It is every company’s dream to have workers who are invested and commit their time, talents, and energy for the benefit of an organization. In today’s uncertain business environment engaged employees are extremely valuable because, in addition to bringing in greater profits, their dedication creates a cohesive atmosphere of productivity.
Your employees are your greatest assets, but only if the workforce majority is fully engaged. If not, it would be wise to reassess your approach and understand why some of your employees are only giving their bare minimum and why some would even work against your company’s interests.
Gallup State of the Global Workplace reports that only a mere 21% of employees are engaged in their workplaces. These workers can be considered loyal and emotionally committed, they are enthusiastic and excel at their roles by intelligently utilizing their talents. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with organizations long-term and become leaders in their departments.
A large pool of unused potential lies within the 61% of the workforce that remains unengaged. Sometimes these employees are difficult to spot because they seem satisfied with where they are. They meet the required minimum but they appear to have a ‘’that’s not my job…’’ sort of attitude With a proper approach, unengaged workers can be shown how the company’s vision and goals can benefit them as well.
The third group, making up the final 18% of the workforce are the actively disengaged workers. This group is characterized as being negative, taking up their coworker’s time, and creating a toxic work environment. Sometimes they can be well-respected experts with influence so one should be careful when approaching them or reevaluating their position in the company.
Although you can’t always understand the motives of people and sometimes there is little you can achieve when it comes to their behavior, the least a good leader can do is create an engaging work environment by following these tips.
Listen to your employees and conduct an employee engagement survey
When you often communicate with your workers, you start to get a sense of what they might need to improve. Talking about issues and potentials with your workers will both give you out-of-the-box solutions and will make them feel more valued as members of the organization.
Although surveys are a less personal approach, they can be more efficient in collecting opinions on mass. Another advantage is that surveys can be anonymous which can allow your employees to be completely honest about how valued they feel. Using a Likert scale can be a simple way to see what your workers agree or don’t agree with but a blank space on a paper to elaborate their opinions is also a good idea if you wish to go more in-depth.
Supply the training and the tools
We wish to work in the best possible environment with the most competent resources we can acquire. A company that offers and fosters personal development in its employees is sure to be rewarded with loyalty. Seeing a company invest in their workers’ futures is a strong factor when surveying employee engagement. Of course, skills are not the only thing you need to supply. A company’s infrastructure must include all the necessary tools to complete the desired tasks, especially if the business is growing. Allow your employees to do their jobs and communicate seamlessly by investing in management and engagement tools. You can check out one of these tools on the Blink website, it will help them become more responsive, communicate more often and increase their productivity.
Choose the correct roles and task meaningful work
It is a leader’s responsibility to recognize the right person for the job. All the information you gathered can allow you to play on your employees’ strengths. Seeing who has the potential to advance and giving the optimal amount of work based on what your workers can handle is as important as helping them understand how their effort contributes to the company’s overall mission and strategy.
Provide transparent channels for feedback and reward engagement
Frequently discussing engagement and being open with your employees will get you to the bottom of any issue. If you encourage open communication your employees will value the environment you provided. This will also help in understanding which employees are the most deserving of being rewarded. Openly congratulating and rewarding engagement will create an atmosphere of progress.
Create a clear vision and strong company culture
Knowing where the company is going and the methods it uses can create a sense of unity towards a common goal. Having a clear direction allows your employees to grab onto an idea and invest themselves in its realization. Integrate your workers into your company culture by creating events and activities that are in line with your vision but don’t be afraid to ask them what they prefer as well.
Following these steps, investing some time and money, reestablishing communication channels, and taking a look at what your company’s vision is will help revitalize your working environment and strengthen your relationship with your workers. Just be sure to implement things gradually and not overwhelm your workers by changing too much, too fast.