Engaged employees offer a lot of benefits to your business. Here’s how to get them there.
- Employees desire a sense of commitment and connection to their job.
- Employees that are engaged are more active, productive, and communicative.
- Establish a solid workplace culture and be honest with your staff in order to increase employee engagement.
- This article is for managers and owners of small businesses who wish to increase employee engagement.
Employee engagement is currently one of the most popular buzzwords in the workplace and is frequently used to assess levels of productivity and job happiness. Today’s workers want more than to just come up, do their jobs, and go home; they want to be enthused about what they do and feel a sense of belonging to and value from their employer. Sadly, the majority of employees don’t share that sentiment. Only 36% of employees, according to Gallup research, say they are engaged at work. Employers should actively look for strategies to keep their staff members happy and involved given the low levels of engagement.
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What is employee engagement?
An engaged employee is passionate about their job and actively involved in advancing the objectives and interests of the company. They are dedicated to their job and have a positive outlook on the company and its principles. A disengaged employee, on the other hand, can be performing the bare minimum of work to get by or aggressively criticizing the firm to others inside or outside the organization.
You may develop a plan using employee engagement software that monitors your organization’s culture, measures employee experience and job satisfaction, and analyses survey data to provide you insights into your staff’s engagement and morale.
Why is employee engagement important?
Employee engagement is more than simply being content with one’s job; it’s about having a sense of pride in one’s work and a connection to the company, which frequently leads to improved job satisfaction, productivity, and the quality of one’s output.
Employees that are engaged are dedicated to improving both their work and the business as a whole. They are less inclined to leave their job in search of a better title or a greater income at another organization, which lowers your employee turnover rate.
According to Katie Brennan, HR knowledge adviser at the Society for Human Resource Management, “when people are engaged, they are more productive, loyal, and devoted, which in turn increases employee retention, customer happiness, and an organization’s overall financial health.”
20 employee engagement ideas
It’s critical to exercise patience and restrain your efforts if you want to increase employee engagement in your organization. It takes time to change how linked your employees are to the firm, and the change must be natural rather than pushed. Here are 20 suggestions for increasing employee engagement in your business.
1.Make time for fun.
Humans are not meant to be labor-intensive machines. Include enjoyable team-building activities that let your staff unwind and have fun. Here are a few concepts:
- As a business outing, visit a local brewery or sporting event.
- On a Friday, order pizza for the entire business.
- Play some paintball or bowl.
- Check out an escape room.
- Organize a treasure hunt.
- Invite a hip speaker to a lunchtime lecture.
2.Offer unique employee discounts.
Workplace benefits are an excellent approach to give employees the impression that your business is unique. This might be unique employee pricing for goods your business sells, reduced sports or concert tickets, or offers on travel.
3.Keep communication open.
The best approach to keep your staff engaged and focused, according to Peter Schoeman, founder and CEO of The Dog Adventure, is to interact with them.
According to him, effective workplace communication is crucial to a company’s development. “It not only enhances connections but also employee engagement and a team’s overall performance. Communication guarantees that team members are aware of their goals and motivations.
Consider sending out a regular employee engagement survey to get employee feedback on how to enhance communication.
4.Use value-based employee recognition.
While most businesses have fundamental principles, they sometimes go unnoticed and are only briefly mentioned throughout the onboarding process. Encourage conduct that embodies your company’s values by actively rewarding it to assist your workers connect with and live them. This exemplifies your beliefs in action and makes it simple for staff members to uphold them at work.
5. Know your employees.
Knowing your staff as individuals can help you value and assist them more effectively.
According to Jeremy Bedenbaugh, founder and CEO of Recreate Solutions, “the best thing you can do is get to know your people, and have every management get to know their employees.” “Learn their names, the names of their children and pets, their beliefs, their goals, and anything that could stand in the way of those goals. Building relationships with your people is the only method, process, or programme that works.
6. Create opportunities for collaboration.
Since their job is a major source of their interpersonal interactions, employees who have strong, good relationships with their coworkers are inherently more involved with their workplace. Give your staff several chances to collaborate and get to know one another.
7. Make it clear how your employees contribute.
Employees must fully understand their roles within the company and how their efforts advance the broader objectives. Without that information, you run the danger of making your employees feel that they are just another gear in the machine, performing work that no one values. To illustrate how one employee’s job affects others and the business as a whole, you might wish to make a flowchart or other visual representation.
8. Prioritize work-life balance.
One of the most crucial strategies to increase employee engagement is to demonstrate to them that you regard them as individuals. This entails promoting and demonstrating a healthy work-life balance with lots of paid time off, appropriate hours, and flexibility. Make sure the demands of your workers for a work-life balance are satisfied by working with them individually.
According to Omid Semino, founder and CEO of Diamond Mansion, “Giving your staff a substantial amount of PTO, longer lunch breaks, or modest presents to demonstrate your thanks may all be useful.” Tell them you value and respect their time by doing so.
9. Offer role flexibility.
Think about enabling simple lateral movement inside your organization. For younger employees who have not yet chosen their ideal career path, this can be very useful. If you give employees some freedom and support them in career planning, you may be able to keep them from leaving for another company.
