Engagement is far more than simply being happy at work. The key to whether you have your employee engagement strategy right for your staff measured by how connected workers feel to their organization and more importantly, their loyalty and dedication.

According to new research of more than 600 US businesses with between 50 to 500  employees, 63.3% of companies say retaining employees is actually harder than hiring them.

The real way to make sure your employees are giving 100% performance is by making sure you have got a stellar employee engagement strategy.

Businesses with engaged employees outperform those with lower engagement levels by a staggering 202%, according to a Dale Carnegie study. However, according to another study by Gallup, only about 30% of employees in the United States are truly engaged.

So, what exactly is employee engagement? It is simply an enthusiastic and energetic workforce that puts its heart and soul into everything it does.

In this article, we are going to look at the importance of keeping your employees engaged and the tricks and tips to understanding the power of positive emotions on employee satisfaction, commitment, and overall productivity.

Let’s start by looking into why you need to make sure your workforce is motivated.

“The real way to make sure your employees are giving 100% performance is by making sure you have got a stellar employee engagement strategy.”

Why do I need to keep my employees motivated?

There are several reasons why employee motivation is important. Mainly because it allows management to meet the company’s goals. Without a motivated workplace, companies could be placed in a very risky position.

Employee motivation is highly important for every company due to the benefits that it brings to the company. Benefits include:

• Emotions affect your employees. Promoting positive emotions improves relationships. Within your current employees and clients, while has the capacity to actively build new potential clients and employees. Those who are more emotionally connected with an organization feel a higher sense of ownership and are more likely to deliver superior work in less time which will help to reduce turnover costs. More importantly, they are likely to remain loyal and grow with your company.

• Motivated employees increase productivity the more motivated your employees are, the higher their output will be and allow your business to enjoy more growth. Employees who spend their time surfing the net, checking their social media and worse, looking for another job, is an unmotivated employee. Unmotivated staff is likely to cost your business in terms of resources, output and more importantly, success.

What benefits are there to keeping my employees motivated?

Take a look below at some of the main benefits to gain from having a great customer engagement program.

• Increased employee commitment When employees are motivated to work, they will generally put their best effort into the tasks that are assigned to them.

• Improved employee satisfaction Is important for every business as this will lead to positive growth for the company.

• Ongoing employee development Motivation can help your staff when reaching their own personal goals, which will facilitate the self-development of each individual member of staff, resulting in overall growth for your business. Once your employees meet some initial goals, it’s more simple for them to understand the link between effort and results, which will perpetuate increased motivation.

• Improved employee efficiency An employee’s efficiency level is not only based on their abilities or qualifications. For the company to get the very best results, an employee needs to have a good balance between the ability to perform the task given and willingness to want to perform the task. This balance can lead to an increase in productivity and an improvement in inefficiency.

“Employee satisfaction is important for every business as this will lead to positive growth for the company.”

8 Proven ways to build Employee Engagement

So now we’ve looked at some really important reasons why you need to make sure your employees are fully e dates with your business, let’s discover some important and proven ways in which to build on your employee’s engagement.

1. Value individual effort

Management should always make sure they recognize their employee’s individual efforts and how their contribution plays an important part in the company’s overall goals and direction.

Employees are likely to take much more pride and be engaged in their work if they are aware of how their efforts create an impact on the organization. It is especially important to not only focus on larger projects but to also show employees smaller tasks can help to build the success of the company.

Although it’s not necessary to reward your employees with gifts every sm time they did a good job, making sure that you thank your staff and let them know they are doing a great job regularly, will help to bolster esteem and engage your employees.

Using meaningful words will show your employees you are acknowledging their efforts, however minor they may appear in the grand scheme of the companies goals. by doing this, you will ensure to build their loyalty and also encourage your staff to work even harder.

2. Better communication

Making sure you set aside sometime each day to talk with employees or if possible, join them during coffee breaks to engage with them personally.  This way, you actually make employees feel as though you are part of the team, while you display leader traits, rather than simply being a boss. Experts agree that team communication is super valuable.

Don’t always rely on email conversations. Try to encourage your staff to have personal communication by talking to their colleagues in person and get to know each other, if possible.

