How engaged your employees are can determine how successful your business is going to be.
An engaged employee is committed to the organization they work for and invested in its success. Not only do they understand the company’s goals, but their own part in achieving them. They are usually more happy, motivated and productive than their counterparts.
A disengaged employee is usually less enthusiastic, has low morale and can actually bring down co-workers who are otherwise engaged.
In fact, according to a Gallup Business Journal article in 2013, actively disengaged employees are estimated to cost the US economy between $450 billion and $550 billion in lost productivity every year.
By increasing levels of employee engagement, your business can not only retain top staff, but can also improve its bottom line. Here are some of the best practices in employee engagement:
1. Create a culture of engagement
As with every great change in an organization, the desired behaviour needs to be modelled from the top down. Management needs to build an environment that encourages engagement and boosts employee morale.
2. Clearly set out goals and responsibilities
Articulating goals and responsibilities as clearly as possible is critical to successful employee engagement. If they don’t know what to do, or what is expected of them, there’s little hope of engaging them.
3. Make it part of your business’ strategic plan
Instead of being an afterthought, employee engagement should be one of the core aspects of your business practices. If you include it in your company’s strategic plan, not only are you showing that it is a key value, you an also then set out to implement it and measure it.
4. Build it into your recruitment efforts
Employee engagement should begin at the recruitment stage and be reflected in your recruitment efforts – devise a strategy to ensure you are attracting the right types of employees.
5. Get to know your staff
Employees feel valued if they feel as though you make an effort to know who they are. Ask questions about their lives and what’s important to them.
6. Promote health and well-being
High-performing organizations emphasize the importance of health and well-being to their staff. Encouraging work/life balance and following through can make an enormous difference in employee engagement.
7. Help those who aren’t performing well
Disengaged employees could have other things going on in their lives, or might just be having problems grasping a project or a concept. If left, their disengagement could fester and become worse. Reach out to them at the earliest opportunity and offer help.
8. Give employees a voice
Engagement is a two-way street. Find out what your employees want by asking them. There are many platforms you can use from surveys to discussion forums.
9. Rewards and Recognition
Launching and maintaining a system that recognizes and rewards employee initiative will give you a competitive edge as an employer.
10. Reduce stress
The promotion of stress-reduction techniques in your workforce will ensure that both energy levels and productivity are high.
