Increasing your employee engagement in the workplace can be a difficult situation. As an employer, you must ensure that your employees like their jobs and they are eager to come to work every day. There will be one or two days when some of your employees may suffer the blues, but it must not create an impact when it comes to contributing to the organization’s objectives. However, you would want to take note of the workplace engagement level. Remember, a disengaged employee can have a negative impact on the productivity of your workplace. If employee engagement has taken a hit in your office, then here are a few strategies to improve employee engagement.
Improving staff engagement needs buy-in from your whole leadership team, and a successful engagement strategy guarantees thoughtful planning. Do not let that discourage you; a highly engaged workforce will improve your company’s profitability, retention, and productivity. There are however, both low-lift and long-term methods of employee engagement. In this article, we will explore a few how to improve employee engagement ideas.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement can be defined as the extent to which employees are motivated by, enthusiastic about, and invested in the work they do. Engagement also shows the individual’s dedication to the company and their emotional connection to people with whom they work.
Staff engagement is generally misunderstood to be the same as job satisfaction. Though these two concepts are related, employee engagement is more complicated because it is influenced by several factors including culture, individual characteristics, and location. These factors are prone to fluctuate with time. This is the reason why calculating employee engagement is important to stay informed about your team’s needs.
Strategies to Improve Employee Engagement
If you have detected a change in your team’s engagement or are just getting familiarized with the term, “employee engagement”, there are different steps you can take to make a positive impact in your workplace.
Model your company’s values and highlight your mission
Employees are more engaged when there is an objective they can go behind and an objective to inspire them. Your mission statement and core values are the base of your company culture, which plays a big role in how engaged your workers are. Start by developing a concise list of organization core values, then train every employee in these values. Doing so will assure employees understand the significance of the company’s values, how they affect the business, and what are the things expected from each staff. Give an example and hold every worker accountable. Failing to do so will nurture a bad company culture that will in turn disengage employees.
Focus on Feedback
The ideal amount of feedback correlates with positive reviews by the manager. Even managers who provide their direct reports too much feedback are higher by their team compared to those who do not provide enough feedback. The point? Employees crave feedback, and it influences their engagement level. Begin by scheduling check-ins for each worker with their manager, then support middle management to create regular review sessions with their team as an enduring initiative to enhance employee engagement.
While it may be alluring to implement a company-wide schedule for the feedback, remember that every team is each team is different and numerous touchpoints may feel odd to some. Managers should discuss their direct reports about their chosen methods for receiving feedback to engage employees in a manner that is important to them.
Encourage taking frequent breaks
One of the important strategies to improve employee engagement is to encourage your staff to take breaks. You must encourage your staff to take 5 minutes to break from their work and stretch. It is one of the best ways to take your mind off work for some time after focusing on a hectic proposal or documentation that needs your attention.
There are a few applications that you can easily set on your desktop, which reminds you to take frequent breaks and give rest to your eyes from the screen. When employees find that you take care of their well-being instead of just giving them loads of work, they will work harder for the company.
Support flexibility
One of the main secrets of how to engage your employees is by giving flexibility to your staff. This provides your employees the freedom to adjust their work schedules to better suit their requirements. Not many firms trust their employees in completing their work without their managers’ vigilant eyes, but you would be amazed. When you give flexible working hours instead of a strict 9 hours timings, your staff will be more productive, happy, and will be more engaged in the workplace.
Volunteer as a team
No one feels terrible or bad after helping an old man cross the road. When you give a helping hand, you feel good about yourself as you made someone’s day better than it was earlier.
Arrange regular social gatherings
Weekly gathering with peers and colleagues is one of the best strategies to improve employee engagement. This is a great way to know each other on a personal level. Having fun together not just breaks the routine but at the same time, it encourages collaboration and creativity. There is no need to plan a huge event every week, but a team lunch every week or a session at the end of the week.
Clarify objectives
Every employee has a set of responsibilities and objectives which they need to focus on. There are times when employees get confused with their role in the organization, which is common. Clarify their responsibilities and goals if you want to increase employee engagement with your organization. There are times when employees feel exhausted mentally while trying to attain their goals. This may be because of a lack of support and leadership or just because they feel that they are not good or confident at the work they have done.
