3 Ways to engage with your Team

#1 Give clear direction of what is expected of your team.

When you know where you are going, the rest of the plan seems to be easier to figure out.?Many organisations out there are selling a service or product without a clear vision of what they want to achieve and why. Let alone who their target market is.?This is probably the one element that brings about the most frustration among employees – when they are not sure what is expected of them, or what comes next.

The first thing that comes up in discussion about why employees are not engaged, is a lack of communication. Managers that do not communicate important matters, company information, strategy or plans with the team. Another frustration for employees is not receiving constructive feedback on their performance.

Engaging with employees is the best starting point for restoring a healthy level of engagement in the organisation and team.?Ask about their career aspirations, include them in project planning and listen to their version of the vision of the business. Give them your ears, and allow them to help you in your business.

#2 Listen to your team

There are many ways to obtain information about the team we work with, how engaged they are, how content they are at work, whether they are confident in what is expected of them and even if they are happy with their remuneration. We can do surveys and dipsticks and gain a lot of insight, but when it comes to implementing solutions, we rely heavily on our managers to implement these solutions.

The management team can be your biggest asset and your biggest risk when it comes to engagement and communication with the team. We often expect managers to be the mouthpiece of the operation. Surely that forms part of their responsibilities, but do we spend enough time, energy and resources ensuring that they have the skills and knowledge to effectively engage with their teams and the employees in the business? Not everyone is equally suitable or equipped to be a manager.?It becomes ever so important to ensure that we employ people in management positions that are naturally wired to be great manager.

You can certainly train on listening skills and improve how the business is managed.?Importantly, look at who you employ to be the influencers and game changers in your business and allow them to work their magic.

#3 Celebrate what goes well in the team and the business.

As managers we know that we need to manage our teams to keep them productive, motivated and engaged in the workplace, not only to achieve the company and or team goals but also to grow and develop as individuals.

We spend most of our time at work and therefore it is important that we are comfortable when we are at work, having a workplace that allows for open and honest conversations about what went well and to learn from areas that we can improve on. It is rewarding to have these open and honest discussions on projects, progress, performance and quality of work. To have the opportunity to explore successful individual and team contributions.

Team members look to their managers to create an environment of trust, collaboration and recognition. Gallup research shows that?recognition motivates, it provides a sense of accomplishment and helps employees feel valued for the work they do. It also sends a message to other employees about what success looks like.