Top 8 Best Practices To Increase Employee Engagement In The Company

According to recent research, 71% Executives agree that employee engagement is critical to the success of their businesses. 

Understandably, it is difficult to drive employee engagement and the majority of companies would agree to it. 

Retaining the top talent is not easy. 

This makes employing the best practices for employee engagement inevitable for a productive corporate environment.

Companies usually focus on the other aspects of human resource development namely leadership, performance, and culture. 

The key, however, is to create a broad HR strategy that focuses entirely on employee engagement. 

The holistic approach automatically improves the small areas of employee development, which in turn completes the jigsaw puzzle.

Top 8 Practices to improve employee engagement in the workplace

If you have recently noticed a change in your employee engagement level or wish to get acquainted with what employee engagement is all about, then consider implementing these best practices. These practices assure you of a positive impact on the work culture. 

Implementing these eight crucial strategies promises a productive and effective team that feels valued and thus delivers better results.

Without any further ado, let’s dive right in.

1. Motivate your employees 

A major part of employee engagement is to motivate and excite your employees about what they do. 

The inspiration, however, needs to be intrinsic where you focus on reminding your employees about the big picture. It shows you care and are working for the betterment of the world. 

Intrinsic motivation should not be confused with extrinsic motivation which focuses only on materialistic things like fame and money. 

When employees relate to their work and understand that their tasks can make the world a better place to live in, it instills positivity and an urge to perform better. They are thus inspired and encouraged and are better engaged with the company. Inspiring your employees is a sure-shot way to elevate their experience.

2. Prioritize two-way communication

Facetime between the employee and the manager plays a key role in improving employee engagement. 

Communication helps in instilling satisfaction. One-on-one meetings, departmental meetings, leadership emails, employee engagement surveys, exit interviews, social media are a few ways.

While there are various methods to communicate with your employees, one-on-one meetings take the lead. It helps to build the right rapport with the employee and lets the managers understand what is working well and what is not.

Regular one-on-one meetings give you clarity on the challenges that the employees could be facing in the work environment. It lets you address the employee concerns to create their path to better success and engagement. 

A highly engaged work culture is appreciated and translates to increased employee engagement for the organization.

The idea is to allow the employees to be able to voice out their concerns without the fear of being judged. There could be several issues that a manager may be overlooking. 

Getting to the grassroots level and understanding the challenges can be a breakthrough for any organization. It lets the managers put themselves in the employees’ shoes and work towards their betterment. 

In turn, employees feel comfortable to speak out their concerns, see that their issues are being addressed, and feel proud to be engaged with a company that they know truly values them.

3. Offer flexibility for better performance

Companies should prioritize employee flexibility because life can be messy at times. 

Taking care of a sick kid or ailing parents is a part of the employee’s responsibility and companies need to accept this part of their personal lives. If you want your employees to be engaged then it is time to embrace the personal commitments of the employee.

Life outside work will at times disrupt deliverables and that should be okay. An employee who is unable to meet his personal priorities because of work commitments will immediately drop down on the employee engagement scale.

The idea is to make your employees feel comfortable. Showing empathy and offering a level of flexibility is an important aspect not to be overlooked. 

While yes, it is vital to have some guardrails in place, if the employee feels valued and respected you will be surprised to see how little you may have to impose those guardrails on them. 

4. Recognize your employees

Do not wait for a Reward and recognition program to recognize your employees’ hard work. 

Employees feel motivated when you acknowledge their efforts. They feel appreciated and thus driven to perform even better. 

Making your employees wait to get that little bit of appreciation can quickly see a drop in their engagement.

Recognize your employee immediately. Millennial employees seek immediate gratification and thus exercising on-spot recognition is crucial to improve employee engagement in the workplace. 

Check out the various employee engagement platforms that let you measure and keep track of the employee engagement matrix.

Employees deserve it and desire it. Even a simple verbal appreciation can go a long way to improve employee engagement. This does not just make the employee feel valued but also makes the others work hard to perform better.

5. Initiate employee giving programs 

Volunteering opportunities organized by a company do not just help in building team value but also instill respect for the company. 

Employees feel proud in working for companies that positively contribute to society. 

Volunteering opportunities unite employees for a large purpose and let them connect with themselves as well as with the organization at a deep level.

It has been observed that volunteering activities help to improve employee morale. Companies that engage in various charitable programs are respected by the employees. 

Look to engage in volunteering opportunities and plan events after working hours. It is a great way to join and work as a team and give back to society. 

Enable your employees to donate and volunteer to causes that matter both to the company and to them. If you want to encourage employee giving why not get started today with Alaya and connect with your team through physical and online volunteering activities. 

6. Create a diverse work environment

Building diversity in the organization is not just about race. A diverse environment encompasses much more than that. 

A diverse work culture includes employees of both genders, varied age groups, personalities, financial background, education, and much more. This helps to increase your company’s brand value and improves employee engagement as they do not feel discriminated against.

Diversity should be addressed at each step of the HR strategy. 

Special programs that support and include diversity in the company are a must to create a happy and fair work culture. 

A diverse work culture makes employees feel comfortable and that is a major aspect to feel confident in the workplace and work to their full potential. 

7. Always prioritize  mental and physical well-being

A mentally and physically able employee is of value to your company. It thus pays to work on the overall well-being of the employees. A wellness initiative followed company-wide is a sure-shot mantra of improving employee engagement. 

Sponsoring workout classes, offering fitness and gym memberships, and encouraging a healthy lifestyle are simple steps to improve employee wellbeing. 

A short break for meditation and a well-stocked canteen with healthy snacks are ways to work towards better mental and physical health of your employees and in turn scale up employee engagement.

While most organizations today do focus on physical health with an in-house gym and swimming pool in the office premises, it is also important to take care of the mental wellbeing of the employees. 

Long hours of work, no family time, and pressure of deadlines can be taxing, in turn spoiling the mental health of the employee. Regular counseling can be a great way to help employees to work towards better mental balance. 

8. Invest in employee development

When it comes to employee development, the first thing companies focus on is to conduct several leadership programs. That is amazing but just a small part of what the employees exactly desire.

Development should not just be for the top roles but for employees at all levels. The development programs should be carefully planned to keep employee roles and responsibilities in mind. 

For example, a Communications individual will not get much from a Java coding session. The development programs need to follow defined learning and the success criteria should also be spelled out. 

A great idea is to set aside a training budget for every employee to focus on their development by enrolling into courses or programs that can help in their overall career development. They can express their interest to pursue such programs and their managers should be more than willing to help where required. 

Any development program should not be forced upon the employee and must be absolutely voluntary. Monotonous development and training sessions are no good for anyone. Instead, a carefully planned training program keeps the employees happy which reflects in their work.

Conclusion

It could feel overwhelming to review the best practices for employee engagement. 

There seem to be many factors that need to be considered. While yes it asks for a lot of your time to craft out the best employee engagement programs, the underlying idea is simple — and that is to keep your employees happy by treating them well. 

Give your employees their personal space, let them feel fulfilled when working for your organization, and assist them with their career and personal growth. 

If the key objective is met, then rest everything will automatically fall in its place.