Employee engagement is the alignment of employees’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with those of the organization. It is not a slogan or tagline. It’s an approach to management that focuses on understanding your employees individually rather than as a group, and how employees feel about their work which will lead to better business outcomes. Also, employee engagement activities contribute to your organisation’s engagement.
Creating employee engagement comes down to two things you can:
i. Give your employees something to care about.
ii. Give them ways to speak up if they’re not satisfied.
Here are ten employee engagement activities to help you get started.
1. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with your employees.
How often should you schedule these meetings? That depends on your business and the size of your company, but it’s generally recommended that these meetings take place at least once a month, if not more frequently. These meetings can take place in person or remotely (by phone or video chat for example). The key is to make sure they happen regularly so you can get to know what’s happening in your employee’s life and career, and also provide them with regular feedback about their performance — both good and bad. This builds trust with employees, which leads to higher employee engagement scores.
2. Give your employees a voice.
The most effective employee engagement programs create opportunities for employees to give feedback, ask questions, and make suggestions. This can happen internally through focus groups or surveys, or externally through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This can be one of the very effective employee engagement activities.
3. Ask your employees more.
Ask questions to understand your employees’ attitudes and thoughts on their work. Another way of saying it is that you should be more engaged with your employees, not just about their work performance but about their opinions of the company culture as well. Employee engagement surveys are one of the most effective ways to do this, but you can also establish an open-door policy that allows everyone to stop by anytime they need or want. This is another way of collecting feedback that will lead to effective employee engagement.
4. Create a sense of community around the work you do.
While this sounds simple, it’s one of the most important things you can do to engage employees. It’s important to build a sense of community with your employees, which tends to provide a boost in effective employee engagement scores. You can do this by encouraging employees to share their opinions and thoughts on how your business is doing, as well as instilling a culture of innovation and creativity within the organization. This can be done through employee-driven projects, internal social networking groups, or even an internal blog or news site that showcases great work from everybody throughout the company.
5. Provide recognition and rewards for employees who go the extra mile.
If you haven’t already, consider formalizing a recognition program that goes beyond employee-of-the-month. Get into what you can do for your employees that reflects their contributions and achievement. It could be as basic as offering special parties or trips to celebrate employee birthdays, anniversaries of employment, or even delivering small gifts of appreciation like gift cards, Diwali cards, or even vouchers.
6. Use social media to your advantage.
According to a Towers Watson study, on building an engaged workforce, more than half of the employees surveyed today use social networking sites at work. Use this to further engage employees and to engage with them on a more personal level. You can ask them questions and solicit feedback, or you can use these platforms to provide constant feedback and motivation.
7. Update your employee’s handbook
Update your employee handbook to include details about how you’re aligning with your employees’ goals and dreams. This is the “employee engagement” equivalent of the “culture assessment” that companies do as part of their annual review process. Conducting this exercise will help ensure that employees know what is expected of them as well as what is good for the company.
8. Foster a sense of companionship with your employees.
It’s difficult to keep employees engaged if they don’t have a sense of community among themselves. Encourage employee-driven networking groups, cross-functional lunchtime activities (one of the best employee engagement activities), and intra-departmental competitions that will help employees feel as though they’re working as a team to achieve important goals.
9. Download some new games on the company iPad/office devices.
This might sound silly, but there is some science behind fun employee engagement activities that can engage your employees, especially those who are on the verge of burning out or feeling disengaged from their work. One study by Wharton University found that employees who played computer games in moderation had a 45 percent higher level of engagement, either in the job they were doing or in their work-life balance. Make sure that computer games are not only fun but also work-related. More specifically, the type of game should fit into a company’s mission and its culture.
10. Invite your employees to join in the fun at your company’s social events.
Employees can be a lot more engaged when they have a chance to enjoy themselves personally and socially alongside other people at the same place and time as them — especially if this happens regularly throughout the year. There are many festivals which we celebrate in a year and social events can be organized during the same.
Conclusion :
Of course, there’s more you can do in terms of engaging employees and building a stronger, healthier, and more productive work environment. To learn more, check out our QaizenX website on how to give your team a treat.
The employees who are engaged are very dear to the company authorities. They are ideal for managers. These employees are the people who make it easier for everyone in the company to make them play their roles better. The ultimatum is that by keeping aside the budget, time, and resources for the employees. Setting aside these things for employee engagement activities will increase motivation in employees. This also improves employee retention and makes your workplace more efficient and productive.
