Studies have shown that the best workplaces have employee engagement levels of around 73% engagement, But globally, only 20% of employees are truly engaged. This article gives you tips and suggestions on how to improve employee engagement levels in your organization.
According to Gallup, only 20% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. This is far below the numbers companies are targeting. So, how do you bridge the divide? How can HR professionals improve the levels of employee engagement in their organizations? Here are 70 actionable ideas.
The levels of employee engagement are significantly higher than the average when all employees are working towards the same goals and with the same purpose. Ensure that you create a mission statement and share a succinct version of the mission, vision, and the company's fundamental values with all employees. This will ensure that employees comprehend the significance of the company's core values and their influence on the organization.
One of the earliest steps should be to conduct an audit of the employee engagement levels at your organization. Determine which sectors of your business have low or poor employee engagement, by conducting staff polls, focus group discussions, or one-on-one interviews. Once you understand the status of your workforce, you may begin to identify patterns and trends.
There is no definite formula to make an employee engagement framework perfect. Nevertheless, it is evident that leadership, growth opportunities, and the possibility of contributing to a meaningful goal are essential. Apart from this, different organizations (depending on your industry or region) and different employee groups (like working parents or millennials) may have distinct types of employee engagement drivers, which you can identify through data analysis. Understanding your company’s unique engagement drivers and building your strategy around those will increase employee engagement levels.
Great HR managers are upfront in their approaches to increasing the levels of employee engagement; they discuss it clearly and often with their teams. It is prudent to arrange "state of engagement" meetings and include everyone in the conversation, as well as brainstorm solutions when employees say they feel disconnected and disengaged from the company.
Many organizations hold the notion that executing employee engagement frameworks is the responsibility of only HR, in conjunction with the employee. However, the challenge of employee engagement is much bigger, and must always be addressed at three levels: the individual, the team, and the organization. Keeping this in mind while putting your employee engagement strategy in place will ensure easy execution and success.
Job crafting entails reimagining one's tasks without the constant intervention of management, through the use of creativity. For example, a hospital janitor may reinterpret their role as looking after people, rather than merely cleaning. HR leaders must take the initiative to creatively revise job descriptions to directly link an employee's work to the organization's greater goal, thereby fostering a sense of self-worth, oneness, and meaning.
By allocating funds to meet the interests and requirements of your employees, you are, in reality, investing directly in the organization. Set up surveys or Q&A sessions to determine what your workforce needs, and channel the employee engagement budgets to meet their needs and expectations.
An intranet is a vital tool for engaging employees, particularly fresh recruits who may require more time and resources to adjust to the new workplace. It makes it fast and simple for individuals to gather knowledge about their coworkers and the organization as a whole. This leads to a frictionless onboarding experience that enhances engagement and eliminates resistance, (or any conflict), right from the outset.
Flexible work hours and the opportunity to work remotely are almost certain to increase employee engagement levels. Consider allowing your workforce to adapt their work schedules to suit their personal needs. This demonstrates that you are concerned about their personal lives, and enable them to strike the work-life balance that works best for them.
If your organization's only objective is to rise to the position of an industry leader — with little consideration for the greater good or any societal responsibility — it will be tough for workers to related to your purpose and values. If, on the other hand, your organization aims to make a difference and create a positive impact on the world, such as Airbnb's "build a future in which you can belong anywhere," it motivates employees and enables them to tie their personal ambitions and values with organizational targets.
Learn More: Employee Engagement: Definition, Importance, Benefits, Examples, Trends, Statistics, Best Practices
We know of S.M.A.R.T. goals, that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This applies for employee engagement strategies as well. With concrete objectives in mind (such as feedback participation rate, eNPS, etc.), HR leaders can effectively execute the strategy and determine whether it is producing the desired results.
Having a dedicated person tasked with enhancing employee engagement and obtaining firsthand information on employee engagement levels is becoming increasingly important in the workplace. The officer's responsibility would be to monitor team and individual levels of motivation and engagement.
One person may be intrinsically motivated by performing the same kind of task for several years, whereas another employee is not and seeks change and new challenges periodically. Envision a job rotation plan in which individuals move through numerous roles within an organization so that they might identify their ideal position and the role they want to build their career on.
Sufficient free time helps us to unwind, explore and savor the joys of life, and nurture meaningful connections. Hence, rewarding workers with time (e.g., additional time off, paid holidays) in addition to fiscal remunerations (e.g., bonus payments, stocks) is a straightforward way to enhance employee engagement frameworks and employee well-being.
