Employee Engagement Strategies

Effective Strategies to Improve Employee Engagement:

Provide opportunities for growth.

Research shows that employees are more likely to become engaged and stay in their jobs longer if they are provided with growth opportunities. Whether you run proprietary training programs or sponsor higher education, supporting your employees in their professional and personal lives creates a sense of loyalty that will have far-reaching benefits.

Focus on diversity and inclusion.

Diversity in the workplace encourages employee engagement. The more diverse your team is in regards to gender, age, race, and ethnicity, the better. Diversity discourages groupthink, promotes creativity, and inspires innovation. If your organization focuses on inclusion, employees are more likely to stay in their jobs longer and engage more.

Promote transparency.

If your team doesn't know or understand what is happening behind the scenes, they are less likely to engage and invest in the company. Promoting transparency is a great way to boost employee engagement. Bring your employees into the fold as often as possible, and make them feel like they are contributing.

Provide perks and incentives.

Employee engagement can be improved by providing certain perks and incentives that will make your staff feel valued. Educational programs, childcare services, wellness checks, and even gym discounts will make your staff feel like you are investing in both their professional and personal success.

It may also be worth considering what your employees want and need during their workday. Allowing pets on the premises, or providing coffee or healthy snacks will go a long way to making your staff more comfortable and engaged in the workplace.

Promote a healthy work-life balance.

If your employees are not able to maintain a healthy work-life balance, the result is usually burnout or high stress levels, both of which contribute to employee disengagement. One of the most effective ways to ensure a healthy work-life balance is to promote flexibility.

Instituting flexihours, allowing employees to work from home, and providing paid time off — including parental leave — are all effective ways to help employees manage the stresses of work and life.

Recognize and reward top-performing employees.

Employees are more engaged when they feel their work is appreciated and helpful in achieving the long-term goals of the organization. Showing your employees that you recognize and appreciate their hard work will go a long way in making them feel valued.

Reward your top performers with tokens of appreciation. This could be a cash prize, paid day off, gift certificate, voucher, or any other reward that aligns with your company's core values.

Rethink your office space.

Your company's office environment plays a key role in employee engagement. This is an area where your staff will spend the bulk of their working day. As such, your office space should encourage creativity and cross-communication.

Open-plan spaces with lots of natural light have been shown to improve creativity and promote collaboration. However, it is also important to provide private spaces where employees can focus on projects or have meetings.

Assess and adapt.

While the above strategies have proven to boost employee engagement, there is no guarantee they will work with your team or your company. Your employee base is unique and will respond differently to each strategy. You can measure employee engagement by using an employee engagement survey. Find out what works and what doesn't and adjust your strategies accordingly.