5 Employee Engagement Strategies that Get Results

Employee engagement is sometimes an often overlooked part of the business. When your employees are engaged, you will see better overall performance because they will be more attentive, focused, and productive. Employees that are not engaged will feel disconnected from the company, which usually results in them not trying their hardest. Consequently, you have to think of ways to boost employee engagement – this is where employee engagement strategy comes into play.

There are various things out there, but we want to discuss the ones that actually work. Before that, we have a brief word on the whole idea of employee engagement strategies.

What is Employee Engagement Strategy?

Essentially, it’s a formula that’s used to try and encourage more your employees to be more present while at work. Remember, engagement is very much an internal thing. It’s a feeling that manifests from within your workers; they ultimately decide if they’re engaged or not.

So, these strategies help to increase the chances that your team will have a more positive connection to your business. In doing so, they will become more engaged and excited to work for you.

Keeping that in mind, here are some ideas that could potentially yield impressive results:

1. Get Feedback From Your Employees

Employees can feel disconnected from their company for multiple reasons. In one business, the workers may struggle with a rigid schedule that makes them feel overworked. In another, employees might be unhappy with the way specific processes are completed. It varies from company to company, which is why you need to get as much feedback as possible.

The best way to do this is through anonymous surveys. Send everyone an email with a link to a survey, and they can fill it out anonymously. Put questions on there to gauge how people feel about working for your company, and how satisfied they are with various things. Also, make sure your employees can voice their opinions and make comments on specific problems.

By doing this, you will understand the primary concerns in your business. You’ll see what’s causing a lot of the disconnect, meaning you have a few things to target. Understand what your employees want, and it’s much easier to make them more engaged.

2. Use Employee Feedback to Make Changes

Speaking of feedback, you need to actually use their feedback to make visible changes in your business. This doesn’t just refer to the one survey, but it relates to other opinions your employees might have.

For example, they might mention how the chairs are really uncomfortable, making it hard to sit up straight and concentrate. If you act on this feedback and bring in some new chairs, then it has a profound effect on how they view you – and your business.

Actions speak louder than words – it’s a classic cliche, but it’s true. Show your team that you not only listen to them, but you react as well. This makes them feel more connected to your organization as they have a voice that’s being heard. There’s nothing worse than continually voicing concerns or suggesting things to an employer, only to see no changes whatsoever.

3. Show Your Employees That They Matter

Too many people feel like they don’t matter in the workplace. This tends to come from the fact that they’ve never been told they matter, or they’ve haven’t been shown enough appreciation. If you don’t feel like what you are doing doesn’t matter, then it’s hard to be motivated and positive about your job.

You need to address this by showing your employees that they mean a lot to the company. The easiest way to do this is by checking in on everyone and pointing out good work.

Create a monthly newsletter where you name someone as the ‘employee of the month’ while adding in mentions of other employees that are performing well too.

You can also host employee appreciation events and hand out awards for awesome effort. Another thing that will definitely increase employee engagement and show them that you recognize their hard work is planning an incentive trip for great performance. This is something that takes some time, but rewarding your employees with an awesome trip will definitely show them that you appreciate them.

(Recommended Read: How Investing in Incentive Travel Pays Off)

For a subtler approach, just walk around the workplace now and then, talking to team members and telling them they’re doing a great job. It sounds almost too easy, but simple acts like this show that you’re interested in your employees and value their work.

4. Establish a Clear Company Culture

Having a company culture is vital for employee engagement. Your business needs to have a set of values and goals that form the basis of everything that you do. By establishing a company culture, you give your employees some values and ideas to identify with. When a worker can genuinely share the same thoughts and values as a company, it creates a positive emotional connection. They feel like they belong to the business, which leads to increased engagement.

Furthermore, your company culture can be used to hire new employees as well. Use it to bring like-minded individuals aboard your ship, which will help to strengthen the culture overall.

5. Implement a More Flexible Style of Work

Naturally, a critical aspect of employee engagement revolves around different learning styles. The way you get people to work will impact how motivated and attentive they are. You have to understand that people are different. Some employees may love working for hours on end alone, while others prefer to have a more social and collaborative approach to things. As such, you can’t implement a strict working style and expect it to please everyone.

You should try and be more flexible in your company’s approach to work. Speak to your employees and find out how they prefer to work. You may find that some people perform better if they work from home, while others need to be in the office to reach peak productivity. Cater to everyone’s strengths, and they will be far more engaged. After all, it’s easier to be engaged at work when you’re working in a style that suits you.

If you look back at these five strategies, you’ll spot there are some key themes to focus on. It’s all about making your team feel like they have a place in your company, that they belong, and that they have the tools required to be productive and tap into their talents. Don’t neglect employee engagement; it can make or break your business.

If you are interested in learning more about how to improve employee engagement through incentive programs, team building, and employee appreciation events, contact the corporate event planning experts at MTI by calling 913-521-8946.