A Gallup survey conducted in 2021, finds that the percentage of engaged workers in the US has declined drastically since the past decade. It further states that employees struggling with engagement are more likely to change jobs as compared to thriving employees. Given that we are still going through the period of the “Great Resignation” these statistics are hardly alarming.
Employee engagement has emerged as a critical driver for ensuring organizational success in today’s competitive market. So if you have employees who are looking for motivation or struggling to stay inspired at work, it’s time that you adopt employee engagement measures at the workplace to retain and engage top talent.
Disengaged employees feel no real connection to their job and are generally misaligned from their career goals. They seldom move beyond the 9-5 mentality and are unwilling to participate in any social activity that demands their attention and engagement. They have poor focus at work, have a negative attitude, and bring down the entire office morale.
On the other hand, engaged employees are proactive, persistent, and adaptive to various job demands and roles. They bring positive energy to the workplace and motivate others to excel at their job. Various factors influence employee engagement like pay, benefits, job security, trust of the senior management, managerial style, the behaviour of colleagues, and the general office environment.
The role of HR and Management
Many factors influence employee engagement and HR management play an active role in creating proactive workplace policies that attract and retain the talent necessary for growth and sustainability. By creating a respectful and trusting relationship with their direct reports, managers can foster a positive work culture. Managers have a huge role in ensuring that employees are given responsibilities, they are actively participating in activities, and have positive morale.
The HR managers should look to recruit talent that seems interested in their job and is eager to learn and deliver. Select candidates that demonstrate an acumen for work, make voluntary contributions and don’t indulge in improper practices. Provide skill-development training for existing employees to increase employee job satisfaction, develop confidence, and help them grow. Incentivize good performance and provide fair compensation to employees.
To boost employee engagement, it is important to align the long-term vision of the company with the day-to-day business operations. When employees have a clear understanding of company expectations, they are more likely to stay engaged and motivated at work.
- Prioritize mental health
Employee mental health and poor work-life balance are important factors that contribute to poor employee engagement. Employee mental health is reflected in productivity, their contribution to work, absenteeism, team engagement, customer satisfaction, burnout, etc. In the wake of remote working, employees are finding it difficult to engage, resulting in mental fatigue. Communicate openly and check with them on a priority basis. Provide mental health resources to employees to seek help, whenever required.
- Recognize and reward key talent
Employees tend to become disengaged at work if their efforts aren’t recognized or appreciated. Create a robust employee recognition program that rewards and appreciates good work on a timely basis. This motivates employees to put their best foot forward and keeps them engaged at work. Acknowledge their efforts publicly and set a precedent of appreciation in the organization. This makes employees feel seen and shows that their efforts are duly recognized by the organization.
- Communicate openly
Having regular conversations with your employees fosters a sense of trust and helps you understand key issues that are hampering productivity or engagement at the organization. Keep channels of communication open and encourage employees to share their issues openly. By communicating often you demonstrate that their thoughts hold value and are of key importance to the organization. The senior management often ignores the power of authentic communication with employees and the impact it has on employee engagement.
- Encourage feedback
Employers often ignore the power of feedback and how it can transform key processes. Feedback is generally passed one way in organizations – from the managers to the employees. However, employees have key insights to share that they gather while working for the company. By asking your employees for their feedback, you’re essentially demonstrating that their opinion matters. Engage them in conversations to understand their point of view on things. Ask them to cite specific examples so that the exchange is more meaningful and the change is not there on a superficial level. Acting on feedback needs to be concrete and can boost employee confidence and trust.
In today’s competitive landscape, companies can succeed only when it builds engaged employees. Employee engagement does not happen overnight and is a culmination of many strategies and brainstorming sessions. However, the rewards are plenty as you stand to improve employee morale, productivity, performance, and ultimately the bottom line.
Paylite meets the ever-growing needs of modern-day workplaces. Streamline your HR processes and age-old legacy systems with swift, streamlined, smart process-driven workflows. You can book a free demo of the software from https://www.paylitehr.com/request-demo.html