Full time workers spend many hours of each day and a huge part of their lives in the workplace, so it matters to them how they feel about the work they do. For managers, it is equally important to keep their employees engaged in whatever the company does. If workers are disengaged, there is a huge possibility that they will look for other opportunities. What’s worse, their attitude can have a negative effect on the productivity of the entire team.
Good leaders acknowledge the fact that employee engagement is a huge asset to the organization, and that implementing a solid engagement strategy is a priority. Here’s what you should do to keep your employees engaged and productive:
#1 Take Time to Know Your Employees
Get to know your people better by asking and learning about what they love doing. This will help you build better relationships with your employees, which has a direct effect on their motivation and engagement. Also, demonstrate even in the smallest and simplest ways that their happiness and wellbeing matter to you.
#2 Offer Your Employees Basic and Essential Training
Effective managers pay attention to their employees’ career advancement by providing them with the training they need. By making sure they have the skills to complete their tasks properly, you are giving them motivation to achieve their goals, and this can lead to a higher level of engagement. Managers should realize that employees feel more engaged when they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and roles in the organization.
#3 Recognize and Appreciate Your Employees
Getting some sort of recognition from a manager is an important motivator for workers, which also promotes productivity and positive behavior.
To be an effective manager, you have to make employee recognition easy and visible to your employees. It does not have to include money or expensive things; in fact, even a ‘nice job’ or ‘thank you’ can go a long way in making your employees feel good about themselves.
#4 Emphasize the Importance of Teamwork
Teamwork is the result of trust and openness between employees and managers. When employees are made to feel that they are an important part of a team in the company, they become more enthusiastic about their jobs.
You can encourage teamwork by acknowledging the efforts of those employees who offer their help to others, and creating channels in which workers can recognize one another’s efforts. When trust is formed between employees, they become more engaged and obviously happy with the relationships they have with their coworkers.
#5 Do Not Ignore Employee Feedback
Employee surveys are conducted to determine if there are changes in the organization that employees wish to have. Thus, any executive coaching professional would always emphasize the importance of acting on employees’ feedback. If they don’t see any changes in the way business is run in the company, they will feel like their voices are unheard and ignored. Indeed, lack of action on the side of the management can significantly reduce employee engagement and productivity.
