Employee engagement advice every leader must follow

If we look at the current market scenario, employee engagement has popped up as the number factor that contributes to the success of an organization. According to The Engagement Institue, “Companies lose somewhere between $450 and $550 billion per year on owing to disengaged employees.”

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But what exactly does the term employee engagement mean? Why is it all of a sudden the most important aspect of team building? Well, the answer to that question lies in the evolving work culture. No longer are employees satisfied with the traditional 9-5 work schedules, nor are they happy being the ‘Yes Men’ who don’t have any role to play in business decisions.

The evolving trends in business have brought to a stage where if you stay back in your employee engagement strategies, you can be sure of losing them to your competitors. This is one of the major reasons why a massive percentage of the current workforce in the US is looking for a switch as they are not fully engaged where they work.

If you don’t want to be one such organization where a big portion of your employees are looking for a switch, then here are some words of wisdom you can benefit from -

Educate employees at each level

While hiring an employee we pay heed to what’s written in the CV. This gives us a vague idea of what to expect from that person. Based on this we can judge whether the employee is going to be a fit for our team or not. In the same way, an employee must also have a pretty clear idea about the goals of an organization are, so that he or she can align with them and give the best!

This is where educating them about the same becomes a critical task. Businesses need to inculcate this habit in the managers, to educate people who are reporting to them. Be it a new person joining the team or someone who has been involved in the organization for long, they must know the purpose of your business and what are you trying to achieve here.

Stress more on communication

And, how can you achieve this? Simple - stress more on communication. Implement an open door policy where no one has to think twice before approaching someone to ask a question or take a suggestion.

At ProofHub, we follow the same. There are no fixed cubicles, no walls between teams or no segregation as to who will sit where. Anyone can approach anyone and go for a quick hello or discuss something related to work. This has helped us immensely in creating a more engaged, fruitful and productive work-culture. And, it reflects in the low employee turnover rate that we have managed to successfully achieve year after year.

Cultivate talent hidden in individuals

Like mentioned earlier, employees no longer believe in working the traditional way. No longer are they satisfied with just a fat paycheck at the end of the month. The millennial and the Gen Z workers are more about fulfilling their creative dreams, and at the same time work in an environment where they get the freedom to explore their talent.

In simpler words, they look for places that focus on holistic development. Come to think of it, this is the best thing that you can ever do for your business. Rather than hunting talent year after year because of good employees leaving your business for the competitor, you can simply create a culture where they get the opportunity to explore their creative side besides the usual KRAs.

Foster relationships

The most important aspect of teams that perform well, be it in sports or in business, is that they have great understanding of each other. And, how does this understanding come? This comes as a result of the bond that each member shares with other individual who is working with them.

This is the reason that fostering relationships at work becomes so important. Focus on creating interdepartmental interactions besides the work. Let them mix together, by organizing events, outings, office get togethers and more. These small things can lead to the building of friendship within the teams and this in turn can boost the productivity of the employees.

Give them reasons to choose you over the others!

At the end of it all, it becomes all about giving the employees a reason to keep choosing you over the competitors present in the market. It will require an effort from your side that will focus on creating a workplace where employee development is valued. Where it is not just about completing assignments or striking off tasks, where it is about evolving as a professional so that the business can evolve too.

As a leader if you are able to create a more engaging environment at work, you can be certain to have taken the first step towards creating a team that is going to thrive and not just survive in this breakneck competition!

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?Vartika Kashyap runs the marketing team at ProofHub — a project management software for teams of all sizes. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.

Also follow our company page @ProofHub to get the recent updates about our tool, published articles, motivational quotes & presentations.

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