Employers who make the effort to really listen to and understand their staff will enable their staff to feel as if the job they are doing is worthwhile and that they are properly valued.

Employees also want to see the company that they are working for succeed so make sure any suggestions they have, for example, money-saving ideas or any other ideas they have to improve the workplace.

3.Create a more positive working environment

Finding creative ways to keep your employees engaged will, of course, help to keep them more motivated and can help to rectify any possible negative working environments experienced by your staff.

It can be very demotivating if the workplace is full of conflict, or for any other reason is not a positive place to be for your staff. One way to find out how they feel about their environment is by getting feedback in the form of employee surveys so that you can more fully understand any problems they are experiencing which make for a negative workplace.

Something as simple as adding a positive quote on a poster in a public work area or even adding plants can help to create a more restful and positive environment without breaking the bank.

4.Reward efforts

Again, a few simple low costs but high-value e gage never tactics can work wonders when inspiring your team. Maybe present a coffee shop voucher or an employee of the month award.

By recognizing and rewarding your staff on a regular basis, you are affirming to them that they are appreciated and also helps them to get involved with and more easily understand short and long term goals.

Maybe you could set up a system with a built-in rewards program to send out gift cards when they give a referral or an introduction. Simple ideas that are fairly straightforward and low cost, will really help to keep your team’s spirits high.

5. Be Flexible

Sometimes, even more than salary benefits. The ability for your staff to work remotely will help to attract, motivate and more importantly, retain staff.

Flexible working has revolutionized the way both employees and employers work. Many small businesses have dropped the conventional nine-to-five working day completely.

Of course, the way your business works and the types of clients you have will obviously define whether tenure working is a possibility, but where possible offering your staff the opportunity to work from home or their favorite coffee shop is much more motivational than facing the morning commute and being trapped in one place all day long.

New technological innovations such as video conferencing, super-fast home broadband and smartphone phones have made it much easier for employees to stay connected during a working day while giving them the flexibility of better managing their work-life balance.

6. Encourage problem-solving

Creating a space for your people to solve their own problems is a great way of letting them know that their skills and other perspectives are valued. By providing support and guidance but standing back a little to allow your employees to lead the way with their own solutions and ideas, can help to generate positive staff engagement.

Deloitte’s Talent 2020 report which surveyed 560 employees, discovered that 42% of respondents looking for a new role believed their current job did not make good use of their skills and abilities. By nurturing a culture where ongoing learning and problem solving is encouraged, your staff will experience a higher level of engagement.

7.Clear progression

Provide clear opportunities for progression is one of the best ways you can keep motivation high and your employees consistently engaged.

By giving them a snapshot of the future, you will give them more of a chance to aim high and keep them working towards an end goal.

No employee wants to think there is no chance of promotion – or no possibility of taking on any new responsibilities, or more importantly less opportunity for a pay rise.

8. Be a ‘Hands-on’ manager

In order for employees to feel motivated, they need to see that their boss is hands-on, interested and welcoming. There are lots of ways to ensure your employees feel as though you’re a hands-on boss. Here are a few:

• Have an open-door policy. This kind of easy access to managers encourages a much more open culture and promotes better communication. Let your staff know they do not have to fear to open to you about any concerns or problems they may have.
• Get to know your employees. Showing your employees that you have the time and actually wish to get to know them as an individual, rather than just a worker, will help them feel more motivated to do their best for you and the company
• Learn about your employees what makes each employee tick is crucial if you want to make a real relationship with your team. Take time to find out the ideas and goals each employee has. This way employees become motivated by your interest in them.

And finally…

A positive workplace where employees are consistent e gated and motivated is paramount in this current competitive workplace. Making sure your staff are contented, listened to, given clear career goals and also with a positive working environment is crucial to their growth and subsequently, the growth and success of the company.

Ensuring that your employees feel that their work and efforts are an important contribution to the company’s success will keep morale high and encourage staff loyalty and help you to retain your staff.

Having an ‘open-door’ policy and an approachable management team is important to building engagement within management and their teams and will really help to create the positive environment necessary to keep your employees engaged and consistently motivated.