Engaged employees — those who come to work each day motivated to do their best, eager to meet their deadlines and finish their projects, and who care about their work — are more likely to stay in their positions without looking to change jobs. That means engaged employees are a big boost to your retention numbers and can be great advocates for people considering joining your company.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep employees engaged, especially after they’ve been with a company for a while. It’s like any other relationship: Once the new shine starts to fade, it takes a little work to keep the fires going.
If you’re looking for ways to reignite the spark amongst your team, here are three ideas to consider.
How to Increase Employee Engagement
Improve Communication and Efficiency
How many times have you heard employees say that a given meeting could’ve been an email? While great for collaboration and brainstorming, meetings do take your team away from their work and out of their “zone” from concentrating on their work to thinking about something else entirely. Meetings also can be easily derailed from the intended focus by chit-chat (and we want employees to talk to each other! But maybe not right at this moment) and bringing up other topics that don’t pertain to the reason the meeting was called. Instead, send an email when possible, adding all the pertinent details and assignments. If a meeting is needed, make it short and very focused on the topic at hand. Making this switch will also help improve your company’s communication skills, as people will need to learn to express their needs and questions clearly and concisely in written materials, making for an improved and more efficient team.
Encourage Feedback and Follow-Up on It
Asking your team for their opinions and thoughts will, at first, feel like an empty gesture, especially if your company doesn’t often do so or if employees feel like their voices won’t actually be heard. The best way to make these inquiries meaningful and effective is to show you mean business: When someone makes a suggestion for how to change a practice or policy, or if there’s a request for something simple like more recycling bins, follow through and make that change, then call out that this update happened because someone asked for it. It might take a little while to build trust that comments, and questions are and will be addressed, but it’s time worth investing in your team in order to strengthen your employees’ buy-in to the company and their roles in it. It’s also a great idea to embrace the other kind of feedback too: Talk to your team, individually and as a group, about their successes. Call out their strengths and how far they’ve come. Give them feedback on areas in which they can improve, but do so while also complementing their strengths. This will demonstrate that you’re paying attention and noticing their efforts and contributions, and feeling seen and not taken for granted can help people feel like their work is noticed and appreciated.
Embrace Work-Life Balance and Well-Being
If you want your employees to be engaged in their work, you must be engaged in them as people. They need to feel supported, encouraged, and trusted, and for their other priorities outside of work to be acknowledged and understood. This can take many forms: Respecting that once people clock out for the day, they are not to be contacted or expected to respond to communications unless it’s a real emergency; adopting or allowing flexible hours in order to meet family or personal obligations; access to resources if they’re in need of assistance. Make sure your team is aware of any wellness programs your company offers, including discounted gym memberships through their insurance, encouraging them to take their lunch break, away from work, every day, and ensuring no one is taking on too much work so they’re feeling stressed and at risk of burning out. Supporting your employees as individuals and making sure they have what they need to be successful creates a healthier work environment and one in which people like coming to work every day.
See How ABLE Can Help Your Team Grow!
You know your employees and their patterns. You probably also know where the pressure points are and who constantly steps up when others ignore their needs. Tailor your approach to make sure the hardest workers are acknowledged and appreciated, as they will continue to set the standard for the rest of their team.
When you need to add new members to your team, and you need a little help finding qualified candidates, turn to ABLE Associates! We have great candidates who are eager to get to work and will be enthusiastic to join your team and make a powerful impact right away. Call ABLE Associates today and see what we can do for you!