One of the most important factors to running a successful business is knowing how to engage your employees. As a manager, your goal is to have employees who are proud of what they do and the company they work for. There’s a simple philosophy behind this – people who work with purpose put forth their best efforts, which can only benefit the company.
What is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is more than knowing whether your employees love what they do. You should know who they are as individuals and as a group. Measuring employee engagement tells you how committed they are to the business, its development, and its success. It lets you know how emotionally invested they are in their jobs.
Disengaged Employee:
- Lacks the ambition to genuinely care about their job or organization. While they may not openly declare their dissatisfaction, their attitude slips into negativity and affects their work.
- Is stagnant in individual development and is disinterested in organization goal-attainment.
- Is focused on personal gains as opposed to team, departmental, or organizational best interests.
Engaged employee:
- Has a clear sense of ownership, satisfaction, purpose and pride in regards to their job.
- Is passionate about, committed to, and contributes to their organization and its goals.
- Is energized, enthusiastic and self-motivated.
- Is focused on the organization’s objectives, not just their own.
- Functions as an ambassador for the organization.
Knowing your employees’ level of engagement is the first step in utilizing this knowledge to the company’s benefit. From here, you can work on improving employee engagement within the company. Creating a happy, engaged, and motivated workforce should be one of every manager’s key goals.
How to Engage Your Employees?
Aside from measuring employee engagement, there are four more steps you can do to engage with your employees successfully:
- Hire Smart from the Start
When hiring, it’s important to think of how the potential hire will add to the company’s growth. Their skills on paper say one thing, but whether they are the right fit for your company is another. You aim to hire someone who doesn’t need to be micromanaged and who will be the fitting addition to your positive work atmosphere.
- Keep Employees Informed
Communication is imperative in business. Keeping your employees updated with your company news is a vital part of the communication process. Ensure your employees of any significant upcoming changes in the company so they can prepare in advance. When employees know the company’s main goals, they can plan their future around those goals.
- Promote Professional Development
People have ambitions to do well in life and their careers. Most of the employees never stop learning new skills because they value career development. As a leader, make sure to allow them to prove themselves. Encourage active participation, educational pursuits in and out of the office, organize initiatives, and more.
- Promote a Fun Working Environment
Working in a fun environment adds to the sense of camaraderie between team members and also promotes creativity. A fun working environment is a positive one, and it can also help keep workers enthusiastic in their work. Not only does a fun working environment help current employees enjoy what they do, but it can also help attract future talent. If someone loves working with you, they are more likely to refer others to apply for any open roles in your company.
