More and more, human resources departments around the globe are placing increased emphasis on employee engagement. To understand why, we need to consider the true meaning of “engagement.”
Let’s be clear: A happy employee is not the same as an engaged employee. Employee engagement is more than just employee satisfaction. Engagement means employees are emotionally invested in their work and highly committed to the organization. They advocate for the company, enjoy helping the company succeed, and have no plans to leave the company for another opportunity.
Every business wants employees like that.
Unfortunately, today’s diverse workforce creates a difficult environment for developing engaged employees. In fact, a 2015 research report conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that “maintaining high levels of employee engagement” is a top challenge for businesses today.
On the bright side, it’s never too late to try! There are plenty of proven methods you can easily put into action to get started on improving employee engagement.
Here are five tactics designed to increase employee engagement in 2017:
1. Foster Relationships Among Employees
A good place to start with employee engagement is to create opportunities for employees to build personal connections with one another. A 2016 job satisfaction and engagement report from SHRM found “relationships with coworkers” to be one of the three most important conditions for employee engagement. A 2015 report from TINYpulse discovered that peers and colleagues are what employees love most about their jobs.
To nurture these important relationships, it’s essential to first hire the right talent. Organizations need employees who mesh well while motivating and energizing each other. Second, think about generating team-building events or service projects that bring employees together beyond the office walls. These situations allow space for employees to get to know each other on a more personal level, which can make working together more comfortable and enjoyable.
2. Value Innovation and Agility
These days, businesses tend to move fast and change frequently. Developing agile and innovative employees is crucial to your employee engagement strategy. You want employees who are willing and able to create positive change in your organization and respond enthusiastically to unexpected bumps in the road.
To ensure that your employees know these qualities are valued in your organization, communicate openly and give space for them to challenge processes and bring their ideas to the table. Develop deeper engagement and commitment within your workforce by providing employees room to evolve with your company and contribute to the company’s growth.
3. Recognize and Reward Employee Performance
According to AON’s 2016 global employee engagement trends report, “rewards and recognition” is one of the top three engagement drivers around the world. It makes sense: engaged employees feel valued and appreciated. One way to cultivate that sense of value is by recognizing employee performance.
A great way to motivate team members is to create a rewards program that frequently recognizes employees for their efforts. Such a program doesn’t need to be complicated; you can include stand-out employee names in office-wide communications or give employees a small “prize” like a gift card or free lunch. It’s also good practice to incentivize employees with role promotions or merit-based pay raises.
4. Utilize Mobile-Friendly Communications
It’s 2017: technology dominates our daily life, especially at work. If you’re still communicating with employees strictly through email or paper office memos, you probably aren’t seeing much engagement.
Today’s workers are increasingly tech-savvy and expect instant access to information. Adopting popular social media sites like Instagram and virtual messaging tools like Slack are great ways to connect with employees. You can even go a step further and consider implementing an employee engagement app that is specifically designed to help you interact with your employees and boost their excitement for your organization.
5. Measure Engagement
The work you put into implementing effective employee engagement strategies will be meaningless without taking time to analyze the outcomes. To maximize your return on investment, your strategy should include regular measurement of engagement among your employees.
In order to measure your efforts, use an online form tool or data collection platform to conduct thorough annual, semi-annual, or quarterly employee engagement surveys. You can also create quick polls to send out more frequently. These surveys and polls will help you gather actionable information about what is motivating or discouraging employees—which means you’ll be able to make informed improvements to boost engagement in the workplace.
