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It is the duty of every business leader — be it the owner or a manager — to keep his employees engaged at all levels. If you can successfully make your employees happy, make them feel like they have a purpose, and that they are wanted and valued, then they start to take ownership of your brand and giving their all for the success of your company — which they will see, rightly so, as their company.
Unfortunately, a healthy employee engagement is rather rare. In fact, a study done by the Gallup Daily tracked over 80,000 US-based employees in the whole of 2014 and made a very disturbing inference: over 70 percent of the American employees feel unmotivated and unhappy at work because their leaders do not engage them.
And it’s not just employees who are affected. In a separate study by Temkin Group, 69 percent of customers report high levels of satisfaction when they are served by engaged employees. And naturally, the same study found that most customers feel unsatisfied with the services rendered to them by disengaged employees. There is, therefore, a clear correlation between business success and employee engagement.
That said, here are the 5 ways to engage your employees at work:
1. Allow employees room to grow
If you can succeed at empowering your employees to discover their potential, then you will have a motivated and engaged workforce in your hand. This, though, might not be easy for leaders who like to keep a tight grip on their subordinates. Still, it is necessary to assign high-reaching responsibilities that allow employees to stretch themselves, all while being patient and supportive.
Although sometimes your employees will feel overwhelmed by the tasks you assign them, it is your prerogative as a leader to help them build a solid foundation of skills, knowledge, and experience. This can be done through one-on-one mentoring, or even by hiring a life coach as a motivational force.
2. Create a safe & accepting work environment for employees
How comfortable are your employees at work? Do they feel safe to bring their whole selves to the office? Is your team diverse and inclusive enough for everyone to feel seen and supported?
One of the ways to ensure a safe and accepting work environment is by combining diversity & inclusion efforts with your company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program through platforms such as Visit.org. This creates an employee-driven social impact culture that allows team members to support causes they identify with, while understanding that their employer cares about their identity and values.
3. Encourage transparent communication with employees
If your employees fully understand what your goals are, they stand a better position of being productive at work. And vice versa. This is why communication and a good rapport is essential. Open up lines of communication by having an “open door” policy, where workers can come to your office to discuss their concerns, including topics outside of work. This creates a culture of acceptance, allows for quicker resolution of conflict, and lets you and your employees work with efficiency, transparency, and respect.
4. Invest in office comfort & design
It may seem like an afterthought, but proper lighting, ventilation, and furniture affect employees’ day-to-day experience of work. Rob Wilson, president of Employco USA, you can significantly boost employees’ morale by making the workplace welcoming. This means that even touches such as wall paintings, plants, and a pleasing color palette increase employee productivity.
5. Recognize employee excellence
Whether your company doles out awards, or you personally compliment an employee for a job well done — recognition is essential in motivating and engaging employees.
While these tips are useful, there is not one silver-bullet way to engage employees. It is important to listen to your employees about what they care about both in and out of work — and then to find a way to build a culture of engagement together. Visit.org can help. Email impact@visit.org or check out our site to book a demo of our platform.
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