10. Be open and transparent.
When workers are aware of both positive and negative developments, it is much simpler for them to become involved with a firm. You should always be open and honest with your team as a leader. This demonstrates that you care and trust them enough to inform them on organizational happenings.
Oliver Baker, a co-founder of Intelivita, stated that the firm holds general meetings as frequently as possible to get feedback from the workforce before making decisions. This enables us to not only examine how these plans would impact the employees but also how they would be enhanced in light of their points of view.
11. Have a philanthropic mission, and follow through.
Your company’s dedication to a charity cause may go a long way in fostering employee engagement, with 79% of millennials actively seeking out businesses that give back to the community. Consider allowing staff members to volunteer for your chosen charity on a few days of PTO each quarter.
12. Offer wellness perks.
Avoid the clichés, such as a ping pong table that might only be utilized sometimes, when considering the benefits, you should provide for your staff. The possibility of working remotely at least a few days each week, catered lunches once a week, yoga sessions, or unlimited PTO are a few examples. Why You Should Offer an Employee Health and Wellness Plan [Read related post]
13. Offer growth opportunities.
Josh Stomel, the creator of TurboFinance, asserts that one essential strategy for motivating your workforce is to foster a culture of corporate development.
When they feel comfortable and trapped in a position that no longer seems to provide prospects for advancement, many people want for “greener pastures,” according to Stomel. This is the reason managers should closely monitor their team members and give them greater responsibility or even assist them transition to other roles when they further their education or add to their skill sets.
14. Offer coaching and mentoring.
You may create channels of communication and learning inside the framework of your firm by linking employees with other members of the organization who have knowledge to impart. Your workers may plan their careers, develop their talents, and become more creative with the aid of coaching and mentoring.
15. Provide multiple options for feedback.
Many workers may have feedback to provide, but they are reluctant to do it in front of a large crowd or in a public place. Give staff members the chance to voice their opinions in a variety of settings, such as in-person meetings, casual discussions, or anonymous employee surveys.
16. Make a point to integrate new hires.
A fantastic strategy to boost employee engagement right away is to make a new worker feel welcomed and like a member of the team. Make sure to welcome each new recruit and provide opportunity for them to meet with team members one-on-one in order to build solid foundational relationships.
17. Develop a strong company culture.
You should operate in accordance with your company’s culture, just as you should live by the company’s ideals. Make sure that cultural fit is taken into account when hiring new employees, and whenever you can, highlight your corporate culture. For instance, if fitness is valued in your workplace, consider starting and publicizing a jogging club or providing nutritious snacks in the break room.
18. Support your employees’ goals.
Professor of Applied Behavioral Sciences at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School Dr. Miriam Lacey advises employers to learn about their staff members’ personal objectives and search for ways to help them achieve them.
Find growth possibilities in their current function or in a new position inside the business, Lacey said, and discuss their professional objectives openly. “Employers can organize a one-on-one meeting to talk about workers’ objectives and opportunities for growth while they are working from home.”
19. Act on feedback.
Showing your employees that you are paying attention by acting on their input is a wonderful approach to increase their sense of engagement in the workplace. Make sure to let workers know what you’re doing in response, why you’re doing it, and when they can expect to see the changes take effect.
20. Celebrate milestones.
According to Azza Shahid, digital marketing at Physicians Thrive, “celebrating various professional and personal accomplishments are crucial to preserving morale and making people feel appreciated.” When an employee’s birthday or anniversary with the firm approaches, we remember to acknowledge them by sending a bespoke card or email on the business account or by mentioning them in online team meetings. These little things add up to a big increase in motivation.
Benefits of employee engagement
High employee engagement has a plethora of advantages. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that contented employees are productive employees, which is beneficial for your company. Here are the top six advantages of having motivated staff.
Increased productivity
Since they like their work and are dedicated to the long-term objectives of the organization, highly engaged employees are 17% more productive than non-engaged ones, according to Gallup. They aspire to create excellent work and take pleasure in their accomplishments.
Lower absenteeism
Employees are far more likely to refrain from missing work if they don’t have to when they care about their position and how they contribute to the team. Employees that are motivated and invested in the success of their company will occasionally take a day off, but they won’t engage in a pattern of frequent absences.
Higher retention
Employees that are engaged are content with their jobs, enjoy their coworkers, and have a strong sense of commitment to the company’s goals. This makes it less likely that they will search for work elsewhere, which aids in keeping your important staff. Learn more about managing and enhancing employee retention in the associated article.
Increased revenue
Since motivated workers frequently go above and beyond, your business’s income may rise as a result of the larger volume and higher-quality work they perform. According to a Kin centric analysis from 2019, every 5% improvement in employee engagement results in a 3% rise in the company’s income.
Better quality of work
Employees that are engaged are driven to give each work their all. Additionally, they are more likely to be imaginative risk-takers, creative, and skill-build through seminars, mentorships, and courses.
Stronger communication
When workers feel appreciated and encouraged, they will feel at ease approaching you and other supervisors with their ideas and problems. It is essential to have an open line of communication with your staff in order to resolve concerns promptly and effectively and keep your company operating smoothly.