It’s often said that employees are the most important resource of any organization. That’s because the effort of every employee helps to determine a company’s success, so boosting employee engagement is essential. But how can you make sure that your employees put in the effort to ensure the success of your business?
There’s no magic formula. Yet 69% of employees said they would work harder once they felt their efforts were better recognized. A company culture that emphasizes employee recognition is likely to see increased employee retention. That’s thanks to dedicated employees who know they’re valued and work to ensure your company succeeds. You can find ways to keep employees motivated through personal recognition and continuous feedback, which contributes to enhanced loyalty and greater employee engagement.
Employee engagement can also:
- Boost productivity
- Increase employee satisfaction
- Promote employee innovation
- Help team cohesiveness
If you’re ready to transform your company culture through employee recognition, here are a handful of tips on how to boost employee engagement!
1. Find Out How Your Employees Feel
The first step to improving employee engagement? Understanding your employees. An employee survey a great way to find out why some employees may not feel engaged or motivated. The results can help you identify what your employees want that you may not be currently offering them as well as provide the input you need to start creating programs and initiatives.
2. Clearly Define Goals
Employees can only meet your business goals if they know what’s expected of them. According to 41% of employees in a study conducted by Comparably, one of the top causes of workplace stress is “unclear goals.”
The solution? Make sure your employees have clearly defined goals, then make feedback a part of your employee engagement program. Each employee should know how their work fits into the bigger picture as well as how it helps in achieving company goals. This will encourage a sense of personal investment and reinforce their importance within the organization.
3. Make Employee Engagement a Part of Your Company Culture
This is as important as ensuring that employees are aware of your company’s goals. If employees know from the time of onboarding that engagement is a part of your company culture, they’ll be more likely to participate in your engagement initiatives. You can reinforce this in the workplace through posters, wall wraps, or screensavers, making it both a common practice within the company and for your employees.
4. Conduct an Assessment of Your Corporate Culture
Implementing employee engagement initiatives provides a great opportunity to assess your corporate culture. Conducting a corporate culture assessment will help determine if your current culture is helping or hindering you from achieving your company goals. Since culture starts from a company’s leadership, the behavior of your executive team should reflect the culture you want within the organization. Your leadership should also invest in employee engagement, which will help further motivate employees.
5. Review Your Recruitment Strategy
Sometimes employees don’t engage because they’re not the right fit for your organization. Determine the type of employee that will work well within your organization, then hire accordingly. You can also use onboarding as a way to get to know your employees better. Have them fill out a form where they can share their preferences, from snacks to ways they’d like to be recognized.
6. Make the Investment
It’s important to invest in the resources needed to facilitate employee engagement. Creating a dedicated employee engagement team can help ensure engagement is continuous, dynamic, and adapted to suit your organization’s needs. “Thank you” goes a long way, but tangible tokens of appreciation are also an effective way of showing your gratitude and celebrating employee achievements.
7. Recognize and Acknowledge Employee Achievements
One of the biggest motivating factors for employees? Recognition. In a recent survey, 40% of American employees stated they would put energy into their work if they were recognized more often. Additionally, 63% of recognized workers said they were very unlikely to look for a new job. The cost of recognizing employees is worth the investment, since turnover costs companies millions every year.
8. Support Your Employees’ Goals
If you show your employees you’re invested in their personal goals, especially those that align with your organization’s goals, they’ll be more likely to invest in your company, resulting in enhanced loyalty. You can do this through training and development programs that benefit their career goals. You can also assist them in pursuing external programs, including educational courses and university degrees, which helps them feel supported, appreciated, and valued.
9. Create Engagement Activities
Use feedback from employees to create fun engagement activities that also serve as a great opportunity for team building and fortifying your company culture.
Consider these options:
- Pre-boarding and onboarding packages
- Team outings
- Performance acknowledgment
- Contests
- Networking events
- Employee health programs
- Employee appreciation initiatives
- Team rewards, such as a company lunch or extra day off
- Peer mentorship programs
10. Continuously Communicate
Want a surefire way to reinforce company culture? Continuously communicate company goals and expectations. Remind employees about your employee engagement programs and initiatives to build and sustain a sense of excitement! Illustrate to them how these initiatives tie in with your company’s vision, mission, and goals, and make sure the employee goals you set are attainable. When communicating, choose appropriate messaging channels to target different employees such as frontline, management, and leadership, but also consider a centralized online platform. This type of platform ensures consistency in recognition and allows you to continually assess and evaluate your programs.
Effective Engagement That Guarantees Your Company’s Success
Successful employee engagement includes consistent but adaptable initiatives that reflect your company’s culture while reinforcing your mission, vision, and values. Engaged employees are the backbone of every company, and learning how to boost employee engagement is key to achieving your business goals.
RecogNation can inspire your workforce with powerful, personalized solutions that help build and sustain your company culture to promote better employee engagement.
Ready to make your employees happier with an effective engagement tool? Sign up for our demo now!