Employee engagement is a serious matter, since employees who lack the motivation for their work are costly, both in terms of resources and company culture. There’s no direct way to tell how much a lack of employee engagement costs, but Gallup pegged it at about $450-550 billion a year.
While US companies enjoy the highest amount of employee engagement (30%, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce), there’s still much work to be done. Strong leadership and managers with great people skills can effectively impact engagement.
Did You Have Them at “Hello”?
An employee’s first experience with your company occurs during the interview and hiring process, so what happens during this process sets the stage for employee expectations. This is partly why it is important to have a clearly-defined hiring procedure that not only effectively elucidates what you will expect from the employee, but also highlights key aspects of your company’s culture. If your hiring process is somewhat less than ideal, it may be time to take steps to improve it.
Going to Work: Joy or Pain?
After you hire employees, what happens at the company to make them feel respected and valued? The company culture has a tremendous impact on employee satisfaction and retention. Not every company needs to have a ping-pong table or game room to keep employees happy (but they do help). However, every strong company culture revolves around treating everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of position. Management should invite feedback on problem areas and then take steps to rectify the situation quickly. Investing in employee training, volunteer programs, and rewards pays off with greater employee loyalty and engagement.
Realistic Feedback
Do you have feedback surveys? How often? If you feel like feedback surveys may not be the best way to find out about your employees, you may be on to something. Many employees may feel like they need to respond to surveys in a certain way in order to keep their job or avoid embarrassment. This doesn’t mean you should drop surveys altogether. However, your approach to surveys should include a willingness to address what issues are raised in the surveys. When management is serious about helping, employees will provide more realistic feedback.
Get To Know Them
One of the best ways to ensure employee engagement is to get to know your employees personally. For a large company, this can be difficult. However, there can be a huge payoff to understanding how each employee thinks. Employee motivations differ from person to person. For example, some employees are motivated by competition and moving higher up the ranks. Having a clearly-defined way to advance at your company along with plenty of opportunities to do so will keep these workers engaged. Getting to know your employees also helps management highlight individual success. Praising indvidual achievement on a regular basis allows employees to understand that their hard work is moving the whole team towards its goal.
Team Building
One of the most important aspects of any successful work environment is the idea of “we”. Employees should feel like they are approaching projects as a team, not simply doing a job. Team building varies from company to company, but one successful approach is to schedule in fun activities for everyone. Company lunches, parties, or outdoor activities provide a break from routine and help employees get to know each other better outside of a purely professional environment.
Employee engagement results in a happier workforce and greater productivity. A few steps can ensure that employees feel valued and respected. Now is the time to take a hard look at your company’s approach to employee engagement and make the necessary changes to help improve your company’s future.