How To Engage Employees At Workplace?

Highlight: An engaged workforce can work 10x better than a skilled but demotivated workforce. The managers need to organise certain activities to engage employees and make them feel responsible for their work.

The key to running a successful organisation is knowing how to improve employee engagement. As an HR, you should understand the level of passion and dedication an employee has towards their work. This would make it easier to bring out the best in them which ultimately would benefit the organisation.

What Is Employee Engagement?

It is a human resource concept that measures employees’ enthusiasm and dedication towards their work and the organisation. In simple terms, when talking about employee engagement, it analyses the team members who are actually participating and the ones just putting up with tasks. 

But how to measure employee engagement? For this, the following metrics can be helpful:

• Take surveys and feedback on employee satisfaction 
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) can provide insights into employee loyalty
• Compute the retention rate data based on past and present employee records 
• Review the attendance records 
• Calculate the promotion rate by dividing the number of promoted employees by the total number of employees
• You can also have 1 on 1 meeting in complete confidentiality to get accurate data
• Conduct peer review, exit polls or install suggestion boxes

Why Is Employee Engagement Important?

Some employers think satisfying employees with perks and salaries would be enough to run a successful business. But the truth is far away from this notion – engaging employees in the workplace is just as important. 

As a matter of fact, 80% of the employees feel disengaged or less engaged at work, as per a Gallup report. Here are some of the reasons why companies should focus on employee engagement:

• It plays a major role in productivity with the organisation’s infrastructure
• It acts as a management strategy to yield improved business outcomes for customers or clients
• It builds better communications as every member takes the initiative to deliver the best results
• It reduces conflicts and builds trust in the company’s leadership and among the employees
• It creates a positive environment in the business and reduces the number of leaves an employee takes throughout the year
• It reduces burnout among employees, which can negatively impact their mental health  
• It also decreases the number of absentees in the company, which is a leading cause of delayed deliveries and pushing deadlines 
• It also increases customer or client retention as better engaged employees are highly involved, increasing their profit for the business 

All these factors highlight the significance of developing effective strategies for engaging employees.

How To Engage Employees in The Workplace

Given the importance of having an engaged workforce, you must implement some good strategies that can help you achieve that. Here are some of these:

• Know Your Employees Better

Communication is an essential step to engage employees as it would make them feel recognised and appreciated. Here is what you can do: 

• Talk to them and understand them as individuals 
• Learn about their background, goals and achievements 
• Say hello to the employees and inquire about their families or hobbies 

• Provide Employees with Tools to Achieve their Goals

Another effective way to engage employees is to train them according to their assigned roles. This can help them gain confidence and understand what they’re doing at work and why it is important. If they aren’t trained well, there is a chance they’ll find their work overwhelming which can lead to reduced productivity.

• Tell the Employees About the Company’s Progress

As much as HR needs to know about the employees’ progress, employees also need to know about their organisation’s progress. Knowing about the company’s profits and struggles could be a natural motivator to engage employees, as well as a catalyst to work harder. Discussing what works and what doesn’t with your employees can help them come up with ideas that help them, and the organisation, outshine.

• Give Them Opportunities to Prove Themselves

HR personnel should remember that the team working in an organisation has cleared a series of interviews and checks based on their credibility. Assign them tasks through which they can show off their skills and talent. This would substantially engage employees, encourage them and make them feel responsible for the specific project.

• Recognise Them for Their Hard Work

The key to solid employee engagement and boosting employees’ confidence is giving them the recognition they deserve. Giving them a few compliments in front of the team would motivate them to give positive results in the next project. If HR praised one employee in front of a team, others may try to work hard to receive the same encouragement.

• Let Them Lead

Every manager must let go and let their team lead at a point in their life. This is important for them to feel passionate about their work and know that the company has faith in them. Allow them to show their skills and drive the presentation without interference from the higher authority. This goes a long way in boosting employee engagement and morale.

The above-mentioned strategies for engaging employees will impact your organisation positively, provided they’re done correctly. No doubt, employee engagement is crucial to the success of any business. This engagement may take the form of non-monetary factors, work culture and environment or financial wellness programs. 

Through effective employee engagement activities, managers can make employees feel that they are a crucial part of the team. In addition to recognising their talent and giving them opportunities to shine. Listen to their feedback and questions, engage in their conversations, be a mentor for them and create a work environment free of fear.

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FAQs on Employee Engagement

What are the 5 C’s of employee engagement?

The 5 Cs of employee engagement are as follows:

• Care
• Connect
• Coach
• Contribute
• Congratulate

How to engage your employees? 

Here are some effective strategies HR can apply to increase employee engagement:

• Provide positive reinforcement with feedback 
• Provide recognition with an incentive or positive encouragement 
• Open the floor for discussions and communication
• Encourage ownership over tasks by designating project heads 
• Provide fair opportunities for growth and promotion
• Build a respectful and positive work environment
• Create opportunities for learning and growth 

What are the best employee engagement activities?

Training programs, group discussions, casual luncheons and timely reviews are some of the best strategies to increase employee engagement.