Engaged employees are productive employees. Losing your team to Facebook or online shopping costs you hours of potential innovation each month.
But you can’t force loyalty on employees. Companies need realistic strategies for grabbing and keeping the attention of employees.
Here are 5 ways to increase employee engagement.
1. Tools
Employees can’t do their job without the right tools. If you’re asking more than your providing in this area, it’s a quick way to have employees check out mentally.
Businesses that don’t invest in their technology or internal resources come across as less serious about their goals. It’s not on an employee to figure out workarounds for getting the job done.
Provide your employees with the right resources for things like sales, marketing, and even productivity. Make sure your technology is up to date so they aren’t taking twice as long to do small tasks as someone at another firm.
Expect your coworkers to share information with others in your industry. You’ll quickly get a poor reputation as an employer for ignoring employee requests for resources to do their jobs better.
2. Coach
Another way to keep new employees engaged is through coaching. While this absolutely isn’t just for new employees, it is an option to keep the momentum going while they’re excited about the new position.
Coaching is taken on by a leader within your organization who can provide individual attention to employees looking for ways to boost performance. It’s a win-win situation because it puts employees on the fast track to promotion while allowing employees to tap into unseen talent.
You can start coaching programs for veteran employees who volunteer for the option. They’ll appreciate not feeling stagnant in their positions and see the work from a new light.
3. Increase Internal Communications
It’s not all on marketing to get the word out about your company. Internal communications teams have an obligation to share company news with all employees so even the people in your warehouse are versed about your product.
You never know when a chance conversation between one of your secretaries and a caller could result in new business. Everyone in your organization is a salesman.
Treat them with that respect by sharing information and product updates company-wide.
4. Offer Incentives
Productivity incentives are a great way to increase employee engagement. It’s true you already pay your employees to work, but what about going above and beyond?
Praise those teams within the company that exceeds your goals. Make sure they are recognized in public spaces.
5. Build Camaraderie
Employee engagement is easier when employees feel like a team. Build camaraderie with team-building exercises each month.
Consider planning an employee retreat where employees can learn skills together and take an edge off the competitive office environment.
You won’t know what it is that brings employees together as a team until you try out your team-building exercises over time.
Top Employee Engagement for Small Teams
It’s easy to overlook employee engagement at small businesses. But employee engagement is the lifeblood of your organization.
It’s the difference between being a good and a great company with a fast-growing customer network. For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.