Working together on service programs isa great way for employees to establish tighter connections. Moreover, implementing such programs is seldom expensive. On weekends, employees may volunteer with NGOs, send personalized cards to servicemen, or make donations to orphanages. This contributes to the feeling of purpose among workers, and fosters a bond with each other and the employer who is facilitating the good work.
A company-wide wellness program is an excellent method for engagement and is usually a part of most employee engagement frameworks. This includes creating ergonomic workstations in the office, giving fitness subsidies and sponsoring gym courses to promote healthy lives. Large organizations even invest in installing on-site gyms to boost engagement.
Incorporating opportunities for individuals to enhance their skills, learn from their peers, and participate in training or learning and development programs will not only increase their productivity and engagement in the workplace but will also improve their overall skills and abilities. Providing employees with the opportunity to learn and grow within the company not just enhances engagement but also stops many employees from seeking a new position elsewhere.
Incorporating a structured training or learning and development (L&D) plan into your employee engagement framework is as essential as investing in job-related training courses. Bring in external consultants and experts to hold seminars and share insights might be a good, engaging approach toward pan-organizational learning and development.
Every organization has processes and activities may impede efficiency and cost your company precious resources. Moreover, it prompts employees to either procrastinate or switch to "autopilot mode" when confronted with a considerable number of such tasks. Automating processes such as attendance, setting up a simple benefits portal, and other tools can prevent this and enable employees to be more efficient and engaged with their work.
The building of any home begins with the laying of a strong foundation -- and it cannot begin with a later stage in the process, say, for example, the roof. Ditto with employee engagement. It is important to start with employees, listen to how they’re feeling and what their expectations are. A questionnaire is usually the most effective method for gathering data on on the types of employee engagement. This can then be used to craft the employee engagement strategy. The more you solicit their feedback, the more they will feel valued, justified, appreciated, and feel a sense of belonging.
Learn More: Designing The Employee Engagement Journey in the Digital Age
The simplest way to boost employee engagement is to keep workers informed. Transparency fosters trust. As employees come to grasp how business actions will affect them, they will relate better to the business, the management, and their peers.. While it is important for the management and leadership to share information and opinion with employees, workers too should be encouraged to share their problems with the management. Communication is most effective when it is two-way.
Remember that every employee appreciates an organization that contributes to their professional and personal growth. Supporting employees’ desire to broaden their horizons and learn skills outside of what they require for work will help organizations earn loyalty and better engagement. This could include financing advanced learning and higher education courses for employees, and arranging internships relevant to their majors, among other things.
Your greatest asset towards increasing employee engagement levels is managers and supervisors, who act as a conduit between the boardroom and the workforce. It is usually preferable to appoint a competent manager, since incorrect hiring may severely undermine employee engagement. It is ideal to take the time to assess a candidate’s professional history to see whether they are qualified for the demanding upcoming position as it will directly impact employee engagement levels
Employers that want to provide workers with a feeling of purpose in their job must articulate a plan for the future. The more the clarity with which HR conveys a long-term goal, the more probable it is that individuals will want to participate. To convey the long term plan — for instance, a five-year strategy — at scale, HR professionals may use onboarding and e-learning tools.
The decisions taken throughout the recruitment process will affect the participation of the new employee and the engagement of the rest of the team. Your new employee's wage expectations should align with what your organization can consistently provide. The new recruit should possess the abilities necessary to fulfill the position's obligations. In addition, they must have the requisite personal and emotional skills to communicate effectively with their new coworkers and management. Keeping all these factors in mind while hiring will ensure that employee engagement levels are constant or continuously improve from the time a new employee joins your organization.
When individuals are granted autonomy at work, they are more responsible for their contributions, become much more invested in their roles, and are much more satisfied at work. Discourage micromanaging among leadership and create performance management systems that reward autonomous decisions.
Between hybrid work, remote, and in-person jobs, new meeting regulations, safety considerations, etc., there is a whole new set of internal communications criteria. Considering this, it is critical to regularly and clearly explain organizational and team-wide objectives to the entire workforce. This will help maintain long-term staff engagement, attention, and commitment.
Enabling employees to recognize and applaud their peers can help make the work environment lively and engaging. You could set up mobile-first rewards & recognition (R&R) systems that enable employees to recognize their peers using comment cards, badges, etc., and share these on the internal social networking platform or other communication channels in the organization. This kind of peer recognition promotes a non-hierarchical way of working, which can lead to better engagement levels.
