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Employee Engagement: What It Is and How to Do It

Have you ever heard of employee engagement? It’s a hot buzzword in business these days and has tremendous weight in the ultimate success of your business.

So, what exactly is “employee engagement?” 

(Hint: It’s not when Carl and Elizabeth fall in love at the water cooler, end up engaged, and live happily ever after). 

At its heart, employee engagement depicts the extent to which your employees are involved in your vision. It’s their enthusiasm level and how much they care about their performance.

It is different from employee satisfaction, which means your employees are content with their jobs and paycheck. Unfortunately, it’s easy to be “satisfied” without being “engaged.”

But how passionate are your employees? Are they committed to the company, its goals, and its long-term success? Do they take personal responsibility? Are they willing to embrace necessary change? How do they view their part in it all?

Other indicators of engagement include:

  • Passion for learning
  • Willingness to accept responsibility for failure
  • Quick to share credit for successes
  • Optimism
  • Discretionary effort
  • Proactive mindset
  • Persistence

So, how do you create a culture of high-level engagement?

To begin with, most employees simply want to feel they belong. Other key factors that ignite engagement are:

  • Trust in company leadership
  • Healthy relationships with direct supervisors
  • Pride in being a part of the company

These three “drivers” can make or break your team’s commitment level. Thankfully, you influence all of these! Here are five areas to strengthen all three of these factors.

  1.  Communication

    Communication is one of the most critical success factors in any organization. It has a direct impact on engagement. Of course, clear communication is necessary on practical levels. For example, employees can’t be left in the dark about daily workflow and safety procedures. However, it’s also pivotal in sharing the vision and core values of the company. Without it, employees can’t hop on board with the overall mission.

  2. Trust

    Trust is imperative in fostering engagement. Giving your employees appropriate autonomy lets them know you trust them. When they feel trusted, they will be more self-confident, leading to higher degrees of productivity and engagement.

  3. Relationship

    People generally are committed to relationships in the workplace, not just the job. As such, it’s vital to encourage healthy relationships between yourself, the management team, and the rest of the company. Get to know them personally, not just as names on the payroll. This is also an essential tool for your management team since they interact with their team members daily.

  4. Transparency

    Honesty is always the best policy. It means being transparent with your team about where the company is going and how you will get there –even when things aren’t going well. By being transparent, you demonstrate a level of authenticity that inspires employees to take pride in the company

  5. Personal Growth

    Engaged employees also want to grow. They care about their career development and how it affects the company. By providing opportunities for growth and learning, you show them you care, too. Offering additional certifications, cross-training, and upward career steps gives them something extra to strive toward.

 

Benefits of Employee Engagement 

  • A culture of high-level employee engagement –
  • Stimulates employee retention
  • Reduces absenteeism
  • Improves overall productivity
  • Boosts morale

All of the above breed stronger customer loyalty and increased profit.

Engaged employees make a huge difference.

At Career Concepts, we have your back. Hiring the right people is where engagement starts. And we’ve been matching employers to the best people for more than 50 years. So contact us today, and let us help you build your team!

Blog published date

Apr 05, 2022
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