Tips to boost employee engagement

Organizations seek to maximize the productivity and profitability of their employees. Employees seek satisfaction from their work. If both can be achieved concurrently, there is a true win-win. The impact of “engaged” workforce over an “unengaged” one is dramatic.  Employees must be engaged in productive tasks so that they do not lose their focus and avoid conflicts and unnecessary disputes. 

Employee engagement has become an area of focus within organizations for the purpose of retention as a means of avoiding expensive employee replacement costs resulting from employee(s) who voluntarily quit their jobs. 

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a measurable degree of an employee’s positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization that profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform at work.

Why employee engagement?

Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest discretionary effort. Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them, which results in higher retention levels and productivity levels and lower absenteeism. Employees who are actively engaged help move the organization forward. 

Drivers of engagement: There are a range of factors, known as drivers that are thought to increase overall engagement. By managing the drivers, an organization can effectively manage engagement levels of its employees. Drivers such as communication, performance clarity and feedback, organizational culture, rewards and recognition, relationships with managers and peers, career development opportunities and knowledge of the organization’s goals and vision are some of the factors that facilitate employee engagement.

Employee perceptions of job importance: An employee's attitude toward the job's importance and the company had the greatest impact on loyalty and customer service than all other employee factors combined.

Employee clarity of job expectations: If expectations are not clear and basic materials and equipment are not provided, negative emotions such as boredom or resentment may result, and the employee may then become focused on surviving more than thinking about how he can help the organization succeed.

• Regular feedback and dialogue with superiors: Feedback is the key to giving employees a sense of where they’re going. A simple “thanks, you did a good job” will add more value.
• Quality of working relationships with peers, superiors, and subordinates: If employees' relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade the employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss.
• Effective Internal Employee Communications: An effective internal employee communication conveys a clear description of "what's going on". The effect of poor internal communications is seen as it’s most destructive in global organizations.
• Reward & Recognition: A good incentive scheme tends to improve the employee engagement which results in overall productivity. Setting realistic targets, selecting the right rewards for your incentive program, communicating the scheme effectively and frequently, have lots of winners and reward all achievers, encouraging sustained effort, present awards publicly and evaluate the incentive scheme regularly.

Some of the initiatives towards employee engagement can be:

• On-boarding gives an overview of the organization. The on-boarding event experience itself leaves a mark on the minds of the new hires. Remember first impression is the best impression;
• Learning and development events which foster enhancing skill levels of employees;
• Internal job posting for career advancement;
• Rewards & Recognition results in increasing motivation levels of employees;
• Fun at work initiatives or team building activities are great for generating a feeling of belonging.

Tips to boost employee engagement:

Firstly, determine whether your organization is active or reactive with respect to employee engagement. If an organization is spending a large amount of time combating absenteeism, addressing underperformance, coping with high turnover and dealing with negative and frustrated employees, then the organization’s approach is reactive. If it is active, organization is deliberately takings steps to influence employee engagement.

Secondly, be aware of two key aspects, cultural reality and employee job satisfaction, when influencing employee engagement.

Below are the steps which can boost employee engagement:

• Get the facts and be open to them. Communication plays a very important role. Encourage an honest two-way communication.
• Understand that engagement is not a survey; it’s a daily action. Avoid believing that actions don’t make a difference; they do. Management should get involved with teams every day and show that they are interested in what they do.
• Management must constantly motivate his employees. Cash prizes, trophies, gift vouchers, certificates are an effective way to motivate the employees and keep them engaged in their work. Give them a target and ask them to achieve that within a particular time frame to earn handsome incentives or lucrative prizes. This way, the employees would not waste their time and spend their maximum time working and aiming for the rewards.
• Accept that engagement is a dynamic process. There is no goal line; it’s a moving target that requires constant attention, commitment and action.