How To Improve Employee Engagement

Do you run a business, or work in HR for a company? Are you wondering what you can do to boost morale, enthusiasm and dedication in your employees? You need to know about the concept of employee engagement. 

Employee engagement is a HR idea that measures the level of dedication and enjoyment a worker feels towards their job. If an employee is engaged, then they will truly care about their job, and about the company and business as a whole. 

Without employee engagement, workers can cause disruption within the organization, and there will be a general lack of morale and increased sense of dissatisfaction within the team as a whole. So, what can you do to improve employee engagement? Read on to find out, but first, let’s take a closer look at what employee engagement is exactly. 

Also read: Employee Motivation Strategies

What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is the term we use to describe the emotional commitment that an employee has to the company or organization that they work for. Employee engagement does not simply mean that the worker is happy at work, as this does not directly correlate with being productive or working hard on behalf of the company. Being happy at work is completely different from being actively engaged in your job. 

In addition to this, employee engagement is also not the same as employee satisfaction, as workers may be satisfied with their job, and will work their hours without complaint, but may leave to work somewhere else if there is a pay rise, or better benefits as they are not dedicated to or engaged with the company. 

The difference is that employees will care about the business if they are engaged. An engaged employee will go that extra mile to help out because they care about the company, the services they provide, and the customers or clients that they help. 

In short, employee engagement is a HR concept that conveys the level of dedication, enthusiasm and devotion a worker feels towards their job and the business. Not only do they worry about their own performance and efforts, but also the performance of the company as a whole, and will therefore work hard to keep the business running smoothly. 

Also read: What Are 8 Ways To Increase Employee Loyalty?

Why Is Employee Engagement Important?

Employee engagement is essential if you want to run a business smoothly. It is a strategic business objective that all companies and organizations should consider carefully, as it can not only lead to increased employee satisfaction, but can also reduce employee turnover and improve long term colleague retention.

Another reason that employee engagement is paramount in your workplace is that with increased employee engagement, workers are more likely to be more productive, take pride in their work, and improve the overall quality of the work and performance of the company. 

Engaged employees may also be more motivated to come to work, and will be more successful, organized and have a positive attitude and mindset in work than those who are disengaged and not interested in their role. 

Engaged employees will naturally go the extra mile to achieve a goal, even if it does not affect them. For instance, they may work harder or be more willing to work overtime to finish a task that was not their own, because they care about the reputation of the company and delivering targets. 

In addition, employees that are engaged may begin to finish their work faster, and have a greater capacity for completing tasks as they enjoy their jobs, which in turn can increase a company’s revenue and efficiency. 

Also read: Ways In Which You Can Show Employees You Are Thankful

What Are The Key Aspects Of Employee Engagement?

There are many elements of employee engagement that you need to consider in order to create a positive work environment with dedicated employees. 

Communication

One of the best starting points is good communication. You should be able to communicate openly and honestly with your employees and vice versa. Do not try to keep them out of the loop when it comes to business problems or failures, as they may find out from another source which can create distrust and animosity. You also want it to work the other way, where they feel that they can come to you with anything. 

Good Leadership

Good leadership can create strong relationships between managers and employees. By praising your employees for good work and performance, they are twice as likely to feel motivated to continue working hard. Good management is also paramount in employee retention, as poor leadership is one of the leading causes of employee turnover.

Positive Culture

You have to implement a positive culture in order to ensure employee engagement as this can create a healthy atmosphere in the workplace. Work culture is a collection of behaviors, beliefs and attitudes that make up the work environment and make the company tick. 

Recognition

Recognition and rewards are so pivotal in creating a healthy work environment and improving employee engagement. This is more than just recognizing years or service or implementing an employee of the month program, but revolves around recognizing hard work and giving credit where credit is due. You may implement a monthly reward system for continued achievement, which can also incentivize employees and increase employee engagement. 

Personal Growth

Make sure that employees feel that they are able to grow both personally and professionally in their role so that they do not become bored, restless or demotivated. Ensure that there are opportunities for new skills, training and certification. 

Performance

Provide honest feedback about performance to help employees grow and avert any issues in their roles. You can also praise good work and coach others that need the help to ensure that everyone feels supported. 

Values

Giving employees values to work around and a company ethos can bring them closer together, and help them understand why their work matters and why they are each important to the company. This can also increase morale as a team. 

Also read: The Most Effective Employee Retention Strategies for Keeping Your Best Talent

How To Improve Employee Engagement

There are many ways that you can improve employee engagement. We have five different strategies that you can implement here. 

Provide Training 

Something that should never be overlooked is training. Without proper training, you are setting up your employees for failure as they may not know exactly what they are meant to do, how to do it and how to work efficiently for success.

This can also cause a lack of trust and accountability within the workplace if no one has had the training that they need in order to be successful. You should also ensure that there are no obstacles preventing your team members from doing their jobs, and make sure that there are ample opportunities for growth and development. 

Ensure People Have The Right Roles

Evaluate your employees, and ensure that they are in the right roles based on their strengths and weaknesses. This can also mean that you create promotions, or acquire new talent and retain employees that mesh well within the business. Employees can thrive when they are doing something that they are confident, passionate about and good at. 
 

Check In

Sometimes, all it takes to boost morale is to check in often with an employee. See how they are, what help they need, or what you can do to make their jobs simpler. You will also need to review, providing feedback, positive reinforcement and constructive criticism in order to help them grow as an employee. These can be formal or informal meetings where you can discuss matters with them, and allow the employee to bring up anything that they need to speak about too. 

Make It Meaningful

Help employees find meaning in their roles, and help them understand why their work matters. Show them how their jobs contribute to the company’s mission and success, and how they are part of a much bigger process and system, whilst demonstrating that each person is valued for what they do. 

Keep Them Engaged

This does not just mean improving employee engagement, this means keeping employees actively involved with the company by listening to their ideas, feedback and discussing solutions to problems together. Your employee’s opinions matter, as sometimes they see the business from the front lines, rather than at a step back like managers or directors do. They can see gaps in the market or problems that can be easily fixed and feel a part of increasing the company’s value and success. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, employee engagement is essential in running a successful business. Without engaged employees, you will have a higher turnover rate, dissatisfied workers, unsatisfied customers, and targets may not be met on time as employees are unfulfilled and disengaged. With the right strategy, and a lot of hard work, you can keep your employees engaged and satisfied within the workplace for higher retention rates and good, valuable workers all around. 

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