Feel Like a Boring Boss?: How to Improve Employee Engagement in the Workplace

Think your employees have reached their full potential? Think again.

Research shows that a whopping 70 percent of employees are not fully engaged when they show up to work.

Imagine how much more productive your employees would be if they were all actually putting their best foot forward when they show up each day?

If you want to improve your employee engagement but aren’t sure how to go about it, keep reading. Listed below are some great tips that you can start implementing today.

Why Does Employee Engagement Matter?

If your numbers are good and you’re generally pleased with the work your employees are doing, why should you worry about employee engagement?

Don’t you want to see what your employees can do when they’re firing on all cylinders?

There are lots of reasons to prioritize employee engagement, including the following:

• Increased profitability
• More innovation
• Improved recruitment efforts

Employees who are engaged are also more likely to remain loyal to the company and stick around for a longer period of time. Remember, it’s almost always better for your business to retain an old employee than to hire and train a new one.

How to Increase Employee Engagement

Clearly, employee engagement is important if you want your business to be successful. But, how do you help your employees to be more engaged at work? Start by implementing some of these strategies:

Make Time for Breaks

Have you been encouraging your employees to skip their breaks and work straight through lunch? In theory, this is great for engagement and productivity.

In reality, though, you’re probably making it harder for your employees to stay focused and productive throughout the day.

Research shows that allowing employees to take regular breaks — especially lunch breaks — can help them to stay more engaged. 

Make sure you’re also encouraging employees to take longer periods of time off work. Taking a vacation every once in a while is great for productivity and engagement. Employees come back refreshed and ready to give their all to their work!

Put Everyone in the Right Role

Are the talents of each one of your employees being utilized effectively? Do you have people who aren’t engaged because they’re bored or feel that their work doesn’t matter?

If your employees aren’t given opportunities to reach their full potential, they’re going to end up disengaged and their productivity will likely go down.

Spend some time talking to and observing your employees. Then, evaluate and think about whether some people would do better if they were working in a different department or handling different tasks.

Streamline Communication

Another way to improve employee engagement and productivity is to make sure it’s for everyone to communicate with each other.

Using an employee app designed to streamline communication can help everyone stay in touch during the workday.

All the information stays on one screen, so there’s less time wasted jumping back and forth between email, chat, texts, and other communication channels. 

Provide Training and Coaching Opportunities

Employees are also more likely to stay engaged in the workplace when they have opportunities to learn, grow, and improve.

If they feel that there’s an opportunity to rise up within the company, they’ll likely work harder and be more productive during the day.

One way to do this is to provide regular training and coaching opportunities for your employees. Give them regular opportunities to learn new systems, learn new leadership techniques, or earn new certifications. 

Ask Your Employees What They Need

Perhaps the best way to improve employee engagement is to simply ask your employees what would help them stay engaged during the workday.

Do they need more breaks? Do they want more coaching or more support on the weekends?

Talk to your employees one on one about their needs, or consider putting out a survey so they can answer honestly and anonymously.

Check in Regularly

It’s not enough to just talk to your employees once and implement a few changes. You also need to check back in with your employees and make sure they’re actually benefiting from the changes you’ve put in place. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Put out additional surveys every couple of months to see what employees are liking and what other kinds of changes they want to see. You can also talk to employees more causally and make sure they’re happy with the changes you’ve made.

Encourage Socialization

Employees who feel emotionally invested in their work are more engaged. How do you increase emotional investment? Encourage stronger connections between employees.

How do you do this? Encouraging regular breaks is a great first step. This is when employees are more likely to talk to each other.

Consider providing activities that employees can participate in during the workday, too. Ping pong tables, pool tables, or a bean bag toss can help employees relax during their breaks. It’s also a fun way to get to know each other while engaging in some friendly competition.

Encourage Service

Another great way to encourage employee socialization and connection is to put together regular service projects for everyone to participate in together.

A monthly or quarterly service project will help your employees to feel that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Plus, they’ll get to spend time with their colleagues in a different environment.

Provide Praise and Recognition

Finally, make sure you’re recognizing your employees’ efforts and praising them on a regular basis.

A simple “great job” or “good work” can go a long way and help employees feel appreciated and valued. This, in turn, can help them to feel more engaged and encouraged to continue working hard at their jobs.

Looking for More Employee Engagement Tips?

Try implementing one (or more) of these simple strategies today and you’ll soon see your company productivity and employee engagement skyrocket.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can improve employee engagement and get more done during the workday?

Check out this article. It’s full of great tips that will help you and your employees stay focused and maximize your productivity while at work.