by Employer Pass, on Sep 11, 2018 3:47:10 PM
When your workers feel connected to the place they work, their work becomes more meaningful and more enjoyable, and therefore more productive and effective. Employees who feel engaged are less likely to take excessive vacations and sick days, and are more likely to speak genuinely and fondly of the business to their peers, their customers, and their family and friends. However, creating an engaging workplace for your employees involves much more than allowing casual dress fridays.
Wait… What is Employee Engagement?
Studies show that businesses that have truly engaged employees see a significantly more productive workforce, a higher profit margin, and greater employee retention. But what is employee engagement really? To break it down simply, employee engagement is creating a viable and healthy relationship between business and employee.
Best Practices for Engaging Employees
The different generations occupying the workplace are all unique in their needs, wants, and goals. They expect different things out of their careers and value different styles of leadership and motivation. The key is to think about what gets your employees out of bed every day, what makes them want to succeed?
Another factor that is essential to consider is how the engagement of existing employees will positively or negatively influence new hires. The more employees you engage, the more will follow suit. However, it is also important to note that negative energy spreads, and poorly engaged employees will influence the productivity and job satisfaction of others. Therefore, make sure to be aware of the existing office culture while working to engage your employees.
Engaging a new generation of employees
Creating a work environment that fosters a sense of emotional connection for the employee is essential to retention and productivity. Today’s workforce is complicated to engage, seeing how many different and unique generations are all occupying the same space at work - the Silent Generation, the Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and now Gen Z. As the older generation prepares to retire, it is more important now than ever for businesses to engage their younger employees and turn them into dedicated long-time team members.
How Some Successful Companies Engage Employees
For over ten years now, Google has been widely known as the gold standard for employee engagement. From meditation suites to music lessons, they are famous for going above and beyond for their employees. However, you don’t have to be a tech giant to have a fun and enjoyable workplace. Employee engagement can be as simple as celebrating your employee’s successes, both inside and outside the office. Happy and thriving employees are more likely to speak highly of your business and recommend it to loved ones.
Employee engagement techniques can differ with each office, each industry, and even each generation of workers. Share this article or comment down below with some engagement techniques that have worked in your office, or that you think another employer might benefit from.
