How to Increase Employee Engagement

Between selecting the best benefits, offering competitive compensation, reviewing PTO policies and more, keeping employees engaged at work can sometimes feel like a necessary, yet very difficult task. However, with the right strategies in place, it doesn’t have to be!

What Is Employee Engagement?

Let’s start with a simple definition. Employee engagement is the level of enthusiasm and commitment an employee has for work, an organization, and its goals. Employee enthusiasm is often infectious which means when an employee is happy at work and engaged, they are more likely to talk positively about the company, stay longer with the organization, and encourage others to do the same. It makes a positive impact on the overall employee experience. As an employer, promoting employee engagement doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through intentionally creating an environment where employees can grow and thrive.

The Benefits of an Engaged Workforce

Time and time again research has proven that happy and engaged employees are more profitable and stay longer.

Businesses with higher engagement scores showed 21 percent higher levels of profitability than those with lower scores.

Gallup

And, because the average cost of turnover is  approximately 33% of employees’ base pay, making sure your employees are fully invested definitely protects your bottom line.

Again, when employees are engaged, they become advocates for your company. Specific benefits of an engaged workforce include:

• increased productivity
• improved morale
• higher job satisfaction
• reduced turnover and
• better collaboration among team members
  

RELATED: [Template] Employee Engagement Survey Template

Tips to Increase Employee Engagement

So what does it take to get employees to engage? Employee engagement ideas can only take you so far. You also have to know your employees to create the combination that works best for your team. Start by reviewing information from employee engagement surveys to help identify what matters to your specific set of employees.

Once you have an initial set of information you can create an approach. To help, here are 5 employee engagement strategies to help increase the effort your associates invest in the workplace.

1. Communicate how performance aligns with the business
   When there is a clear connection between an associate’s work and business strategy, a line of sight is created that gives them a reason to come to work and put in their best effort. By being open and acknowledging the dedication of your employees, you make their work more fulfilling.
2. Offer work challenges & a chance for input
   Neither managers nor their employees can do their best work on their own. When your managers are willing to collaborate with associates and delegate some tasks, everyone is able to do their job effectively and hear a variety of points of view. If employees feel trusted and that their work is important, they will naturally feel more inclined to do it well.
3. Personalize career development
   The workforce, especially with the addition of the Millennials, is becoming more focused on how on-the-job experiences can improve an employee’s skill set and their company’s future. Some great ways to foster personal development within the workplace include:
   • Creating affinity groups and ERGs
   • Ask employees to self-assess strengths and weaknesses
   • Use subject matter experts within your company as teachers
4. Develop great managers
   Developing great leaders is especially important, because the three previous tips all depend on having managers who are invested in their associates. By keeping managers informed and engaged, their job of encouraging employee engagement becomes much easier. Get help developing your leaders with the COR Leadership Framework.
5. Re-recruit employees
   These days, recruiting new talent is a major focus, but there needs to be an emphasis on engaging existing employees as well. Periodically check in with your employees to assess their “flight risk” and make sure their concerns are being addressed to assure them that they are being heard and appreciated.

“Engagement is dead. Get people anchored.”

Steve Browne, Chief People Officer, LaRosa’s

In today’s business world, only one in three employees is engaged and there are more job openings than people to fill open positions. The fact is, your dissatisfied employees can and will take their talent somewhere else. Be proactive and use an employee engagement survey to assess the potential needs of the workforce.

Other Employee Engagement FAQs

What role does recognition play in boosting employee engagement?

Recognition plays a vital role in employee engagement. When leaders acknowledge and show appreciation for an employee’s efforts, they better understand their contributions and are clear of how they are valued. This positive reinforcement also leads to increased motivation and a stronger commitment to the organization.

How can organizations promote work-life balance to enhance employee engagement?

By offering flexible work arrangements, when practical, employees can easily balance personal or familial responsibilities and work responsibilities. Relieving the stress of an employee can free up bandwidth to help them become more focused when it is time to work. Additionally, enhancing wellness programs and encouraging time off helps employees feel valued on and off the clock.

How can employee surveys help in identifying areas for improvement in employee engagement?

Anonymous employee engagement surveys are a valuable tool in collecting honest feedback and insights directly from employees. With the right set of questions, employees will share their opinions and concerns about job satisfaction, communication, leadership, work-life balance, benefits and more. Additionally, the quantitative data will provide leadership with a specific course of action (including priorities and focus areas) for how to better promote employee engagement in the future. Further, this information can help teams set benchmarks for measurement.

How Paycor Helps

Don’t wait until it’s too late to retain your talented workforce. Know what the employees in your organization are thinking and feeling with Pulse Surveys. Instead of once annually, you can conduct short employee engagement surveys frequently and anonymously to uncover insights and enhance your organization’s employee engagement.

Get help creating the ideal employee experience today.