Encourage Employee Engagement By Following These Initiatives
The most important thing for a company is employee engagement, the emotional commitment employees feel toward the company they work for. When employees are fully engaged and care about the organization's values and corporate beliefs, helping it achieve its goals becomes a personal matter to them. What’s more, this creates a healthy environment, which increases the chances of long-term success for both the company and its workforce. Engaged employees rarely leave their jobs and are genuinely interested to see what the company will achieve in the future. A foolproof way to increase engagement rates is by focusing on an employee engagement strategy.
What Is An Employee Engagement Strategy?
Employee engagement strategies encourage employees to create an emotional bond with their company or organization. Essentially, an employee engagement strategy is a plan that explains the way a company is going to keep its employees engaged and promote a positive connection between them.
How To Develop An Employee Engagement Strategy
The first step when creating an employee engagement strategy is measuring current levels of engagement among your employees. An easy way to do that is by creating an anonymous survey, in which they will be asked about what their feelings are towards the company, what their work plans are, etc. If you want to be more thorough about it, consider indicators like turnover rate, overall productivity, or days of absence.
The next step in strategic planning is to set goals. How do you want your employees to feel about the company? What is the ideal percentage of turnover rate? Is productivity at a satisfactory level? These and other questions are important when creating a strategy for engagement, as they help you choose which areas are in need of improvement.
The final step is setting your budget limit. There are various strategies you can implement to improve employee satisfaction. Some introduce minimal changes to their work routine, while others completely change company culture and operations. When you decide how much your company is willing to pay for employee engagement initiatives, it is easier to choose which option suits your needs more.
8 Employee Engagement Initiatives For An Improved Workplace
Not every strategy is suitable for all employees. You have to find an option, or a combination, that will benefit both your people and the company. The ideas below will help you get started and build an effective employee engagement plan of action.
1. With Trust Comes Productivity
Trust is a vital part of relationship building between employees and a company. Your people need to feel that you trust them if you expect them to trust you in return. When you achieve that, they will start taking their tasks personally, thus increasing productivity. With greater autonomy and freedom to do their job, they feel that they are all on the same level regardless of their position or the company hierarchy. Taking full responsibility for the way they work will also give them the satisfaction and motivation necessary to be more productive in the workplace.
2. Communication Is Key
Whether your employees work remotely, on-site, or hybrid, you need to establish a communication model. Firstly, you need to be able to deliver your company’s philosophy, mission, and goals at all times. Direct communication and clear goal-setting will keep your employees more focused and engaged. Remember, your people are there to help the company reach its full potential. Therefore, you all need to be able to communicate any problems, ideas, or new goals as equals. You can find the right tools and apps to facilitate that, so feel free to choose whichever suits you and your employees' preferences best, whether it’s a messaging program or a video-call app.
3. Recognize Their Achievements
Letting an employee know that you appreciate their work is one of the simplest employee engagement strategies. An encouraging comment or a congratulatory message goes a long way. It's important for this practice to also be established among team members. This way, relationships will be formed and strengthened not only among team members but also across collaborating departments. Besides, the whole company is one big team, and its core foundation, the employees, must encourage each other to achieve engagement and involvement.
4. Encourage Feedback
It's common for feedback to have a negative connotation attached to it within organizations. You can change that notion by encouraging a positive attitude toward giving feedback. Let your employees know that even if they make a mistake or fail to reach a goal, this can be an opportunity to improve themselves. This way, they will feel less anxious about their tasks. Feedback is a two-way street, though, and you can use employee feedback to improve aspects of the company as well. Make use of employee feedback to create new employee engagement initiatives or improve existing ones.
5. Get To Know Their Stories
Employees need to feel that they are unique and appreciated. Each of them has their personal stories and background, which explain who they are and what they bring to the company. For this reason, getting to know your people is the core of a good employee engagement strategy. You can schedule a meeting where everyone will share a bit of themselves or tell a personal story. You can also have regular check-ins to discuss their needs, concerns, or goals for the future. This will make them feel supported and valued and encourage them to continue doing their best.
6. Offer Them Opportunities To Grow
Studies show that employees appreciate a workplace that provides educational and career opportunities. And if you want your staff to continue growing, you must guide them toward that path. Invest in their education with training, seminars, or certifications, and the effects will be felt across the entire company. Establishing a company culture that promotes self-growth will encourage team members to work harder toward the company's success. However, management needs to participate in L&D programs, as well. Employee engagement training is a great way to educate your managers on how to achieve maximum results and bring out the best in their teams.
7. Pay Attention To Mental Health
It’s never too late to create a safe environment for your employees. Companies must give their employees room to grow and thrive, and that can’t be achieved if the workplace takes a toll on their mental health. Create a portal where everyone can anonymously discuss any matter that bothers them or have a therapist available in case they need to talk to a professional. Establishing those initiatives will make your employees feel comfortable and supported. Don’t hesitate to take action if you notice that your employees are overwhelmed, stressed, or burnt out. Whether it is a fellow employee that has problematic behavior or a client that puts pressure on them, you should know and take action as quickly as possible.
8. Create A Transparent Workplace
Don’t expect an emotional investment from your employees if you are not being upfront with them. Sharing your goals and vision, as well as what happens behind the scenes, keeps your employees invested in company procedures. It goes without saying that you're not expected to disclose confidential information about the company. You can start by sharing internal struggles and problems. Making them feel included will improve engagement and prompt your employees to start coming up with solutions and opinions of their own. On the other hand, gatekeeping important information can create distance and a silo mentality within the workplace.
How Can These Initiatives Benefit Your Organization?
Ultimately, employee engagement is the key to a successful company. With more people working toward a common goal and mission, organizational goals are more likely to be achieved, and satisfied employees who advocate for the company help to build a positive brand image. The steps you take will help you increase productivity and ensure that your employees are aligned with not only the vision you've created for your organization but with their team leaders and coworkers. You can also visit our Employee Engagement Software Directory to choose the best tools for your workforce.
