Employee engagement has always been challenging. Based on Gallup’s longitudinal research, 2020 marked the highest-recorded year for employee engagement at 36 percent, and that number has been steadily slumping in the years since. Even in that best-case scenario, two-thirds of our workforce are more prone to mistakes and aren’t as productive as they can be. They are at high risk of leaving the organization. They put a dent in team morale and company culture. That collective disengagement costs companies between $450-$550 billion annually according to Gallup estimates.
Each employee has a unique set of needs. We will never craft an employee engagement program that fulfills all those needs equally. There are universal strategies we can employ to move our workforce to a more engaged state. We want to make our employees feel valued. We want to provide them with growth opportunities that speak to their professional goals. Ultimately, we need to care about them and be deliberate in supporting their success. Let’s look at five strategies we can use to boost employee engagement.
Listen
People want to be heard. Their voice is unique. It has value. We need to unwrap that value. It’s easy to fall prey to the rhythm of the day. It’s easy to miss the unspoken threads of a conversation that need to be explored. Not asking the right questions shield us from opportunity and keeps problems in the shadows. Practicing active listening is key. With active listening, we are giving the other person our complete focus. We are really hearing what is being said and taking the time to digest it before formulating a response. We are being empathetic and freeing ourselves from judgment. We ask clarifying and open-ended questions to probe deeper. If we make a habit of practicing active listening, we can create deeper relationships with our people. We show them that we value their opinions and unique perspective.
Grow Your People
At Improving, we have a career coaching program called PATH. We view it as an employee benefit no different than a 401k or health care plan. We position it as a differentiator during our recruiting efforts. It’s an active topic during our 1 on 1 conversations. The success stories we’ve seen come out of the PATH program are nothing short of amazing. We’ve baked employee growth into the fabric of who we are. 94 percent of employees said they’d stay with a company longer if they invested in their career according to a LinkedIn study. Stronger, more well-equipped employees will deliver at a higher level for your business. It’s an investment that pays significant dividends. Providing a growth framework isn’t enough. Leadership has to support it, has to carve out time for employees to work on growth activities, and provide guidance and opportunity to help the employee realize their career goals.
Show Appreciation
A few years ago, I discovered that I was struggling to show appreciation to others. I talked all around appreciation without coming out and saying the words. This realization triggered a practice of gratitude tracking. How am I highlighting the great things people are doing every day, and in what ways am I calling out their impact? Regularly performing this exercise continually brought it back into focus until it became a regular habit. This seemingly insignificant practice yielded noticeable results. These measures of gratitude helped foster behaviors that benefited the employee and the team. It helped me develop stronger connections with those I worked with. Don’t get caught in the trap of applying the same form of appreciation to all people. Each employee has their own love language so take the time to find out which forms of appreciation speak most clearly to them.
Make Time
As executives, we have endless demands on our time. It’s easy to unknowingly communicate to people that we don’t have time for them without ever saying a word. In order to foster open and honest communication, we have to actively combat this perception. I have a standing appointment with each of my people monthly to talk about anything that matters to them. Work topics are naturally front of mind, but my goal is to go beyond. I want to explore their passions and find creative ways to make a connection. When we are deliberate in setting aside time for people, it shows them that they are the priority. All those endless demands on our calendar don’t supersede their importance in our world. When we make time for these important conversations, we show people they are valued.
Set Expectations
Few things are more frustrating than putting in a lot of quality work only for your boss to come back and say that’s not what they wanted. Gaps in communication can erode employee engagement if we aren’t vigilant in closing them. We need to set clear expectations around what we want. We should properly define what success looks like and the definition of done. We should build measures of accountability and feedback to ensure things stay on track. We also need to follow up when things have changed, and never assume someone picked up a subtle shift from a passing comment in a meeting. When we properly clarify expectations and provide support, we empower people and provide them the autonomy to grow.
A more engaged workforce is a more profitable one – 21 percent more according to Gallup. Developing a highly engaged workforce doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a leadership team willing to put in the work. Willing to leave behind the safety of what they’ve always done in an effort to get better. We must communicate better with our teams, providing effective feedback and asking for it in return. We need to provide our employees with the support, tools, and knowledge for them to feel empowered in their work. We need to build trust and be transparent with our intentions. It certainly isn’t the easy road, but it’s the one worth taking.
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