Employee engagement initiatives aim to increase enthusiasm and dedication in the workplace. Get employees social involvement, assign a higher purpose to work activities, and help employees to achieve their personal goals. Levels of engagement are strongly linked to innovation and company performance. When employees feel excited about their work, they will work much harder and find ways to improve processes on their own. Engaged employees are also less likely to quit, and their enthusiasm can rub off on other employees. This environment builds exceptional company culture and makes coming into the office enjoyable for everyone.
Unfortunately, boosting employee engagement is not a simple task. Even some of the largest employers fail to get their team members excited about the work they do. Nevertheless, get your workforce engagement by taking the right steps. Read on to learn some of the most effective approaches to increasing levels of engagement among employees.
1. Improve Your Onboarding Process
The first couple of weeks an employee spends at a job sets the stage for future levels of motivation, social involvement, and perceptions of satisfaction. You can significantly boost engagement by using your onboarding process to encourage employees to become immersed in engaging company culture.
Onboarding should start with an empathetic orientation process that teaches employees everything they need to know about your company and workplace. Offer each new hire a way of directly contacting the person who leads their orientation. This helps them acclimate more effectively by having someone to contact about questions and concerns.
As part of your onboarding process, ensure that team members have the opportunity to get to know the new hire. Encourage team members to be inclusive with the new hire by inviting them to lunch and including them in group messages. When new hires feel socially accepted, they will naturally feel motivated to maintain their acceptance by meeting their social obligations.
Of course, onboarding processes should also aim to directly inform new hires about your company’s mission and culture. Larger companies can put on seminars with groups of new hires. But it is important to prevent these seminars from getting too large. Every new hire should feel as though the onboarding process is as personalized as possible. Also, they should have the opportunity to directly interact with instructors, HR representatives, and other new hires.
2. Encourage Employees to Grow
Everyone has unique goals in life. When a person’s work is directly aligned with achieving their goals, they will naturally feel highly motivated to go the extra mile. Consequently, it is crucial for companies to work closely with employees to identify their unique goals and make a serious effort to help them get where they want to be. Companies also need to be flexible to offer different opportunities and modes of compensation for employees who have unique goals.
Some employees want the opportunity to move up in their careers when they consistently exceed management expectations. These employees may feel more motivated when you offer them the chance to pursue a master’s degree in the evening.
Participation in challenging assignments can be a motivator for some people. When the right workers are given challenging tasks, they can become highly engaged and enthusiastic. Of course, other people may want to avoid challenging assignments at all costs. So it is important for managers to factor in an employee’s preferences as much as possible when dividing up work among team members. Teams that consider individual preferences when dividing up work generally see an increase in engagement and productivity.
There are also employees who want to spend as much time at home with their families as possible. These employees will usually request flexible hours or ask for the chance to work from home whenever their presence is not necessary in the office. Meeting these needs can make some employees highly loyal and motivated.
3. Recognize and Reward Employee Achievements
Most managers do not make full use of the power of compliments and praise. Employees are often willing to work very hard when they feel as though their efforts are appreciated. On the other hand, employees who feel as though their best efforts are a minimum expectation rarely feel compelled to exceed expectations.
It is crucial for companies to use praise to recognize achievements and encourage employees to do their best. Even a small amount of praise can make some people become highly engaged in the workforce.
For instance, if an employee received even a one-sentence email from the CEO of their company thanking them for going above and beyond on a particular issue, that one instance of praise could make the employee feel appreciated for years. Consequently, the employee’s work performance would likely improve, and the employee could become highly loyal to the company.
Additionally, bonuses, gifts, and prizes can also motivate workforce engagement when using these incentives as tokens of appreciation. When offering financial rewards, distribution should be both formally and informally. Formal rewards may be included in an individual’s employment agreement or be announced to everyone in a team or department. However, empower leaders as well to give one-time rewards when they feel as though someone has gone the extra mile.
For instance, if an IT team member stays at the office for three days straight to get a server back online, their manager could commend them for their effort and offer to book them a weekend stay at a resort. Occasionally offering one-time rewards or prizes can make an entire workforce engaged and significantly boost company performance.
4. Use Digital Communication Tools
Social media has brought people closer together than ever before, and employers should take full advantage of social media tools to maximize engagement. Many companies make use of internal social media networks by using platform-based services, like Zoho Connect. With Zoho Connect, companies can create an internal social media network on their intranet in a matter of hours.
Having an internal social media network can naturally facilitate inclusivity and collaboration. Social media can be especially powerful for employees who work remotely since it gives them the opportunity to develop relationships with their coworkers.
Companies that make full use of social media can facilitate a more engaging work experience with minimal investment. If your company still primarily uses outdated chats and emails to communicate internally, you should investigate the social media tools that are available to boost collaboration and engagement.
5. Teach Managers How to Increase Engagement
Individual team leaders are ultimately responsible for determining how engaged an employee feels in the workforce. As a result, it is crucial to train managers on best practices for boosting engagement.
Employee engagement also has a significant impact on how managers are perceived. For instance, one study found a 14 percent correlation between levels of employee engagement and how employees rate their managers. Consequently, engagement has a major impact on how employees rate their experience at a company and how much they respect their manager.
The bottom line is that managers aiming to improve their effectiveness need to invest significant effort into increasing engagement at every touchpoint. Examples of ways managers can increase engagement include being open to feedback, providing encouragement, using praise appropriately, and equitably resolving disputes. Managers can also create a more engaging employment experience by seeking to act as a coach rather than a tough boss. Taking steps to train your managers on strategies for boosting employee engagement can foster a more productive company culture while also helping managers to receive better performance reviews.
