10 Winning Employee Engagement Strategies

The impact of employee engagement on employee productivity is undeniable. A successful business needs highly motivated employees to stay productive, move forward and upscale.

This means that managers must focus on leading their employees to achieve long-term goals without losing enthusiasm.

Employees are not only essential resources for a company; they are also an organization's greatest asset. Thus, it is vital your workforce stayed engaged and satisfied:

• by providing them with challenging and meaningful work
• by improving their wellbeing at the workplace.

Why it matters: Great corporate culture helps organizations to stay competitive and attract top talent.

Yet, employee engagement is often limited because companies fail to understand how to boost or make enough effort towards this goal.

By taking the proper steps, you can avoid such pitfalls and get closer to becoming a top employer brand.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a concept that describes the commitment and the level of enthusiasm employees have for an organization and its goal.

There are two primary forms of engagement:

• emotional engagement
• behavioral engagement.

Emotional engagement relates to things like passion, pride, and optimism while behavioral engagement comprises activities like a sense of contribution, willingness to exert effort towards goals, and loyalty.

In order to achieve the state of engaged employees, you need a specific model or method that effectively helps you connect with your employees. However simple it seems, it's often a challenge to find and apply the right employee engagement method that would create an umbrella against low motivation or high turnover.

There are many factors to consider to introduce the organizational culture resulting in employee engagement starting as early as the onboarding sessions.

Reasons To Stay Or To Quit

While there are many benefits to working at a job, few people know about the full benefits of staying at work. Meanwhile, they include several points of importance:  

• Money earned at work
• Free professional and career development
• Socializing and meeting new people
• Wellness and healthcare-associated expenses covered by an employer
• Discounts on some services and programs.

The factors listed above create solid foundations for searching and keeping a job. On the other hand, among reasons to quit, there are  five often-mentioned factors:

• Boss micromanages, has unrealistic expectations, or shows a lack of empathy
• The commute time is too long
• Finance-related issues (mostly when employees feel underpaid)
• Toxic work environment
• Low level of motivation.

How to Boost Employee Engagement

While you can't expect an increase in performance overnight by introducing new strategies for boosting employee engagement, you may develop better long-term results with more engaged employees.

Thus, even if your current level of employee engagement isn't low, it still can be improved further. The chance is that investment in engaging your people will pay off over time because top talent will seek employers known for creating the best work environment.  

Following are ten ways you can boost employee engagement in your company.

1. Growth opportunities for employees🌱

The achievement of professional success is one of the major driving forces for lots of employees.

Employees who can see a clear path toward promotion within your organization will be much more satisfied than those who simply punch the clock every day without knowing how their work contributes to bigger goals.

What an employer can do: Give employees the tools and resources they need to do their job well and provide them with opportunities for career advancement so they can grow within your company.

2. Encourage two-way communication 📨

A culture that encourages self-expression goes hand in hand with an engaged workforce. When managers ensure that all voices are heard at each step of the decision-making process, employees begin to recognize that they truly matter as individuals and not just as cogs in the machine.

What an employer can do: That's why it's important to keep a two-way conversation with employees at any given time. You can learn from their perspective while also understanding how certain things should work to achieve the goal.

3. Acknowledge achievements 🏆

It will be a lot for employees to hear about their success at work. When you recognize your employees' achievements, it fosters creativity and accomplishment while increasing engagement by promoting the idea of meaningful work.

It comes as no surprise that companies with recognition programs demonstrate lowering turnover rates by 23.4% than those without them.

What an employer can do: You can aim at throwing any small celebration for every success. Apart from creating an effective feedback mechanism, acknowledging employees’ achievements will also boost their confidence in getting the work done, which improves their productivity in the workplace.

4. Make sure that everyone is rewarded fairly💲💹🎁

When employees are not recognized for their contributions, they may be inclined to move away from the company's goals because they see no personal benefit in sticking around.

However, it’s crucial to stay professional and fair in a team environment.

What an employer can do: If a whole team makes a big success, it’s great to reward them the same. Any different treatment will cause tension between team members.  If employees receive fairly distributed incentives, such as bonuses or other awards for good results, they will improve their professional practices to maintain a position.

5. Create an inclusive workplace environment👩🏽‍🦳👳🏽‍♂️👩🏽‍🦰👨🏽‍🦱

The concept of diversity and inclusivity became an essential part of working culture. One way to build employee engagement is by creating an environment where all kinds of people are welcomed. Encouraging a diverse workforce on board makes it easier for everyone to feel accepted and recognized.

What an employer can do: To organize this work on the systematic level, hire a Chief Diversity Officer whose expertise will result in 'designing and implementing an organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy'.

More on how to build an inclusive workplace, discover all the insights you need here.

6. Provide clear work objectives🔊✍🏽

“Because I’m the boss” attitude became obsolete. Providing clarity in your expectation is a must-have marking a healthy job environment and effective teamwork. The more information employees have about what they're expected to accomplish on the job, the better chance they will succeed on their assigned tasks.

What an employer can do: So, make sure that every employee has a clear understanding of what is required of them when beginning their position and any new directives or milestones throughout each project or task's life-cycle.

7. Promote flexible work arrangements and wellbeing programs🧘🏽‍♀️⌛

Today's businesses are becoming increasingly aware of how important it is for employees to live fulfilling personal lives outside work, which is a reason for dynamics showing that employee wellbeing matters more than ever.

What an employer can do: Providing a flexible time to work with a free time tracker app allows employees to explore their interests and, importantly, forges flexibility and helps them increase productivity at work.

8. Ensure all managers are capable of managing effectively🎯

Managers play an integral role in developing an effective workforce. They must be equipped with both soft and hard skills to achieve their goals successfully.

What an employer can do: 'Bad manager' tops the list of factors that push employees to exit. Rather than waiting, managers can apply practices for better understanding employee motivation and needs through effective listening, coaching abilities, and offering solutions to prevent low morale and poor performance.

9. Offer competitive pay💲💲💲

Salary can be one essential point for new hires in deciding to join a company. It's also the deciding factor for existing employees to continue working in your company or find new opportunities out there. Offering a competitive salary boosts employees’ satisfaction as well as builds retention strategies.

What an employer can do:  Focus on such 'salary-first' questions as 'How do employees feel financially?' and 'What are my competitors likely to do when it comes to hiring and retention?' It is the self-evident truth that the best pay for skilled and motivated employees encourages valuing the job and working harder.

10. Promote social responsibility🖐🏽

Social science researchers have proved that an engaged workforce also means less turnover, better customer satisfaction, more loyal customers, higher productivity, and greater profitability.  A good workplace culture that understands employees' needs is among the top reasons why they stay in your company.

What an employer can do: One of the ways of fulfilling the social responsibilities as an employer implies including employees' healthcare and fitness programs into the contracts.

Conclusion🎇

Employee engagement is crucial in every company as it helps to improve business performance in the long run. Engaged employees can benefit an organization by increasing productivity, improving customer service, reducing attrition rates, and more.

Though a salary shows the top consideration for joining a new company, it's not enough to keep employees engaged.

Employers need to employ the right strategies and tactics in order for the engagement goals to be achieved.

We have compiled a list of 10 winning🌟 employee engagement strategies, so you don't miss any opportunities with your team members and start implementing them without fail.

Author Bio

Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).