Have you noticed that your team should be performing better? What seems to be a problem? It might take some time until you discover underlying issues. So, why not cut corners right away?
The thing that might affect your team's morale and productivity is a lack of engagement. According to the latest findings, 21% of employees engage in daily work activities, while 33% thrive in their overall well-being.
If you don't do something about this, your organization could be at risk. Let's check out how you can improve the team's engagement.
What Is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is closely linked to your team's enthusiasm for their work. Engaged employees will bring new ideas to the table, feel empowered to deal with all sorts of tasks, and connect strongly with their coworkers.
They aren't afraid of new challenges and know why their work is essential, even if it means they might fail. Contrary to popular belief, many employees feel motivated when their work is enjoyable and engaging.
Managers must focus on engagement if they wish for their employees to grow. This will help their team members accomplish goals and feel satisfied at work. In other words, good team engagement means that your employees feel enthusiastic about their work and are actively involved in fulfilling business interests and goals.
How To Boost Employee Engagement?
There are several ways in which you can boost your employees' engagement:
Communication and Collaboration Within the Team
Keep in mind that communication is one of the crucial things when it comes to employee engagement. It determines how they will fulfill their daily tasks and engage with coworkers. But let's remember collaboration because your employees must feel like they are part of the team.
Building Trust Among Team Members and Mutual Respect
A great way to build trust is by focusing on things that matter. For example, emphasizing teamwork, creating a sense of community, and sharing power are only some areas you can explore. The same goes for addressing team conflict, paying attention to individual needs, and advocating for employee welfare.
Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities
Engaged employees know what's expected of them, how to do their work, and what they are responsible for. When processes and responsibilities aren't clear, projects become more complex and time-intense, leading to burnout.
Shared Goals and Purpose
Individuals who understand how their work fits business goals will be twice as motivated. If they know their work matters, they will be fully engaged.
Empowering Team Members and Autonomy at Work
If you delegate tasks and empower your team members to step up, take responsibility for their decisions, and push toward success, you are creating a better workplace culture. Give your employees a voice and encourage managers to talk to them about how they can contribute to your organization's overall mission.
Team Recognition Awards
Recognizing how hard your employees try makes them feel valued, affecting their productivity. Nearly 91% of professionals believe awards and recognition affect employee retention rates.
Team Building and Bonding Activities
Engagement with the management team and stakeholders is crucial and has a massive impact on employees. Give your team opportunities to connect by organizing cross-functional projects, team-building games, and bonding activities.
Transparency and Feedback
Employees crave feedback, which directly influences their engagement. Schedule check-ins for each employee with their manager, and then ask middle management to do the same with their team.
Inclusivity and Diversity Within the Team
Building an inclusive and diverse environment where people feel safe and excited about being at work is vital for your organization. This will also help potential employees decide whether to work with you.
Alignment With Organizational Goals and Culture
Only some companies are successful at aligning employees' goals with corporate purposes. Encouraging shared culture promotes consistency in business and ensures companies benefit from a friendly and open workplace.
Employee Engagement and Retention
Employee engagement helps companies predict employee turnover. It's important to mention that employee retention is closely linked to work experience, and employee engagement is best understood as reflecting each individual's work life.
The most reliable method for understating employee turnover is an exit interview. Employees were asked questions about their reasons for leaving the company.
Team Engagement Examples
Here are a couple of examples of team engagement you might find interesting, and you can read more examples in an article on the zavvy.io blog.
DreamWorks Animation
Landing a job position at DreamWorks Animation is a dream come true, and employees can experience numerous benefits, like paid opportunities to decorate their workspace and free snacks and refreshments.
However, after big projects are completed, the company hosts a party, and their team members are encouraged to present artwork or any personal projects that may be related to their work and things they've worked on for the company. This boosts productivity and makes employees feel like their opinion matters, directly affecting engagement.
The Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory CEO David Overton claims that recognition and training are high on the priority list of this company. People who work within this company feel more appreciated and tend to provide better service, which improves customer satisfaction and the company's reputation.
Engagement Initiatives in Organizations
Nowadays, companies are investing a lot of energy into finding ways to keep their employees. The good news is that these strategies aren't trade secrets, and we will share some of them with you.
- Provide your team members with flexible working hours
- Make them take a real vacation and, if possible, finance their vacation
- Talk to employees from different departments and discuss big decisions and changes
- Pay community work
- Make sure your employees are heard
- Organize feedback sessions and senior-level support
- Provide mentorship opportunities and a clear career progression plan
- Offer company off-sites and retreats
- Work on creating an inclusive environment
Remote Team Engagement
Engaging remote workers demand a long-term commitment and strategic approach. But one thing is sure; remote work is here to stay. You can use several activities to engage your remote employees from day one.
Team Meetings and Check-ins
To keep your employees engaged and prevent them from feeling alone and isolated, foster team connections through virtual-building activities, video chats, and social hours. Assign a mentor to new hires so new employees will always have someone they can rely on and ask questions.
Other Activities
- Shows your employees you care
- Ask for feedback
- Recognize their contribution
- Keep them in the loop
- Support new hires
- Provide your employees with tools to succeed
- Be flexible
- Mix remote and in-house working hours
How to Measure and Track Team Engagement?
Consider these factors if you want to measure and track your team engagement:
- Determine outcomes
- Identify things that are important to your employees
- Conduct a driver analysis
- Develop a continuous listening strategy
- Consider employee engagement level as a metric of KPI - effectiveness of team management
