmental Policy Toolkit and Sustainability Action Plan Toolkit for more information on developing these documents for your h
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: PRIMER
!!!!!
!EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
This Green Key Global toolkit was developed in collaboration with Loop initiatives.
4. POST SIGNS
Use signage to further embed your sustainability into your organizational culture. Signs around light switches, in the bathroom, in the lobby and hallways can remind employees of the environmental commitments they are acting on, as well as inform guests.
5. OFFER INCENTIVES
Rewards can increase engagement. Incentives may include tying employee bonuses to hotel sustainability performance, providing fun prizes awarded to the winners of a sustainability challenge, or recognizing a Green Employee of the Month. Incentives can also be used to encourage employees to reduce the impact of their actions outside of work; for example, by providing subsidized public transit passes.
6. HOLD TEAM EVENTS
People are easily motivated in a fun and rewarding environment. There are many occasions throughout the year where your employees can participate in community environmental events. If appropriate, consider allowing employees to spend some time volunteering for a worthy cause.
Examples of environmental and sustainability events you can participate in or organize at your hotel include:
• Earth Day (April 22)• Bike to Work Day/Week (end of May) • Commuter Challenge (beginning of June in Canada; various months in USA) • Community Clean-Ups • Tree Planting Days
You can also host internal events and challenges, such as:
• Save Water Day • Energy Efficiency Week • Waste Audit Day • Zero-Waste Lunch Week
7. SEEK FEEDBACK
Create a process for ongoing employee feedback to measure the success of your engagement efforts. Provide employees with a way to comment on their experiences with the program and provide suggestions for improvement. The best information about what works for employee engagement often comes from your own employees
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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: PRIMER
! !!!!
!EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
This Green Key Global toolkit was developed in collaboration with Loop initiatives.
8. PRODUCE CASE STUDIES
Case studies serve to remind employees of positive changes, successes, lessons learned and best practices that have emerged from your hotel’s sustainability actions. Track conditions before and after you implement actions from your sustainability action plan or employee engagement activities. Use this information to produce brief case studies. Where possible, complement case studies with photos and post publicly (paper or display monitor).
9. CELEBRATE!
At the end of each year, or once you reach a particular milestone (for example, achieving an energy-intensity goal), celebrate your hotel’s achievements. Recognize the efforts of your employees through posters, newsletter articles, or luncheon events. Publicly celebrating will continue to raise awareness about your hotel’s sustainability initiatives and successes to date, and will motivate continued improvement efforts.
GREEN TEAMS
Even deeper levels of engagement can be achieved by forming a Green Team. A Green Team is a committee made up of employees from different departments who work together to implement sustainability actions at your hotel. Passionate champions can drive your hotel’s sustainability culture change and, in turn, engage more employees in achieving results.
Sustainability success is more often achieved when responsibilities are embedded within existing roles. Seek to establish a cross-functional Green Team, and work to integrate sustainability into their roles as well in those who are assigned actions. For example, ask the facility manager responsible for waste and recycling hauling to champion waste diversion initiatives, or ask the human resource manager to implement employee sustainability training. The Green Team can also facilitate awareness-raising and engagement opportunities for fellow employees.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
-! Engaging Employees, Green Hotelier, 2010
-! Embedding Sustainability in Organizational Culture: A Systematic Review of the Body of -! Knowledge, Network for Business Sustainability, 2010
-! Fostering Sustainable Behavior, Doug McKenzie-Mohr, 2011
-! How Sustainability Is Driving Employee Engagement and the Bottom Line, Tim
Mohin, GreenBiz Blogs, 2011
-! Planning for Sustainability: A Starter Guide, Step A – Awareness, The Natural Step, 2012
