The concept of employee engagement has been built on positive psychology, HR experience and business models that attract an organization’s employees towards an effective culture of success.
Focusing on employees
In today’s market, building an organization brand takes place through external and internal efforts, but, in the majority of cases, companies decide to centralize their activity only on the external aspect of their business. However, neglecting the aspects that take place in-house decreases the chances of creating an appealing workplace which results in non-engaged or, worse, disengaged employees. And that’s not good for business.
As opposed to engaged workers, who are actively involved in the organization, disengaged employees will work to undermine and are more or less detrimental in the working environment. Alternatively, non-engaged employees offer maybe the greatest opportunity for a business to enhance their efficiency and performance. They have little or no concern about productivity, profitability or quality due to a lack of motivation. According to statistics, the majority of workers fall into this category. However, converting these workers into engaged employees is one of the most efficient procedure that any organization can focus on to enhance sustainable performance and growth.
Manager’s role in employee engagement
The relationship between employees and their immediate manager is crucial because it determines their levels of engagement, performance and retention. This is why first line managers play a key role in enhancing employee engagement. Their position makes them have the best insight into the particular needs and characteristics of both employees and customers.
For a lot of managers, the big question is how to improve engagement and encourage innovation at the ground level, keeping engaged employees interested in their work and captivating non-engaged workers. From basic formalities, like saying thank you or praising their good work, there are a lot of practices that could improve one’s engagement in the workplace.
Employee engagement effective methods
As a manager, you need to clearly communicate the organization’s principles, vison and goals to all your employees, making sure that they understand these guiding values. This can unify the workplace and offer justification for employees to take pride in the organization they contribute to. To build a culture of high employee engagement, you have to be inspirational, open and available. You must share compelling success stories that emphasize the vision and values of the organization.
Managers should encourage employees to speak their mind in helping to increase employee engagement. Find out what they are thinking and how they see themselves more engaged at work through surveys and social media, and then find methods to apply and extend these “best practices” throughout the organization. Also expressing appreciation by rewarding top performance and cooperation is another avenue through which you can engage more efficiently your employees. When employees are motivated to meet tangible goals by being given the tools to flourish, sufficient autonomy and a fair amount of responsibility, the productivity and employee engagement rise.
Having employee-focused policies that express real interest in your employees and that make an investment in their physical and emotional well-being have a great impact on employee satisfaction. Beyond being a major activator of employee engagement, the benefits of caring about increasing the well-being of employees are outstanding, proving that the company is willing to take steps to improve the quality of their life and happiness. That’s the type of organization an employee wants to contribute to and work hard for. The goal here is to meet their human needs, to make them feel connected to the company’s vision and principles, and to offer them the opportunity to be an essential part of a purpose bigger than just their job or the organization.