The key to a successful employee engagement framework is giving employees a voice and being sensitive to whatever they might have to say. Construct a framework or system that enables individuals to share their thoughts and ask pertinent questions. Acknowledge great ideas and give employees the option to stay anonymous.
Between 2014 and 2019, toxic environments cost Fortune 500 corporations $223 billion. To combat this, HR leaders and managers must ask themselves, "Have I created a mentally (and physically) safe work environment for my employees?” Empower workers to voice any criticisms or complaints without feeling pressured. Provide anti-bias training and prevent microaggressions, which cause disengagement.
Learn More: How Is Employee Engagement Different From Employee Experience?
Overworking and exhaustion are at alarmingly high levels for many workers, which is detrimental to levels of engagement . This has been caused by the need to always be “connected” via mobile devices, frenetic home offices, and mounting financial obligations. To ease stress among employees, HR leaders could take the initiative to provide services or activities – such as a game league or mental well-being applications – to help employees deal with high-stress circumstances. In addition, measure employee workload and burnout risk regularly to prevent major, irreversible problems due to stress and burnout.
As competition for elite talent has increased dramatically over the past decade, additional minor advantages and perks have appeared, some of which are no longer considered "additional." This includes transportation benefits, home office allowances, equity incentives, and other perks that improve employees’ quality of life.
Financial aspects can cause major stress among employees, and lead to a drop in productivity and engagement levels. An important tactic to alleviate employee anxiety and stress is by providing them with the means to overcome financial obstacles. Organizations could take steps to find out what they can do to help employees with financial literacy, provide them access to information on investment and financial security, etc.
An employee engagement framework just won’t work without feedback. After taking inputs from employees, ensure that leadership acts upon it. Even if no adjustments are made, explain why, either in meetings with the whole group or privately.
Explore ways to bring in innovation and creativity to help your organization save time on projects. You will discover that your employees’ individual pursuits and passion projects often bring in new, financially beneficial solutions to your organization, and the fact that they’re able to put their personal and professional passion together will drive up engagement levels. For example, Google permits employees to work on side projects 20% of the time.
Employees who express interest in development opportunities while in their current positions are more likely to show high engagement levels and collaborate with managers to have career and growth discussions during check-ins. While the benefits might not be immediately tangible, it is good practice for the leadership to empower managers and provide them with what is necessary to encourage their team's personal aspirations and assist them in future career planning.
Conduct periodic surveys to understand how employees feel about their roles, and if employees say they are uninspired or unchallenged, redesign their positions to re-engage them. HR leaders should take the time to carefully consider the real nature of an existing employee's position, consider the business challenges the position is resolving and rework the position so it meets the best interests of the employee and the organization.
We’ve seen how successfully the fitness industry has used gamification to promote wellness and sell wearables and other devices effectively. HR professionals could take inspiration and use this for performance management and improve engagement. When your workers surpass their objectives and advance to the next level in their careers, both parties benefit. Gamification in performance management, rewards, and benefits is a great way to involve employees and promote closer ties between the employer and employees.
HR departments and people managers should recognize that any one aspect of an employee's life might affect all others. This was particularly true during COVID-19, and would be the case in any complex financial environment. Family, personal pastimes, dreams, aspirations, and societal pressures intersect in unanticipated ways. To truly assist workers, HR leaders must understand employees’ personal lives beyond the workplace and their unique motivations, and help them reconcile that with the professional realm
Managers must recognize their responsibility in serving as an example to their team members and junior employees. HR departments could design systems that train managers to be transparent with their communication, to be honest and dedicated, and engage well with the organization. By displaying characteristics of an ideal employee, they can inspire and train employees to be excellent employees as well. .
Learn More: Top 10 Employee Engagement Trends
Does your organization have an 'extended hours' culture in which employees often remain late, either to handle heavy tasks or in a well-meaning but mistaken effort to display their commitment? Do individuals go to the office when they are sick and should be at home resting? Such practices could be pushing employees into a state of disengagement called quiet quitting, where they do the bare minimum required to hold their jobs. It will help if HR professionals can watch out for such signs and take proactive steps to ensure employees are engaged and aren’t ‘quiet quitting’.
Even in the workplace, first impressions are crucial. An effective onboarding program sets the standard for how employees perceive their role and the organization, and is a good time to start the employee engagement process. Orientation and training for employees is a terrific method to introduce them to the purpose, vision, and values of your organization. It also assists them in comprehending how they would also play a part in the larger scheme of things.
