Employee engagement has become a popular topic for some years now. That’s because most companies realize the critical role it plays in unlocking the full potential of their workforce.
However, many leaders still aren’t sure how to create a highly engaged workforce, especially with many priorities competing for their time and attention.
This guide will show you how to increase your employee engagement in 2022.
Let’s dive right in!
Top 8 Ways To Improve Your Employee Engagement
1. Provide Professional Development
A great way to engage employees is by providing professional development. You can do this in many ways, depending on your organization.
For example, you can provide employees with opportunities to learn new skills, allow them to develop their strengths, or identify areas for improvement.
A strong focus on employee development will increase engagement within the workforce. The reason is quite simple: it gives them a purpose and allows them to grow personally and professionally in their jobs.
2. Allow Employees to Prioritize Work-Life Balance
Emphasizing work-life balance is a great way to increase employee engagement. Employees who take time off are happier, less stressed, and more productive.
You can encourage them to do so by providing resources to help them achieve this goal.
For example:
- Provide remote access to computers or devices for employees to work from home. Then use time tracking software, communication tools, and other project management tools to help the employees get the job done and stay organized.
- Offer flexible schedules for employees who want their workday to start later than usual (for example) or finish earlier.
- Allow employees who work remotely or occasionally telecommute to come into the office on certain days. You can do this when they need face-to-face interaction with coworkers and managers.
3. Make a Physical Office Space Optional
If you want to keep your employees happy and engaged, offering a relaxed dress code and flexible schedule isn’t enough. You need to give them the option of working wherever they please.
The best way to do this is by allowing remote work. Or at least giving employees the option of occasionally working from home or outside the office.
You can do this in several ways:
- Provide get-togethers for employees who live nearby but don’t always feel like going into the office daily. (For example, monthly lunches.)
- Offer spaces where people can go when they’re feeling more energetic than usual (For example, coworking spaces)
- Let them use their own space if it fits their needs better than yours does (e.g., libraries)
4. Empower Employees to Lead Change
You’ve surely had the opportunity to see how an employee can be inspired by seeing how their work impacts the company.
When employees feel empowered and have a voice in decision-making and direction, they’re more engaged with what’s happening around them. That means you should give your employees opportunities to lead change within your company as an HR professional. It can be through projects or simply by giving them some leeway regarding day-to-day tasks.
5. Show Recognition and Appreciation
Recognition and appreciation is often the most effective way to motivate employees. Employees appreciate being acknowledged for their contributions. And recognition helps them see that the organization values their contributions.
There are many ways to provide recognition. It can be as simple as thanking employees for their hard work or congratulating them on a job well done. You can even make it can be public or private, such as:
- Giving awards at an annual company picnic
- Letting employees know they’re doing an excellent job.
6. Employee Engagement Helps To Bring Out The Employee’s Full Work Potential
Employee engagement is critical for business success and can be a crucial differentiator in the competitive environment. In addition, employee engagement drives employee retention, which is essential to employers because high turnover rates are expensive to replace.
Engaged employees are also more productive, innovative, and happier with their jobs and employers. It’s also a key factor in determining a company’s ability to innovate.
Employees with a clear vision of where they’re headed will better understand how their work contributes to that bigger picture. This helps your organization innovate faster than its competitors without engaged employees on board.
7. Improve Employee Feedback
According to Harvard Business Review, most employees (57%) valued corrective feedback. The secret to enhancing workplace communication and motivating employees is to offer insightful feedback.
Giving feedback regularly is a great way to keep your employees informed about their performance. In addition, it actively participates in the program for employee engagement.
If there’s a lack of feedback, find out why it’s happening and how to fix it.
When giving feedback, bear the following in mind:
- Maintain an essential and supportive tone, and give employees performance feedback.
- When it comes to feedback, it’s a two-way street, so pay attention to what your employees have to say.
- Continually provide feedback
- Maintain the privacy of any input.
8. Improve Internal Communication
Organizational communication is essential and fundamental to the success of every business and its employees. However, there is a high chance disagreements and misunderstandings will occur during a communication breakdown.
This can be a huge stumbling block when you want to boost employee morale. But, conversely, If there is effective communication among workers, they’ll be productive in their work.
According to the results of a recent study, good internal communication can help 85% of workers to become more engaged at work.
Conclusion
Building and keeping an engaging atmosphere requires constant, deliberate effort. The workforce will be more responsive and supportive if you commit to simplifying and streamlining your process.
Also, if leaders from the top down to frontline managers demonstrate a drive to listen, adapt, and improve, it can help the company and employees.