Highlight: 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 employee engagement. If you, as an HR, can understand the level of passion and dedication an employee has towards their work, it would become easier to bring out the best in them and benefit the organisation.
Some employers think that satisfying the employees with perks and salaries would be enough to run a successful business. But the truth is far away from this notion – it’s just as important to engage employees in the workplace. As a matter of fact, 80% of the employees feel disengaged or less engaged at work, as per a Gallup report. A study by IIMB throws some interesting insights on employee engagement:
- Employees who are engaged feel like a part of the team and work together in sync with minimal disputes.
- Effective employee engagement activities will increase employee productivity and increase the profit revenues of the company.
- Engaged employees show pride and motivation toward their work and provide high-quality services to the customers. Customer satisfaction means profit, and profit is the key to getting acknowledgement in the market.
- This creates a positive environment in the business and reduces the number of leaves an employee takes throughout the year.
- If the employees feel their needs are a priority in your organisation, they will find the work environment safe.
All these factors point to the significance of developing effective strategies for engaging employees.
How To Engage Employees in The Workplace
Now that we discussed the significance of engaging employees, let’s discuss how to engage employees in the workplace.
- Know your employees better: Communication is an essential step to engage employees. Communicate with the employees and understand them as individuals. Learn about their background, goals and achievements. Say hello to the employees and inquire about their families or hobbies. This would make them feel their presence is known.
- Provide employees with tools to achieve their goals: Another effective way to engage employees is to train them according to their assigned roles. This might help them gain confidence and understand what they’re doing at work and why it is important. If they are not 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 with your employees what works for the company and what doesn’t can help them come up with ideas that help them as well as the organisation outshine.
- Give them opportunities to prove themselves: HR personnel should remember that the team working in an organisation was chosen for a reason. 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 might try to work hard to receive the same encouragement.
- Let them lead: Every manager needs to 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 any interference from the higher authority. This goes a long way in boosting employee engagement and morale.
The above-mentioned strategies for engaging employees are sure to impact your organization positively, provided they’re done in the right way. No doubt, employee engagement is crucial to the success of any business. This engagement may take the form of non-monetary factors such as we discussed above or work culture and environment or may take the form of financial wellness programs like those by Fibe.
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.
