How to Engage Better With Your Employees

Engagement at work can be difficult to measure. But you can see the signs when your employees aren’t engaged. They may fail to go the extra mile in production. All of a sudden, they are frequently 5 or even 10 minutes late. They don’t come back from breaks on time. They once went out to lunch with co-workers but stopped doing it two weeks ago.

Employee engagement has been shown to result in better quality and fewer mistakes. So it’s important to foster it for good productivity.

People who aren’t engaged are also more likely to look for a job. You’ll end up expending time and money to replace them.

So, how do you engage better with your employees? Good engagement plans are made, not born.

Communicate regularly

Don’t wait for a yearly performance appraisal to communicate with your employees. It’s a good idea to sit down at least every few months with each employee. Ask them what their goals are vis-à-vis the company. Talk about potential career paths.

Nearly everyone likes to grow and be challenged. Employees who are, and who feel like the company will be a growth spot, are far more likely to feel engaged.

Recognize good performance

It’s essential you recognize good performance as an employer. When people are doing a good job, praise them. Compensate them accordingly, with raises and bonuses if possible.

It’s also a good idea to institute performance recognition markers for employees generally. Run an interview with the person with the best attendance record or the most punctual employee. If something is important to you, reward it on an ongoing basis when an employee displays it.

Instill trust

Employees are not likely to be engaged if they feel they can’t trust their employers. First, don’t make any promises you can’t keep. If people show desire for a promotional path that might not be right for them, explain honestly why that is. If profits might not be enough for raises this year, don’t make it a total surprise.

Second, if you do promise something, you must deliver. If your employees have been told they’ll have off the day after a major holiday, don’t suddenly decided it has to be a regular working day.

Build teamwork

Strong teams need to be built. Don’t expect people to engage with the team without a plan.

One method is to have specific activities to build the sense of teamwork. Develop a scavenger hunt, for example, in which teams of people work together to find something. The team who finds it quickest wins.

Another method is to have teams play games together. Sponsor volleyball, trivia, golf or pong — whatever your team likes most. The camaraderie forged in a game will carry over to the office.

Contact a Debbie’s Staffing Today

Do you need to recruit more engaged employees? We can recruit and develop a plan. We’re happy to help. Contact us today.