The impact of effectively engaged (and consequently happy and motivated) employees in a business can be hugely significant. Research has shown that a high level of employee engagement is linked to superior business performance, specifically through productivity, reduced absenteeism, greater customer satisfaction and the happiest consequence of all – increased profitability.
In today’s edition of ‘Tips from the Experts’, we’ve asked three business professionals to share their top five tips on how to effectively encourage employee engagement.
Tameron Carneson, Associate Director at FleishmanHillard
1. Practice and encourage transparency and open communication
Foster an environment of honesty and trust. Share truthful and accurate information with employees and encourage open dialogues across hierarchies and departments, within teams and throughout your company. Not only will you contribute to employees’ sense of inclusion in the business and its bigger picture, but also make them feel important, valued and trusted.
2. A shared vision
Involving employees in creating the organisation’s vision can help boost motivation and personal investment in the ultimate success of the business. If employees are involved in helping decide where the company is aiming to go, it means they will have a greater propensity to believe in the organisation’s goals and be more committed to playing a role in getting there. A general focus on involving employees in a broad range of company activities (from brainstorms to planning colleagues’ birthday celebrations) will help encourage a culture of collaboration, while asking for employee feedback and including this in plans can contribute to their sense of accountability.
3. Win-win
There is no denying that incentives can be an excellent motivator. But this doesn’t mean you should be dishing out gifts and rewards without a clear strategy. Remembering that much of today’s workforce comes from a generation of people who look for, and are most motivated in, a work environment that allows them to perform and achieve personal goals. “Incentives” can take many forms. Consider using a strategy that includes elements such as training, acknowledgement, regular feedback, a supportive environment, rewards, bonuses and promotions. Put structures in place to ensure that such incentives are allocated without bias and are only employed if relevant to the work that you do.
4. Fair’s fair
Be consistent. Don’t show favouritism. Be conscious of the graces you give certain employees and how these will be perceived. For example, allowing certain employees to work from home or being flexible with start time of certain employees and not others.
5. Stretch and flex
Like each individual employee who makes up your organisation, your company and brand is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all employee engagement strategy. It is important to invest time in creating a plan for encouraging employee engagement that is tailored and suited to your culture, values and style as a company, and one that suits your organisational structure. And then to revisit this plan as your organisation grows and changes to ensure that it remains relevant and effective to the way your world looks today.
Thomas James, Managing Director at TeamMuster
1. Create a positive work atmosphere
Fostering the right culture is critical for increasing employee engagement. This will encourage staff to feel more involved, more pride in their place of work, and effectively provide them with the ability to be more creative.
2. Hold meaningful performance reviews
Informing every employee as to where they stand and where they’re going reduces feelings of anxiety within employees. This can also help foster a sense of commitment within these employees. (We’ve written a blog on this recently which can be viewed here.)
3. Hire the best people
Hiring cheap or hiring fast can sometimes lead to taking the wrong people on board. A few bad eggs, or staff who require a lot more attention, can cause large issues down the line. To ensure everyone is able to do their best and work effectively with one another, it’s essential to get the recruitment process right.
4. Seek feedback
Employee engagement is a two way process. You need to ensure you’re providing them with feedback from your side, whilst finding out from them what they need to be more satisfied and productive in their role.
5. Empower managers
If you have a tiered structure within your organisation, then make sure each manager has the ability and authority to make improvements for their team. This can be as simple as giving them a culture budget, or could be taken as far as feedback cycles, training and role development.
Phil Parkin, Managing Director at Content on Demand
1. Encourage ownership and innovation
Where possible, try to empower employees with ownership on projects and encourage them to innovate.
2. Share achievements
Whether it’s business achievements or individual ones, these should all be shared with employees. My advice is to openly praise individuals in the office. It’s a great way to keep your staff productive and make them feel valued. Even if something isn’t working, try to remind everyone of their achievements. Telling someone you appreciate their hard work will only encourage them to feel more engaged.
3. Communication
If there are any changes within your company, make sure you keep staff up to date. Be transparent and outline challenges and obstacles you face as an employer, but don’t use them as excuses. It shows you consider them as part of the business rather than just people who work for you.
4. Trust
Be aware of your employees and their strengths. Everyone has a different skill set, so allow employees to make decisions and trust them. A common mistake managers make is not having faith in their staff. Remember, you employed them for a reason.
5. Be charitable and social
We all want to feel like we are contributing to a good cause. If you can’t donate, why not help a charity with your employees’ talents? This is great for team building, and gets everyone talking and often collaborating in a way that will benefit the business.
Thanks to all our contributors for their valuable advice. For more expert tips be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.