HR leaders are responsible for ensuring that managers understand and care about the career aspirations of their teams and are motivated enough to support them. In turn, managers may promote new employment prospects within the organization and acknowledge employee growth. Incentivize managers for the development of their colleagues, as this cascades across the board resulting in employee happiness and better engagement levels. .
Rewards and recognitions ideally shouldn’t be treated as part of standard, generic perks & benefits created for all employees. To optimize your efforts and take into account your employees' individual preferences, it is crucial to comprehend how they want to be recognized. For example, an employee who shies away from social interactions may find it more engaging to receive a gift card than to participate in a social, cake-cutting event. Personalizing rewards and recognitions are sure to bring organizations higher loyalty and engagement levels.
Promote healthy behaviors at the workplace so you see benefits in the long term. Encouraging breaks throughout work is one such effective method. It will make individuals feel more valued and result in better productivity. Creating a pleasant work environment for all employees and promoting a healthy work-life balance are two simple ways to demonstrate your appreciation for your employees.
Limited resources and inefficient systems may annoy employees and have a negative effect on their levels of employee engagement. So, it is worth taking the effort to ensure that employees have the proper tools to perform their duties, including collaboration platforms and scheduling applications. Employees are much more likely to be inspired when they feel connected and when impediments to accomplishing tasks swiftly and effectively are removed.
A genuine connection between employees and employers inspires trust. Try to cultivate a credible work environment where every employee is empowered and has the freedom to be authentic in every way. When workers believe that the office is an open, no-holds-barred setting, they will have no need to conceal anything from their peers or coworkers and will always be candid and upfront. This freedom and comfort will directly translate to high engagement levels.
Each employee has a list of objectives and tasks on which they must concentrate or work on. It is not very uncommon for individuals to get bewildered or confused about their position/role within a business, and consequently feel disconnected. If you want to boost levels of employee engagement, it is essential to clarify roles. HR professionals can support managers in establishing objectives and assisting employees with such challenges.
Employers should try to establish a working atmosphere that is distinct, pleasant, and consistent with the company's brand. This involves fixing dark corners in the workplace, malfunctioning air conditioners in the heat, and even strange odors. Inspiring posters, open layouts, and ergonomic furniture are staples in an engaging work environment.
Organizations could end up creating dull employees if they don’t ensure that every employee does things outside of their key work responsibilities. While establishing the roles and job descriptions, also explore activities so you can facilitate a better work-life balance. Also important for employee engagement is the creation of a job environment that makes individuals feel valued and acknowledged for who they are as a whole, and not just for the work they do.
Learn More: 4 Easy Ways To Boost Employee Engagement During The Holiday Season
Collaboration on tasks or projects will help employees generate better ideas and boost engagement by fostering cooperation. Successful organizations use employee collaboration tools that increase team productivity even when team members are in different locations. These tools reduce friction in communication, make collaboration more efficient, and is intuitive for employees to use. In addition, every project that requires cross-team collaboration provides workers the opportunity to learn from their peers and supervisors, thereby improving engagement.
HR professionals should express their gratitude to employees in the workplace. It is not just a matter of courtesy, but also helps improve productivity and makes individuals feel appreciated and content. Often, the answer to enhancing an employee engagement framework is simply an acknowledgment. Simple expressions of gratitude go a fair distance in inspiring employees.
Not only is honesty a good value to practice and uphold, but it is the only one for establishing a committed workforce. When employees recognize that stating the truth has no major repercussions, they might be willing to come forward with their honest thoughts and opinion. Minor issues can then be detected early and resolved before they become severe.
For some, engagement may include a sense of connection to their job and a purpose in their employment. Others may view engagement as being passionately committed to one's task and putting in more effort. It is crucial to determine what motivates your employees and to establish a workplace culture that encourages those motivational cues.
No leader or manager boost engagement and ensure success if the team is not nurtured to trust the company, be loyal, and work for the company’s overall success and growth. . It is essential to empower managers with the right kind of training and leadership development so they can build engaged teams, as well as eliminate any bottlenecks or impediments.
Mentorship programs may take on a variety of avatars, but what matters most is that they are customized to individual requirements. Using sophisticated matching algorithms and modern HRMS platforms, it is possible to match mentees and mentors appropriately. This ensures that you build the engaging and enriching relationships.
