Editor’s note: Throughout the week, we’ll be featuring exclusive insights into the world of corporate culture. Employee engagement plays a vital role in your organization’s culture as it helps retain top talent. This article will provide tips for helping you improve engagement and retain workers.
Engaged employees are more likely to be productive and less likely to leave their organization. They’re more likely to be passionate about the work, great with customers, great at bringing in new employees, and more. Disengaged employees, on the other hand, are more likely to work just enough to fulfill expectations and could actively bring down morale.
Employers know that keeping employees engaged and happy is critical, so what are some ways to improve employee engagement levels?
Here are a few ways to boost employee engagement for employers to consider:
Trust
Trust is a major component of employee satisfaction, and it can be shown in many ways. For example, employers can show trust by giving employees increasing levels of challenge, by establishing goals but not micromanaging, and by empowering employees to take steps toward achieving their goals without overly frequent management intervention.
Be Flexible
Allowing flexibility in work hours is another way employers can show trust, as it demonstrates they trust the work will get done, regardless of which or how many hours are spent making that happen.
Ask
Simply asking employees what they need can be very powerful. Asking them what they need, asking what can allow them to do their job more efficiently, and then following up and taking action on those answers can go a long way toward making employees more satisfied. It will also make them feel their voice has been heard and their opinion matters.
Train
Train employees on the skills they need to be effective. Train managers on how to be better leaders and how to develop their team without micromanaging. Train, assess, retrain, and continually focus on how to develop employees to help them meet their goals. By using a training infrastructure to develop employees, you both benefit.
Care
Show employees you care about them as people. This can take many forms. For example, take the time to find out what benefits would be useful to them, and actually implement as many as you can. Find out what things are important to them in the workplace, and see what changes can be made to make their workday more efficient.
Show you care about work/life balance by implementing policies that demonstrate this directly. Show you care about their well-being through your actions and policies. Be compassionate, and empathize when employees come to you with problems. They’ll remember that you were there when they needed help.
Invest
Invest in tools that make employees’ jobs more efficient and that make it easier to do more effectively. Invest in benefits that make your employees happy. Invest in technology where it will improve the organization or the workflow. Do these things to show that you see the big picture and want to invest in ways to make their jobs easier.
These are just a few examples of how employers can build employee engagement levels. Stay tuned for part two of this series, in which we’ll cover more ideas for employers to help influence employee engagement and satisfaction levels.
Bridget Miller is a business consultant with a specialized MBA in International Economics and Management, which provides a unique perspective on business challenges. She’s been working in the corporate world for over 15 years, with experience across multiple diverse departments including HR, sales, marketing, IT, commercial development, and training.