Don’t Make These 4 Mistakes About Employee Engagement

If you want to build a successful, growing business, you need to create a high-functioning, motivated, and productive team that stays engaged month after month.

There are multiple ways to do this, but unfortunately, many venture owners and managers make some mistakes in this area that cost them the results they’re looking for. Here are some employee engagement errors you want to avoid.

Lack of Goals and Measurements

If you want your team to be as happy and committed as possible in the workplace, you need to know how to tell if management strategies and improvements make a difference. It’s vital to have some goals in place for what you want to achieve, employee engagement wise, and some key performance indicators (KPIs) or other measurement tools to evaluate changes.

Culture and a sense of belonging and motivation can be tough to quantify, it’s true, but there are some ways to help you see if the steps you take make a positive difference or not. For instance, you can ask employees to fill out anonymous questionnaires, conduct exit interviews, or keep an eye on productivity via sales or other numbers, etc.

Also, notice how well teams work together and if people only stay in the office the minimum amount of time and escape as soon as they can or seem happy to be there until a job gets done.

Choosing the Wrong Ways to Recognize and Reward People

One of the biggest mistakes managers make regarding employee engagement is that they don’t recognize and reward people enough. When they do, they often don’t do it in ways that have the right impact, either. So, for example, you and your fellow leaders should look for regular opportunities to thank personnel for the results they achieve and their efforts and innovations.

You might acknowledge workers publicly in the office, mention them on social media, in company newsletters, via intranet communication systems, or send out heartfelt thank you notes, etc. It’s also wise to set up comprehensive employee recognition programs that help you better spot when people are doing great work and reward them.

You might honor people with awards or provide them with bonuses, gifts, free lunches or massages in the workplace, or other perks. Some companies recognize staff members by giving them extra days off work, enabling them to work from home some days, providing access to better parking or childcare solutions, etc.

Whichever path you go down, think about what will suit your teams best, and invest money, time, and energy into programs so that staff members feel valued and not like you’re simply paying lip service to them.

Failing to Create a Bigger Purpose

The most engaged employees typically like their roles and working for companies because they feel a greater sense of meaning than just doing some work and getting paid for it. To help personnel connect with the firm on a larger scale and be happier on the job, find ways to show how what they do assists the business and the community in a broader sense.

You could set up volunteer or charitable programs for people to get involved with, sell products or services that give back and do good in some clear way, or allow employees to dedicate a proportion of their time to causes close to their hearts. There are other ways to create meaning, too, such as by developing a solid community of team members and customers who enjoy working together and have aligned interests and values.

Lack of Chances for Employees to Grow and Develop

Do your employees know they can grow and develop while working for your company? Many leaders make the mistake of not allowing workers to see a path forward in the business or chances to learn new things and obtain new skills and helpful experience. However, if you want engaged personnel on-site, you must ensure no one feels stuck in a dead-end job.

Enable employees to move around the business learning different elements of it and acquiring additional skills over time. Discuss the goals workers have and where they hope to be in 12 months and five years, and develop ways to help them get there. Offer mentoring, training opportunities, access to events and courses, and much more. The less bored people are on the job, and the longer-term they can see their time with the company, the more committed and engaged they’ll be.

Other mistakes to avoid if you hope to have a happy team include not being transparent enough about company goals and developments, inconsistencies in messaging from leaders around the company, and seeing engagement as a one-step task to tick off the list and then forget about.

Beware of micromanaging people too much, failing to keep your promises, and not giving people the chance to provide ideas and other input. Consider these elements and more as you evaluate your firm’s success and the commitment and happiness of the people who work in it. The more you understand what works and what doesn’t, the better the results you can carve out.