employee engagement

In today’s increasingly challenging hiring landscape, companies struggle with finding and retaining employees. Among the top reasons why people resign is the lack of employee engagement. In a nutshell, employee engagement is the sense of passion and commitment employees have for the work they do for their companies. More engaged employees are more earnest to do everything within their means, even proactive and discretionary behaviors and tasks, to ensure the success of the organization they belong to. 

Employee turnover cannot be avoided, but there are steps that your company can take to improve employee engagement and ensure the retention of a deep talent pool. Check out these insightful ways to increase or even keep employee engagement at an optimum. 

Just like clockwork 

Orison Swett Marden said that “success is the child of drudgery and perseverance.” While this still rings true for the most part, the notion of the acceptance of drudgery as being critical to success has been challenged a great deal by millennials. This generation constitutes the largest chunk of today’s working population in the United States.

Gen Xers want to be of great value to the company. The easiest way to make them resign is by asking them to do repetitive and time-consuming tasks that do not require decision-making. While these tasks have their rightful place in the smooth order of business, automating these can free up valuable employee time and energy that can be more productive elsewhere. 

What are some things you can automate at work? One big time-waster is the routing and following up of documents for approval. Do it electronically! Work with your computer engineering department to create an automated workflow where notifications ring off when documents are left unattended for a set period. Automate the forwarding of documents to the next level of approval as soon as the preceding authority affixes their e-signature. How about the sharing of calendars, the automatic backing up of files, and the processing of online surveys? There are quite a number of these tasks. The sooner you automate these, the better for company productivity and employee engagement

Strength in diversity 

Technological innovations have enabled the creation of a uniquely dynamic workforce from different locations all over the globe. The advantages to a workplace enriched with cultural diversity are evident. You can leverage the multifaceted perspectives of your employees with their treasure troves of experiences and insights gleaned from different experiences and backgrounds. But this feature of the modern-day workforce also comes with its own set of challenges. How do you manage and, more importantly, make diversity work for you?

Key is a work culture that completely embraces and encourages cultural diversity. From top management to the ground, the overarching values should heighten appreciation of individual uniqueness and similarities. Several institutions provide companies with training on global citizenship for the successful integration of culturally diverse teams. This includes business etiquette, basic good manners, awareness of cultural sensitivities, and so on. Modules on communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, bridge the cultural divide without diluting cultural uniqueness. Leverage diversity and make your company extraordinary. 

Well-placed trust

A lack of recognition can also drive employee disengagement. Without constant feedback, collaboration opportunities, and growth prospects, an employee can feel a lack of worth to the organization. 

Strengthen employee engagement further with the regular assessment of their strengths and provision of growth opportunities. When you give your employees challenging projects that they can champion based on their respective skill sets, you help bring out employee potential. Not only do you help them build trust in themselves, but you also build their confidence in their career trajectory in your organization. An employee who feels valued is more likely to be passionate about contributing to company success. Just remember to guide them along the way with regular checkpoints and ease up as they become more and more confident to lead the way.

Remote but very much afloat 

As remote work becomes more the norm than the exception, the challenge for companies is how to keep them as engaged as ever. Even in remote work setups, it is still possible not just to survive but also to thrive. Incorporate team-building activities into your regular work schedule. Many virtual fun activities help team members get to know each other on a more intimate level. A heightened sense of appreciation and deeper understanding of each other can lead to stronger collaboration for more effective remote teams.

Keep your connection strong with your employees with more quality calls. Be ready with your agenda. Let your employees know that you value their time as much as they do by coming prepared to virtual meetings.

But wait, before you set up that next video meeting, consider if you can do away with a visual meeting platform. To avoid zoom fatigue, consider audio-only calls for regular meetings with less than five participants where you do not need to screen-share. Audio-only calls allow for more relaxed and still productive conversations.

When you do check on your employees, do not forget to ask how they are. Be genuinely interested in them. Show them that you not only value them for the work they do but are also concerned about their general welfare. Better work relationships make for happier, more engaged, and more deeply committed employees, wherever they may be.