Companies are starting to realize that employee engagement is essential to growing their business. Employees who are engaged are more productive, motivated and ready to bring their A-game to the field day after day. However, trying to improve employee engagement can be frustrating without a solid strategy. The truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. As each business is different from another, one strategy may work for some and prove fruitless for another. Perhaps some of these ideas may be effective for your company.
Encourage flexible work hours
Luckily, we live in the age where punching a time clock can only be seen in movies. Successful companies have already adopted the policy that attendance doesn’t equal performance. What is really important is getting the work done on time and clearing the objectives. Still, not all the work happens between 9-5. Some people are more productive at night or prefer working early in the morning. Giving them this opportunity can be a great boost to their happiness and motivation.
Support working from home
A study by Workfront has revealed that almost 40 percent of participants listed that remote work is the number one ingredient of improved satisfaction, ranking second behind flexible work hours. Since employees are already taking on work in the evenings or when travelling on business, why not give them the flexibility to work from home when needed, or even on a regular schedule. Everyone will appreciate staying home while renovating a part of the house or taking care of their kid down with the flu. It’s amazing how some people can be productive when free from workplace distractions. A sales representative may make more calls or work towards making more meaningful connections with potential clients. An IT team might confer more often about how to use available resources to boost efficiency or tweak the existing system to deliver better customer service.
Hold people accountable
Business owners often protest that their employees are not accountable for their work or that they don’t apply themselves hard enough. But, how much is enough? Do they know what is expected of them? Instead of setting realistic goals and simplifying expectations, business owners often wrongly assume that their teams already know what is expected of them. Such an assumption often creates a gap between the management and employees, which doesn’t serve either side, and the success of the business is always the casualty.
Fix time-consuming tasks
Wasteful meetings, email overload and inefficient, time-consuming processes hinder employees’ productivity and affect their morale. Fix this problem by introducing a communication software to make inter-office communication easier and less formal. Automated flow software can keep projects and tasks moving from one step to the next. Cold calling is among the least favourite tasks for both managers and team members. Managers find it time-consuming and disruptive, while team members hate it for being awkward and adversarial. By hiring professional appointment setters to generate leads and set face-to-face appointments, you may never have to assign your employees to it again. They will take time to know your business and approach with a fully formed idea how to present your company’s true values.
Lift relationship bans
Longstanding bans on in-house romances were often justified by the fear of nepotism and favouritism. However, Vault’s 2015 Office Romance Survey shows that about 60 percent of responders admitted to having participated in a workplace romance, with the most passionate industries being technology, retail and HR. Prohibiting people who spend eight hours together every day from seeing each other in their personal time is wrong for two reasons. First, your employees already spend a third of their week at work, which leaves little time for a quality social life. Second, once your employees start keeping secrets, trust and transparency is gone. In addition, employees who spend time together outside the office often discuss work challenges and solutions, and may even team up and do work together for better efficiency.
Having an engaged and productive workforce is probably the safest and most preferred way of running a business. Employees who show up at work motivated perform their tasks efficiently and effectively. However, implementing a solid employee engagement doctrine is something that many companies struggle with in today’s fast-paced business environment.
