Over the last year the importance of employee engagement and retention has continued to rise in businesses. Every company wants to attract and keep the best talent.
The problem?
Many employees in today’s job market quickly feel uninspired by their work, get bored after 2 years and start job hunting for something new. Not surprisingly quick turnover drains companies, both financially and creatively.
So I thought I would share with you 12 of my top tips tips and employee engagement ideas that I have seen work in companies.
1. Promote transparency and collaboration
Today’s workplace is changing quickly as office locations expand and work-from-home becomes more normal. With this, businesses are met with the increasing challenge of maintaining transparency and team collaboration within a department across the workplace.
People need to feel connected to be fully engaged and tools such as Monday.com, teamwork.com and slack facilitate this collaboration.
2. Have show and tell
Your employees probably have loads of ideas that could help the company. However, they might not have anywhere to share them. Have a quarterly show and tell where employees can present what they have been up to and ideas they believe might do the company good.
3. Get your health and wellness program in order
Anyone who knows about employee engagement is an advocate of health and wellness programs. There have been multiple scientific studies proving that health and wellness efforts not only yield higher productivity and engagement in the workplace but will also help reduce turnover as job stress is the number 1 reason people quit.
So pick and choose from wellness program ideas that suit your team. If your office is full of natural foodies, then you might consider regular restaurant excursions. If fitness is your team’s thing, then you can hold a fitness challenge.
4. Celebrate personal wins
If someone on your team hits their monthly or quarterly target, make it a win for your department or the whole company. Announce it to the rest of the team and celebrate with a Friday Happy Hour or fun outing.
5. Emphasise work-life balance
Work-life balance often seems like an impossible struggle. It’s difficult to find that right balance between work and personal life to feel good that both areas are receiving enough attention. Additionally the balance is going to mean something different for each employee, so speak with your team to see what you can be doing better as an business to enhance it. Often times you’ll find that a flexible work schedule will be the easiest way to help people feel more balanced between work and leisure.
6. Send out an employee survey to get honest feedback
It’s always a lot easier for employees to say how they really feel in an anonymous survey.
Use a tool like Culture Amp or SurveyMonkey to create a survey and send it out to your team. Surveys are one of the few ways to actually measure and track engagement, so definitely make this part of your efforts.
Ask questions like:
- How are you feeling? What’s the morale you see around you?
- What one thing will make the biggest improvement in your job, your team or the business?
- How satisfied are you with your opportunities for professional growth?
- Do you have a good working relationship with your manager?
7. Provide ongoing coaching and training
Coaching and training shouldn’t stop after an employee’s initial on-boarding process. A study done by Deloitte found that retention is 25% higher for employees who have engaged in company-sponsored coaching.
Some people in your business will proactively seek coaching and training, while others will need it to come directly from their manager. Offer an optional weekly coaching session to discuss strategies and tactics that can help each member of the department improve in their role.
8. Know your company culture and recruit by it
If you know your company culture and recruit by it, you’ll continue onboarding employees who want to work with the person next to them. A positive business culture starts with the relationships between co-workers as well as collaborative dynamics in addition to consistent messages about values and the company purpose.
If you haven’t already, take some time to brainstorm your company’s cultural vision and even get it down in writing. Spend some time with your team and identify the key attributes everyone seems to have in common. Once you’ve established a list of qualities, it will be easier to determine if a candidate will fit into your culture. Keep the qualities specific to find the best fits.
9. Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Dust off that old psychology triangle chart we all know, because Maslow’s hierarchy might have implications for employee engagement. Beyond the salary and the benefits, employees want to know that their work matters.
Try explaining the implications of their efforts into annual reviews instead of just focusing on their performance. While it’s great they completed a special project on time and within budget, go a step further and explain the project’s greater impact on the company.
10. Start a learning club
Get your team more engaged in their work by asking them to think big. Start a learning club where employees select books or podcasts related to your work for everyone to enjoy. Pick a day where everyone discusses the item and its implications for your work. Alternatively once or twice a month, let a team member host a lunch and share learnings on any subject they’re passionate about.
11. Start an office design committee
While it might seem superficial at first glance, giving your employees a chance to be more invested in what they look at everyday could do wonders for engagement. Start an employee design committee to let your employees take some ownership in the place they work.
12. Play “musical chairs”
In many offices, employees don’t need a permanent place to sit. Consider moving employees around on a comfortable, regular basis so everyone gets the chance to sit in different parts of the office and truly get to know fellow team members.
