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Employee engagement is about getting the best people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment, and helping to find a way to innovate — Marissa Mayer, Co-founder of Lumi Labs, former CEO of Yahoo!
Employee engagement has been a constant topic of discussion for organizations, and they have been frantically trying to figure out how to improve it. Given the current scenario, it has become even more crucial. But very few organizations are successful in improving it. Engaged employees are more than just happy, they are motivated and satisfied, and find fulfillment at work. They are more committed than their disengaged counterparts. Not only this, they stay in the organization for a longer time and are highly productive.
Why is it so important to keep employees positively engaged?
As a manager, if you are able to engage your employees, it’s a huge opportunity to gain long-term commitment and discretionary effort from your team. This will lead to higher productivity.
What happens when you enhance employee engagement?
It can spike up company metrics across key areas, viz. productivity, customer satisfaction, profitability, innovation, health, safety, sick leaves, turnover, and wellbeing.
Before we learn about the ways of improving employee engagement, here are some facts from a recent study by Gallup, which establishes the importance of employee engagement.
(Gallup is a global analytics and organization consulting firm providing solutions to problems of the organization)
Finally, here are the eight tips that will help you improve employee engagement in your organization.
Working from home since the past year has blurred the clear demarcation of work hours and personal hours for many of us. As employees we spend extra screen hours unknowingly. This lack of a work-life blend is often a major cause of employee burnout, decreased employee engagement, reduced productivity, and increased attrition. It Is necessary to balance both, especially now.
Employees can set up a schedule for themselves and identify their highly productive hours. It will help them achieve maximum productivity.
Managers must avoid contacting employees after their working hours unless it is absolutely necessary. If an employee is working extra hours for meeting deadlines, then they should be given a day off. A flexible work-from-home policy should be there for all employees, as it will be the norm for some years now. This will let the employee know that the organization cares for their well-being and not for their targets and goals only.
Connect with your employees as frequently as possible and let them know about the current issues faced by the organization. Also discuss the actions taken to overcome them. In doing so, you will have an engaged and active team that plans, assesses opportunities, and comes up with better ideas to improve the current business strategy.
By involving your employees in planning, your employees will be loyal to the organization and also develop leadership qualities by working on strategic issues of the organization. It improves employee engagement and the overall productivity of the organization.
Even before COVID-19 happened and employees started working from home, many employees struggled to be heard. Now that the world has gone virtual, most employees feel dissatisfied with their jobs because their opinions are often not valued. This behavior leads to disengagement of employees, eventually leading to dissatisfaction with work. Give your employees a chance to express what they feel and allow them to contribute their ideas at work.
Using an employee engagement software allows employees to bring out their ideas and express their feelings on a common platform easily. This drives engagement and improves productivity in turn.
According to a study by Deloitte Group, employee engagement, productivity, and performance are 14 percent higher in organizations when compared with others without recognition.
As a manager, make it a point to recognize the efforts of your employees. Do it irrespective of whether it is for an individual or for the team. It not only makes them feel that organization recognizes their efforts, but will also motivate them to face any upcoming hurdle.
From public praise, a simple thank you note to a simple pat on the back; everything counts. Or even an email to the team mentioning everyone’s contributions will do a great job in boosting the team’s motivation and improving employee productivity. As a result, it improves employee engagement.
Engagedly’s public praise option allows employees to praise each other. It also allows managers and other leaders to award points to their employees for accomplishments. The praises and rewards are visible to everyone in the organization.
Employee innovation is a symbol that employee engagement still exists. Promote an open culture in your organization where employees are free to come up with process improvements and innovations. It makes them think outside the box and will elevate their productivity and thinking to a whole new level.
Joining a new organization itself is overwhelming, and joining it remotely has added on to the stress and anxiety. Employees often feel a disconnect with the team and the organization, and it leads to disengagement. And fostering employee engagement is not a one-day activity, so you can start with it, right from the day your new employees join.
The best way to do so is to assign a mentor or a buddy to every new joiner. A preferable buddy would be one who has worked in the organization for a considerable amount of time. They should clearly understand the organization’s culture and values. The buddy will guide the new hire and answer their questions. In this way, the new hire will feel connected to the organization from the first day itself, and it will also help them build working relationships.
As per a recent report by LinkedIn 2020 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay with a company if they invested in their training and development.
Learning and continuous professional development should be a plan for every employee in your organization. As a manager or the HR of your organization, discuss with your employees about their professional development plans. It shows that the organization values their work and wants to see them grow professionally. Providing your employees with the opportunity for continuous professional development is highly engaging and motivating for them.
Organizations should use their internal LMS to provide training and knowledge sharing sessions to their employees so that they can hone their skills.
Engagedly has a dedicated Academy and Learning section that allows managers and HRs to create and assign relevant courses for their employee’s professional and self-development.
Virtual or online team-building activities are a great way for everyone to connect, bond, and share experiences with each other. It helps create a sense of fun, togetherness, and enjoyment, even when everyone works remotely. It is necessary to conduct such activities to help your remote team bond and rejuvenate. Additionally, it has a positive impact on employee engagement and productivity.
Online games, fact sharing sessions, book clubs, quizzes, etc., are some simple virtual team-building activities that can be conducted to engage your employees. Moreover, employees can give their suggestions about what kind of team-building activities they prefer.
Do you have any other tips? Let us know in comments.
Want to know how Engagedly can help you improve Employee Engagement? Then request for a live demo.
