8 Ways to Boost Employee Engagement

 

1. Measure engagement. How enthusiastic are employees about their jobs and your company? How likely are they to recommend your company as a good place to work? Consider using a survey to answer these and other questions related to employee engagement. This can provide a baseline for how your employees feel about working for you and can help identify areas for improvement. Additionally, consider conducting exit interviews with departing employees to help spot potential problems in employee satisfaction.
2. Understand individual motivators. Not all employees are motivated by the same thing. Some may be motivated by working in a team, while others may be motivated by having greater autonomy or challenging work. Supervisors should identify individual motivators and provide employees with assignments that foster their motivations.
3. Praise and recognition. Praise and recognition can go a long way in letting employees know their hard work is valued by the company. Praise is generally more informal and can be as simple as a “thank you” for a job well done. Recognition is a more public way of showing employees that they’re valued. Consider touting employee contributions at staff meetings or in a company newsletter or email.
4. Reward. It’s important to recognize outstanding performance as well as reward it. While bonuses are a common type of reward, rewards don’t have to be monetary. For example, consider giving an employee an extra day off or taking him or her out to lunch after completing a particularly challenging milestone.
5. Align goals. The company’s mission and goals should be clearly communicated to all employees and employees should know how their job fits in. Consider tying individual goals to department and company goals. This can help employees to realize that their contributions have an impact on the company’s success.
6. Build supervisors’ skills. Effective supervisors have the skills and experience to not only manage employees’ performance, but also to show that they support and value their employees. Give supervisors the training they need to communicate openly and frequently with subordinates, set clear expectations, and provide constructive and timely feedback.
7. Mentor and develop. By making employee development a priority, it can demonstrate that the company values employee growth. Consider implementing a mentor program whereby a senior member of the organization is paired with a less experienced employee to offer him or her career advice, share knowledge and experiences, listen to questions and concerns, and encourage career development. Cross-training is another development initiative that can help promote employee engagement by providing employees with the opportunity to learn new skills and face new challenges.
8. Communicate openly. Communicate openly with employees about the company’s goals and business results, and allow employees the opportunity to celebrate successes. It’s also important to encourage employees to provide you with feedback and suggestions for improving products/services or business processes. Take each submission seriously and if you decide to make a change, credit the employee’s input as the impetus for the change.

While not every job may seem glamorous, every job (and every employee) is important to the success of a company. By making employee engagement a priority, employers will likely see returns in the form of increased commitment, decreased turnover, and improved productivity.

 

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