5 strategies that will help you improve your employee engagement

It’s not enough to simply have a job; in the 2020s that is, at best, a base requirement. The concept of merely clocking in, going through the motions, and collecting a paycheck at the end of the month is neither rewarding nor fulfilling. Employees need to feel a sense of passion and connection about the work they are performing, in order to exceed expectations and deliver impressive results. Which is why employee engagement has become such an important term.

Employee engagement is the level of involvement, enthusiasm, and energy an individual injects into their daily working life. It’s the observable metric by which employers can gauge how committed an employee is to a role.

With this data, managers can ascertain where communication and workplace culture can be enhanced to improve an employee’s engagement. And with appropriate employee engagement strategies, a clear roadmap can be drawn up to boost staff satisfaction and retention.

What is the difference between employee engagement and employee experience?

Before we address employee engagement benefits and employee engagement tips, we need to offer a little clarification. Engagement is not the same as experience. An organization’s employee experience is the sum total of an employee’s journey with a company. From the moment they are hired, through to when they eventually leave, and everything in between.

The trick to not confusing the two, is to understand that one feeds into the other. Or, put a different way, positive employee engagement cements employee experience.

Furthermore, employee engagement is all about inspiring and motivating a member of staff to give their all. And understanding your worker’s perspective to identify positive steps to achieve this on an individual and team-wide level.

So, if trying to course correct engagement by treating it like an employee experience exercise, you will notice a semblance of positive feedback. But you won’t get to the root of the problem. Managers that focus on improving employee engagement, at every stage of the employment cycle, will see a notable improvement in the overall experience workers have at that company.

Who is responsible for employee engagement?

There’s plenty to be said for personal growth, and the merits of self-actualized realization. We can all acknowledge each of us have room to improve and areas that we can galvanize to perform better. But this kind of critical self-analysis is neither easy, nor clear, without guidance. Subsequently, the responsibility for leading this growth, falls to management.

Unfortunately, not all managers are equipped with the necessary understanding to provide this level of support. Which, ultimately, sees employee engagement recede and drop off entirely.

What’s needed is more than assignment of duties from managers. It comes down to a state of perpetual coaching and meaningful introspective conversations.

By providing this, employees can identify exactly who has their back, and are then filled with the confidence to act and excel, knowing the necessary tools and support will be on hand as needed. This can take the initial form of evaluation practices in order to measure performance, and outline development resources required to improve.

That said, once it has been made clear what the job entails, what is expected of the employee, and how it fits into the wider organizational effort, employee engagement will naturally follow. This is because understanding one’s place in a company, offers a sense of clarity, and a healthy injection of pride, owing to the significance and impact of the role.

Why is employee engagement so important and what are the benefits?

Every action and decision made by an employee is motivated and dictated by levels of engagement. How much effort or attention a task is given, is also subject to fluctuations in employee engagement. And naturally, this will affect the final output. Because if your employee is struggling to feel engaged, their workload will suffer, and their morale will wane. In fact, according to a survey done by Gallup, only 15% of employees feel engaged in the workplace, so the effect is clearly widespread.

Part of the importance of employee engagement is more about what you avoid, than what you gain. A high and consistent engagement level reduces absenteeism, improves consideration for health and safety, slashes turnover, increases quality of work, minimizes shrinkage, and produces better time optimization. All of which leads to a rise in profitability and efficiency.

Not only this, but engaged employees act as a pillar for their colleagues and fellow team members. Rather than blind optimism, we’re talking about a genuine and earned spring of infectious motivation, that inspires and rallies others. What’s more, they can act as supports, as well as an example to follow. That’s not to say the reward for being engaged is more work, simply that an engaged employee will be in a better position to complete their daily tasks and assist others if required.

What are the levels of employee engagement?

There are four identifiable stages or employee engagement profiles. Each identifying how the employee in question feels about their work and the company they are part of.

Disengaged

Disengaged employees are often disconnected employees. These individuals, regardless of how long they have been a part of the company, no longer feel connected or committed to their responsibilities. It’s easy to say these people are selfish or lazy, but the truth is, they didn’t end up here by choice or by accident. A period of misalignment, burnout, and frustration would have been strong contributors to this state. And while they are not completely lost causes, substantial effort is required to rehabilitate them.

Barely engaged

Rather than the actively charged disengaged employees, the barely engaged worker is one who is filled with apathy. Every day is considered an unrewarding, relentless trudging, and this has bred a strong feeling of indifference. These individuals will usually put out the bare minimum, and eventually leave, being the embodiment of quiet quitting.

