How to Boost Employee Engagement: Tips for a Happier, More Productive Team
Many businesses have seen their work environments dramatically change over the last couple years, which can be hard to navigate from an employee’s perspective. When employees switch between working remotely, returning to the office, or a hybrid arrangement, their workloads and day-to-day responsibilities can quickly become overwhelming. It’s difficult to know when your high-performing workers struggle, so being proactive is key.
Gallup’s workplace research found that the daily stress levels of workers increased from 38% in 2019 to 43% in 2020. To retain employees and increase productivity in a distributed workforce, business leaders must learn how to boost and maintain employee engagement. To achieve this, you need a strategy.
Here are some ways to promote employee involvement, commitment, and enthusiasm at your company.
Empowering your employees is one of the best ways to drive engagement. Give them access to technology, remove barriers, and simplify the processes they need to get their jobs done. That way, employees can move between tasks quickly, making them feel more efficient and flexible. In a rapidly changing environment, your ability to help them adapt is vital.
A lack of communication can result in poor peer-to-peer collaboration, especially in environments with a mix of in-office and remote employees. Prioritizing and encouraging good communication on your team is critical, especially when it comes to shared team goals. Prioritize regular contact with your team members, reiterate goals, and highlight how each member can contribute to make tasks more meaningful.
You can also collect feedback from your employees to gauge perceptions and gather insight. Consider circulating an annual or biannual survey to your team.
Research from The Predictive Index indicates that 76% of employees believe that a great manager expresses recognition for good work. A structured employee recognition program that’s part of consistent contact will help you improve productivity, employee engagement, and retention numbers.
When you recognize an employee for doing great work, you’ll bolster their enthusiasm. A public thank-you, a bonus, or a gift card that employees can use on whatever they want are all great ways to say thanks.
When you onboard new employees, is their growth top of mind? The onboarding process is one of the best times to introduce new hires to their jobs, teams, and department goals. You want to excite them about working at the company and be proactive to help them avoid confusion. Remember to introduce them to potential mentors and coworkers who can help smooth the transitions from training to regular work.
Training, coaching, and mentoring need to be part of the employee experience from their first day. Continuing to invest in an employee’s future shows you believe in their potential, increasing their commitment to the job.
Think beyond their continuing education on their tasks to cross-training for other positions and other departments to broaden their understanding of the business. You can also create a career track so that promising employees advance in the company.
First, encourage managers to have conversations with their team members about their goals and look for learning opportunities for them. Then, publish new opportunities for your employees to pursue. Finally, reward managers who are behind the growth of a staff member who transitions to a position or department higher on the company chain with a bonus or a gift card.
Consider allowing your employees to train for tasks that speak to their interests. Put together a job rotation plan where workers can try several positions to see what sparks their interest and uses their natural abilities. After completion, participants can join the department that stoked their intrinsic interests.
Help employees connect with the community and each other by organizing a team volunteer opportunity. In 2017, Deloitte discovered that among working Americans, 70% of employees felt that volunteer opportunities were a better motivator than happy hours, and 89% of employees thought companies that sponsor charities offer a better environment.
Recognizing and rewarding employees goes a long way when it comes to sustaining engagement in the workplace. Curious how our customers are doing it? Many use Reward Link—the fastest, easiest way to send a choice of gift cards instantly through email.
Employees simply click the redemption link in their email and are directed to a global catalog filled with 100+ digital gift cards to choose from.
Reward Link is a great way to boost employee engagement. Email sales@tangocard.com to learn how it can help you create a happy, more productive environment.
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