You’ve done everything you can to increase employee satisfaction, but productivity still hasn’t increased. At this point, you’re probably wondering why. Where have you gone wrong? While it’s true that more satisfied employees can be more organized at work, that isn’t always the case.
Employee satisfaction is often mistaken for employee engagement. However, they’re not the same. How so? In definition, employee satisfaction is tied to how much an employee likes their job. So, things like their commute, workload, amount of supervision, etc affect that. All things that aren’t directly related to how an employee feels, not what they do. On the other hand, employee engagement is a whole different scenario. So, what exactly is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are engaged with the work they are doing. This features things such as how closely are they paying attention, how quickly they’re working, how much they care about the organization’s goals, etc. Employee engagement plays a crucial role in boosting productivity at work. An engaged employee is going to be more likely to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively.
Surprisingly, studies have proven that most employees are not engaged at work. A research done by Gallup found that only 33% of employed residents in the US are engaged at work, and only 15% worldwide. So, in order to help you make sure that your employees are engaged at work, we put together a list of several strategies you can use to increase engagement at your company.
While there are advantages to a tightly run ship, that might be contributing to any lack of employee engagement. While it can help ensure that tasks get done, it takes out any room for initiative and can potentially lead to your employees not feeling invested in the company’s growth and productivity outside of them just getting their work done. That’s not to say you should go in the complete opposite direction but try to find a middle ground. You should make sure that employees have enough room to take the initiative on projects and tasks. This way, they’re more likely to take ownership over these parts and become more engaged with the company’s overall performance.
Always be on the lookout for ways that you can engage with your employees. Acts like organizing social events at your office, recognizing birthdays, or throwing celebration for a project’s success are great things you can do to bring everyone together and show them that the company cares. Another thing you can do is promote breaks. Be on the lookout for employees who seem like they might be struggling or working too much and encourage them to take short breaks to stretch and get some fresh air. Again, gestures like this will show that you, and the company by extension, care for them. While this may tie to employee satisfaction, employees that feel like their companies listen to them are more engaged. Forbes found that employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6 times more likely to perform their best work.
It is imperative that all the employees have all the tools they need to be successful in their role. It is one of the most important factors in employee engagement. “An organization's infrastructure includes tools and processes people use to complete their work and the organizational capabilities they have at their disposal,” says Don MacPherson a partner in the employee engagement practice at Aon in Minneapolis. Employees who feel like they have all the tools they need to fulfil their tasks are more likely to be engaged with their work. For example, say an employee needs to find a specific document, but your current document system isn’t very intuitive or user-friendly. By switching to an automated, centralized document solution, you can provide them a much easier, faster way to access specific documents that has the potential to increase employee engagement all across the organization.
Teamwork is essential in building employee engagement at your organization. An engaged team of employees will be more likely to have a higher output and be more productive. Make sure that everyone on your team has clearly defined roles and expectations. Ensure that everyone is communicating clearly and that everyone is completing their tasks on time. Everyone should feel like their input and ideas are valued and that they’re being listened to. Make sure no achievements are overlooked, give appreciation to the deserving, and make sure it is heard loud and clear. A team that exhibits exemplary teamwork is far more likely to have all its members be engaged and more productive.
While this is true in most aspects of business, it is a good practice to look to your competitors and other successful organizations and check what they are doing to improve their employee engagement. While their specific strategy might not work at your organization, you can always adapt what they are doing for your organization. This way, you can be more adaptive and able to keep up with what the best practices are in yours and other industries.
There are plenty of ideas that you can find for increasing employee engagement and productivity. Finding the right employee engagement ideas for your organization can be time-consuming, which is why we’ve got you covered. Our blog is a great resource for companies looking for ways to increase employee engagement and employee productivity. Head on over there to read more like this blog and subscribe to our blog below to get notifications every time we post a new blog.