Tips To Boost Employee Engagement

These days, most organisations have wised up to the fact that an engaged workforce leads to greater productivity and better staff retention. On top of this, having engaged people creates a happier, healthier place to work.

And while it can sometimes be hard to spot the signs of employees who are becoming less engaged, prevention is always better than the cure.

That’s why forward-looking directors and managers make sure that every aspect of their employees’ working day is examined through the lens of staff engagement.

Time and time again, they’ve found that getting various factors right keeps employees engaged and stops problems happening before they take hold.

Why don’t you try them for yourself?

Inspiring Leadership

Critical to employee engagement is having competent, passionate and hands-on leadership. Make sure your interest in your people is genuine and take the time to understand their needs and aspirations. This will show that their contributions are recognised and valued. Remember to make sure actions reflect what is being said and asked of, after all, if your chiefs are going to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk.

Empower and Afford Autonomy

When employees feel in control of their work, they put more into their jobs. But when their work has to be approved by many layers of management, they can begin to feel disempowered and disengaged.

You may not be in a position to change your management structure (and it may be a bad idea to do so) but look for ways of using accountability to make employees feel in control of their work and moreover, empowered.

Recognise and Reward

If you want your people to be motivated to give their best at work, they need to know that their efforts are recognised and rewarded. Even something as simple as a ‘thank you’ can show that you’re aware of the work being carried out which provides encouragement to enhance performance.

Recognition and rewards do not have be lavish to be meaningful – a team lunch, sharing successes with the wider business or even a small gift can go a long way to making people feel valued.

Make Work Meaningful

If people believe that what they do contributes to something meaningful, they feel it is important, has value and therefore they will take more pride in their efforts.

Leaders should frequently reinforce that what their people do is important to the organisation as a whole.

Promote a sense of purpose by setting goals and challenging employees and make sure you involve them as much as possible in decision making.

Flexibility

Give employees more control over their working space. As far as it’s possible, let them perform tasks their own way and arrange their own schedules. Remember, it’s the end result of their work that matters — not the journey that got them there. Flexibility to choose their own way to work makes people happier, more productive and more engaged. Try it!

These are just a view tried-and-tested ways to increase your employees’ engagement. What other ideas do you have? Please share them in the response form below.

The Survey Initiative is an employee research company with over 20 years experience in the field. If you would like to know more about how we can help your organisation with any employee research matters or would be interested in a FREE Employee Engagement Consultation, then give us a call on +44 (0)1255 870735 or contact us via our website here.