By enabling employees to make decisions about the work environment, you give them a greater sense of responsibility and ownership for their workplace. This increases their levels of commitment and fosters a sense of dignity and pride in what they do. Employees may be encouraged to choose their own equipment, bring their own decorative items, and other personal items. By setting up their workstations in the office, they develop a sense of ownership and responsibility toward the workplace, which will eventually translate into deeper engagement.
As individuals, employees are destined to make mistakes on the job. Train supervisors so that they respond intuitively and sensitively to human errors. This motivates people to consciously work on avoiding repeating their mistakes. Adopt a system based on strengths that allow for mistakes while strengthening current aptitudes.
Recognizing your employees goes a long way in making them feel appreciated and consequently boosting their productivity. Others will be motivated to strive for the same accolades. The recognitions can include work-related achievements and personal milestones such as work anniversaries.
Learn More: Smarter Onboarding For Better Engagement And Greater Productivity
If workers lose all sense of challenge in their roles, they will get to work each day feeling relaxed, complacent, and ultimately disengaged. This will probably result in your employees going into an "autopilot phase" where they do their duties without conscious thought. However, when presenting challenges to employees, give them the assurance that they have your undivided support.
Learn More: 80 Employee Engagement Ideas to Boost Company Morale
Empowering your team to pursue their own ideas encourages them to assume responsibility for their job, thereby increasing engagement. Remember to recognize creativity and ingenuity even when something doesn't go as planned. There is nothing more demoralizing than witnessing a colleague attempt something new and fail, so it is essential to constantly look for the positives in any situation.
It is critical to keep every member of the organization up-to-date with the latest information so they can keep pace with the dynamic phases of the business. During any given period, HR must make timely efforts to ensure that employees, regardless of their designation -- are abreast of organizational changes (such as when switching to hybrid work or reworking existing policies).
Belonging is a sense of comfort and support derived from inclusion, engagement, and affiliation with a particular community or location. In a workplace, this occurs when workers understand and embrace the company's underlying beliefs. It helps to take the time to ensure that organizational values are integrated into the workplace culture, and are communicated to employees clearly. The more exposure to these beliefs, the greater the feeling of belonging.
ERGs are voluntary groups that bring together people of common backgrounds or passions. Encourage and sponsor ERGs that reflect a range of interests and objectives, such as diversity and inclusion, special skills, or wellness.
Employees are bound to face performance roadblocks at multiple times during their work cycle. The HR department and the management should collaborate to swiftly identify and support workers during these times. Even if the reason for the block or drop in performance is personal, you may demonstrate empathy and recommend ways to ease the troubles. This inhibits disengagement.
If you want to increase employee engagement, guarantee that your employees are rewarded adequately for their efforts. Ask your staff directly. Conduct an organization-wide salary and benefits pulse survey, and be sure to provide compensation and benefits on par with competitors, if not better
The days of offering feedback just during mid-year appraisals are long gone because annual or bi-annual feedback is no longer enough to keep employees motivated and engaged. The modern workforce demands frequent inputs from HR partners and managers, so there is speedier course correction and resourcing efficiency. Organizations use both formal and casual formats and techniques for these check-ins.
Establishing connections beyond the workplace is an effective method for increasing the levels of employee engagement. By organizing events or communities in the workplace, like-minded individuals can come together, which may help strengthen relationships across departments and build partnerships that would not have existed otherwise in the general course of work.
A lot of employee engagement initiatives are designed keeping in mind that employees spend time in the office. However, with the growing popularity of hybrid work, many organizations believe it doesn’t matter how long your employees spend in the office as long as the task is accomplished on schedule and to the agreed-upon quality. So, it is essential to keep this in mind while designing employee engagement programs.
Engagement levels depend heavily on how included one feels in a large crowd. So, it is important for organizations to invest in DEI initiatives and ensure inclusivity and equity among a diverse workforce, irrespective of how large it is. Establishing and promoting a strong DEI policy in the company, regularly conducting audits to ensure equity and pay parity, and making DEI a part of the company culture will help push up employee engagement levels.
Learn More: 75+ Ways for HR to Enhance the Employee Experience (EX) in 2023
Employee engagement is a critical piece for any organization. Make sure to tailor your strategy for the unique needs at your organization, and work with every employee to see to it that both the employee and the organization get the best out of the relationship. A cloud-based HRMS platform that modernizes performance management, employee surveys, benefits, and payroll, and is designed to help you offer exceptional employee experiences can be a helpful enabler for your employee engagement framework.
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