Offering employees a competitive salary and benefits program is important, and is a great start to ensuring that employees are happy, motivated, and engaged. However, monetary incentives alone don’t guarantee productivity. Finding ways to engage your workforce is necessary, but not always easy.
WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT?
Employee engagement is the commitment an employee has to the organization and their success. An engaged employee is one who is enthusiastic about their work and takes action to contribute to the growth and success of a company.
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE EMPLOYEES
- Ask them for input
Your employees are intelligent and insightful people—they have great ideas and a diverse range of interests. By taking time to talk to your employees and getting to know them, you can work their interests and ideas into your engagement efforts to achieve the best results.
- Let them know how the company is doing
Sharing your company goals and vision is a way to engage staff right from the beginning. Ideally, candidates will be attracted to the position because they share their similar values. Fostering that interest is important, and can be achieved by sharing the company’s progress in reaching those goals. Your employees are the key to your organization’s success, and they should know the importance of their role.
- Provide growth opportunities
Growth opportunities don’t have to come in the form of a promotion or require a monetary incentive. Once you get to know your employees, you will have a better idea of the areas they want to grow in. Perhaps they want to try out sales or payroll. Giving them the opportunity to advance their skillset will spark engagement and encourage continuous learning, which will benefit your company in the long run.
- Build social capital amongst teams
There are plenty of ways to encourage bonding among your employees outside of regular work duties. Try starting up healthy initiatives like an office softball team, a fitness support group, a running club, or weekly workout challenges. Another idea is to bring the team together for a great cause, like a blood donation drive day or a weekend build with your local Habitat for Humanity. You can also form a social committee to plan group events in the office, such as celebrating birthdays and milestones, holiday activities such as a gingerbread building competition, and group picnics in the summer.
- Listen to their feedback
When you ask your employees for feedback, listen to it and act on it. Employees will feel valued and know that their voices are being heard. Implementing new initiatives can take time and effort, so get your employees involved in the rollout. This way, they get to play a part in making their great ideas come to fruition.
Employees are the backbone of any successful company, which is why it’s crucial to keep them happy and motivated. Start implementing these strategies today and watch your employee engagement soar.