Moderately engaged

A majority of individuals probably sit in this category; or, at the very least, drift between this stage and the two either side of it. Moderately engaged employees are content with their role but do not feel the necessity to push for further challenges. Again, not to be confused with “not asking for more work.” Instead, these employees are dedicated but something about their current role prohibits their passion and drive to succeed.

Highly Engaged

Highly engaged employees have a fondness not only for their work, but for the very workplace itself. They believe in the institution, understand their vital role in its success, and have a clear path to progress their career in a way which furthers their own abilities. Subsequently, they are natural brand advocates.

How can you measure employee engagement?

In order to improve employee engagement, it’s important to have a good overview of how your company currently performs. And there are a handful of ways to measure your engagement levels.

Surveys are your friend. By drawing up and distributing employee engagement surveys, managers can uncover honest employee perceptions and shed light on areas that can be improved upon. For a less in-depth analysis, you could utilize a pulse survey, which is a short, targeted tool, allowing employers to research and improve the workplace culture. Finally, lifecycle surveys can be very revealing. These are completed at the new hire and exit stages and operate as clear markers for what attracted someone to your business, and more importantly, what lured them away from it.

It’s also a wise idea to draw up employee engagement measurement strategies. Ones which can be easily deployed across the whole organization, that investigate friction points that affect individuals and teams. As such, assigning measurement responsibilities to a dedicated team, who will be in charge of monitoring and reporting on this data, is vital.

5 strategies to help improve employee engagement

Find the right role for each employee

Any business, like any well-oiled machine, must ensure each component is fit for purpose. Now, that may sound a little dehumanizing, implying we’re all cogs without a modicum of will or destiny. On the contrary, it’s actually an affirmation that in order for the entire company to succeed, every role is integral. And it’s vital that each element is in the right location, doing the right thing.

This isn’t to say you need to completely overhaul your business’ structure or simply fire those who aren’t performing at the level they need to be. It means that when you come to formulating talent acquisition strategies and assessing retention, employee engagement should be a central talking point. From here, you will be able to divine how best to utilize your workers in a way that allows them to show their full potential and will instill that desired sense of engagement.

Robust training, development, and support

Very few employees are happy with sitting idle. Sure, we can joke about the ideal job wherein you don’t have any real responsibilities. But the truth is, that’s actually torturous for most people. Instead, what individuals really want, is to be engaged to the point that they actively want to grow and succeed. But in order to do so, they require support. This comes in the form of learning opportunities and training programs that will further their skills and abilities.

Training is more than simply assigning more work, or inefficiently plugging a gap somewhere else in the business, it’s the method by which we all grow. And it comes down to the management team to offer, encourage, and arrange whatever development tools are needed to get their staff to a place where they can look back over their progress, and marvel.

Assign meaningful fulfilling work

Having a clear understanding of what your role entails, and how it benefits the wider company is essential. Especially for engagement purposes. Doing so, allows employees to comprehend and appreciate the importance and significance of their work. This elevates it from a mundane obligation, to a trusted charge. Because they understand their very presence is boosting the company’s overall output. No role is too small or unnoticed.

But this is about alignment. During the recruitment process, or annual assessments, it’s crucial that managers are able to identify the sort of work that would suit the individual in front of them. Just because you have an assignment to set, doesn’t mean it can be filled by anybody with capacity. And the consequences of repeatedly making this mistake, is a lack of satisfaction from the employee, and a growing sense of disaffection with a role that lacks definition.

Make sure to check-in

When it comes to checking in on employees, two words that should be screaming through your mind like sirens are ‘simple’ and ‘frequency.’ This may feel like a drain of resources or a waterwheel responsibility, that never stops turning, but it’s what today’s workforce is seeking.

Solely relying on formulaic annual reviews is now a guarantee for employee engagement plummeting. What employees crave is a mixture of formal and informal communication which allows them to share their wins, frustrations, and concerns. And having this steady, reassuring stream of workplace communication allows for quicker course correction.

Discuss engagement honestly

Speaking of improving workplace communication, make sure you afford the appropriate amount of time to discussing engagement itself. Rather than shying away from the subject, engage your employees, challenge them to speak openly and honestly about how they feel in their current role. If they believe it has a genuine impact on the organization’s success, and if their actions are having a positive effect on them as a worker.

The answers to these questions can trigger a self-assessment within your employees that prompts them to look honestly at their job. Are there areas that can be improved? And what is needed to achieve this? At which point, good managers can step in and suggest a host of methods to improve, as well as providing the tools to do so.

As an additional bonus, upfront and honest discussions about employee engagement, indicate to your workers that their happiness and motivation, are a priority for you too. Which bolsters and embodies positive workplace culture, and, inadvertently, goes a long way to cementing the very engagement your staff are after.

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