A great leader is one who is always there to help their employees set goals and help them achieve it. It is true that management cannot be there every time when it comes to guiding employees in their work or the issues they are facing. However, if you want to enhance the engagement level in your company you must show your employees that you are with them for any kind of help.
There are many who put their maximum effort to grow in their career through various means like education, different courses, and workshops. Urge your employees to attend conferences and workshops. You can even invite guest speakers related to your industry. This increases the productivity among your workers and improves the confidence of the team.
Carry out employee engagement surveys frequently
Employee engagement surveys conducted regularly will not help you to understand what is working in your company, but your employers will feel valued. Giving everybody the chance to tell their opinions freely encourages honest and open communication. Employee feedback is important to engage your workforce successfully. You can look at notable corporations for seeking inspiration, but at the end of the day, your team is special and will respond in the best way to specific employee engagement strategies.
Long term strategies to improve employee engagement
As it is complex, having a robust employee engagement strategy is important to ensure that your team focuses on their work and company culture. Have a look at the below mentioned approaches to improve employee engagement. Implement a few of these strategies along with your low-lift activities to improve employee engagement.
Button up your on boarding procedure
You will not disengage a worker faster than in their initial few weeks on the job. By offering new hires with efficient on boarding, you allow them to know they have a place in your organization and its culture. Take enough time to explain the nuances of the team, the objectives of the company, and the purpose of their position. This not just sets them up for success in the role, but it also conveys their value to the mission of the organization.
Calculate processes and address inefficiencies
Unnecessary tasks slow down procedures and can cost your business profit. More than that, it is frustrating for the employees. Tedious additional steps encourage employees to choose cruise control, which essentially means they are not engaged with what they are doing.
Train your managers in employee engagement best practices
It is estimated that how an employee rates their manager’s account for about 14% of that person’s engagement level. In addition to ensuring that the management is engaged, give your senior and middle-level managers the tools they require to connect with and enable their direct reports.
Provide training programs and leadership development seminars to equip managers better for their respective roles. In addition to their individual responsibilities, a manager must act as a coach for their reports, providing encouragement, positive criticism, and paths for expansion. Right training makes sure that managers know how to engage with their team effectively, but it cannot replace the important step of having a discussion with your employees. Having a conversation about how they enjoy getting feedback and being known will help managers to engage employees in a manner that is meaningful to them.
You must be thoughtful with your approach to improve employee engagement and you will reap the rewards of an engaged workforce for several years to come. Keep in mind that employee engagement is not a temporary project. Keeping the employees engaged is a genuine endeavor that demands your continuous consideration. Employers must support generous organization and get involved with the society. Support your employees to participate in volunteer projects as a team. Working together assist others to show that the organization is not simply about making money, but about making a huge difference in society.
Show gratitude daily
Ultimately, one of the most important strategies to improve employee engagement and have a good work environment is to say “Thank you” to your employee. You must appreciate their hard work and effort that they are putting into their work. It is a simple thing, yet overlooked most of the times, mainly if you are a big organization.
An important factor to consider for improving employee engagement is appreciating your workers. Your management team must take the time to show their gratitude for their employees in the office not because it is a nice thing to do but because it would make everyone happier and satisfied. Also, it helps in improving the business’s productivity.
Everyone likes appreciation and all of us value a simple “Thank you.” However, this does happen in most workplaces. Showing small forms of appreciation can go a long way in supporting employees to work harder and be more constructive.
An acknowledgment by management and among peers is one of the fastest ways to build trust, restore a damaged relationship and inspire the employees at the workplace.
Promote honest behavior
Honesty is the best policy mainly in the workplace. It is the policy that helps in building a successful business. The ultimate part of nailing employee engagement is having honest communication among your team members. When employees realize that telling the truth does not have any major consequences, small issues can be detected at an early stage and could be solved before it moves out of percentage.
It may sound like common sense when it comes to being honest and admit mistakes, employees generally are afraid of losing their work. Management must embrace an environment where honest and respectful communication is valued, and workers are encouraged to take ownership of their mistakes and their successes.
Conclusion
The “secret” to improving employee engagement in the workplace is that there is no secret. You can just ask your employees on what needs enhancement, or the changes required to be made to make their time at work fruitful and more productive. You might be surprised to know how simple these employee engagement ideas are.
If you are trying to improve employee engagement in your workplace, then follow these ideas and see the positive change.