Business leaders have many things to focus on. Most companies spend time and effort on marketing, sales, and customer service. Those factors are important.
But how engaged are your employees? Most workers look reasonably happy on the surface. However, that doesn’t signify engagement. Engaged employees put forth their best efforts, love being at work, and are happy to sing the praises of your company to others. They can also generate a lot of revenue.
Having engaged workers doesn’t have to feel like a mystery. Follow the tips below to turn your work team into enthusiastic employees.
1. Collect and Use Employee Feedback
You do everything possible to lead your business. However, even the strongest leaders have blind spots regarding how their companies operate. Fortunately, you have a wealth of insights from your employees.
Your employees work on the frontline in their respective departments. From implementing automation to new sales techniques, they know the ins and outs of your business. Your methods of gathering opinions can be through meetings, emails, surveys, or whatever else is convenient.
Be sure to mention that all feedback is welcome. You don’t want employees afraid to mention negative things or aspects that could otherwise be improved. Once you get this feedback, don’t be afraid to test out new things to act on it.
2. Give Workers Flexibility
A crucial aspect of succeeding in business is not falling behind the times. Many innovative employers realize that employees have commitments and lives outside of work.
What constitutes flexibility varies depending on your industry. A popular way to be a flexible business is to offer remote or hybrid work schedules.
According to TechSmith, working from home was an option for about 5% of U.S. adults. Now, 58% of employees have the option to work from home at least sometimes.
Understandably, mechanics, surgeons, and other hands-on workers aren’t always able to do their jobs on a hybrid or remote schedule. In these cases, flexibility could be as simple as more lax time-off requirements or accommodating work schedules.
Giving your team flexibility at work can also lead to increased productivity, improved retention, and better overall morale.
3. Don’t Make It All About Work
No matter who you are, everyone can need a break from a 40-hour (or longer) workweek. To put it another way, effective employee engagement strategies don’t have to only take place at work.
An engagement-related work outing can mean literally getting out of the office, such as having an outdoor cookout at a local park or someone’s backyard. Zip-lining is another creative team-based idea, but only if your employees aren’t afraid of heights!
Other engagement-boosting outing ideas include:
- Hosting a company-wide trivia night at a nearby bar or hangout spot
- Renting out a local theater room for a movie marathon
- Seeing a play or visiting a museum for a culturally enriching experience
- Taking everyone to see a local sports team
These non-work-related events are fun. They also let your workers know each other outside of water cooler-based conversations. Such a setting is also great to have your work team strike up friendships outside of the workplace.
Unsure what activities to choose? Get your employees in on the fun. Having them vote on these outings further fosters collaboration.
4. Develop Your Employees
There’s no denying the importance of a paycheck. However, most employees want to work for companies that provide avenues for promotion, growth, and development. Your business can accomplish this goal by continually developing its workers.
This simple action boosts employee engagement because these people value companies developing their knowledge and skills.
Examples of employee development:
- Letting employees learn how to use cutting-edge programs
- Pairing new workers with more experienced ones
- Enrolling select team members in leadership training programs
- Developing personalized paths for employees
5. Incentivize and Recognize Your Work Team
Incentives are time-tested ways to boost engagement. Companies can incentivize workers with rewards such as physical gifts. Your business may also adopt a digital incentive system.
Other motivating incentives can include:
- Profit sharing
- Monetary bonuses
- Paid time off (PTO)
What’s as important as incentives is recognition. Whether your employees make it known, feeling good about being recognized is human nature. As your workers reach important goals through incentivization, ensure they receive acknowledgment. Company-based certificates and awards can also recognize your valued work team.
Having engaged employees can skyrocket your company’s success. You now have several excellent ideas that can help foster massive engagement among your workers. While workplaces are ever-evolving, these proven engagement methods remain effective.
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