Improving Employee Engagement

If you're not looking for ways to increase employee engagement, you should be. Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work and willing to work hard to further your company's interests. Unfortunately, engaging employees is often a difficult task, especially in companies that do not offer many opportunities for advancement. If you are responsible for your company's employee engagement initiatives, try these tactics.

Don't keep employees in the dark about your company's vision and goals. Having shared goals motivates employees and makes them more likely to find meaning in the work they do. Also let employees know about the challenges the organization is facing. Keeping them out of the loop may prompt some employees to start worrying about the company's future. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs are not fully engaged because they are spending time updating their resumes or discreetly looking for jobs with other companies.

Creating a positive work environment will go a long way toward promoting employee engagement. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make employees feel valued. Throwing an annual holiday party or giving away passes to local entertainment venues will help employees relax and make them feel you truly care about their well-being. Some companies are even engaging employees by coordinating volunteer opportunities and doing group fundraisers for local charitable causes.

A little friendly competition may motivate employees to do their best work, so try holding a contest or putting up a scoreboard to show who is doing well with sales. Encourage employees to cheer each other on instead of turning it into a cutthroat competition. If your company needs a new logo or slogan, run a contest to see which employee comes up with the best idea. Employee engagement increases when workers know you value their input.

Sometimes increasing employee engagement is as simple as recognizing people for the work they do. Do this by creating a company "hall of fame" where you recognize employees for making sales, bringing in new business, cutting costs or doing other things to help the organization succeed. If you work for a small business that doesn't have many employees, try to send a personal note recognizing each big accomplishment. Reward employees with inexpensive perks when they reach their goals. Letting someone come in an hour late or leave an hour early doesn't cost anything, but it can increase job satisfaction and engagement.

Engaged employees are more likely to stay with your company and produce excellent work. If you're not already taking steps to increase employee engagement, try having a shared vision, creating a positive work environment and recognizing employees for their achievements. Using these tactics may also improve retention rates, saving your company money.

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