{"id":401,"date":"2018-01-02T22:11:35","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T22:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/?p=401"},"modified":"2017-12-14T22:14:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T22:14:15","slug":"8-essential-employee-engagement-ideas-to-boost-your-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/401\/8-essential-employee-engagement-ideas-to-boost-your-team\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Essential Employee Engagement Ideas To Boost Your Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every company needs a regular supply of employee engagement ideas, or it could experience more churn than a pint of creamy Haagen-Dazs.<\/p>\n<p>Workers are feeling less connected to their workplaces by as much as <a title=\"employees are 14 percent less engaged this year than last year\" href=\"https:\/\/www.benefitnews.com\/slideshow\/10-emerging-hr-trends#slide-5\">14 percent<\/a> every year. Before a CEO knows it, her desk could be piled with letters of resignation. And each of those letters will end up lowering the business&#8217;s bank account.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>She has to find someone new, train them, and get them up to speed.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s expensive.<\/p>\n<h2>Employee Engagement Ideas Cut Turnover<\/h2>\n<p>Every team member who walks out the door takes more than just their stuff with them. They allow about <a title=\"it costs about 20 percent of an employee's salary to replace them\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/CostofTurnover.pdf\">20 percent of their salary<\/a> to fly into the wind because that&#8217;s what a company spends on a replacement.<\/p>\n<p>Is it any wonder that C-level executives and managers become frustrated?<\/p>\n<p>But this is a reversible trend.<\/p>\n<p>The key to keeping workers is to brainstorm and get behind eight employee engagement ideas that work.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Gather Employees for Social Activities<\/h2>\n<p>One way to win the hearts of employees is to commit to a cause they can get behind.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"90 percent of workers are cause-driven, not money-hungry\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/danielle-sabrina\/rising-trend-social-respo_b_14578380.html\">Ninety percent of participants<\/a> in a Stanford Study said working for a company that supported a cause was more important than making more money. This means it&#8217;s a good idea to get behind causes.<\/p>\n<p>There are two methods to determine which cause fits a company&#8217;s style:<\/p>\n<p>In the first, companies consider their mission statement and products. Then, they look at potential connections with charities and fundraisers. For instance, a water treatment center might support clean water initiatives for children in third-world countries.<\/p>\n<p>The second way is by surveying employees. Plenty of workers already support organizations. Businesses can piggyback on what their people are already doing.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of how a business chooses charities or initiatives, it should build team events around the cause.<\/p>\n<p>From putting together backpacks for kids to working at the local food bank, employees will bond over these experiences. And that decreases their desire to leave.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Spend Money on Group Learning<\/h2>\n<p>Forty-one percent of Baby Boomers, 44 percent of Generation Xers, and 59 percent of Millennials want the chance to <a title=\"high percentages of employees want the chance to learn on the job\" href=\"http:\/\/news.gallup.com\/businessjournal\/193274\/millennials-jobs-development-opportunities.aspx\">actively learn while working<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing this, some employers have put part of their budgets into paying for conferences, conventions, workshops, lunch-and-learns, and even degree programs.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, collaborative learning doesn&#8217;t have to be formal. Hosting a motivational speaker to talk with employees, or hiring a productivity guru to teach time management can turn employees into loyal workers.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Stay on Top of New Perks<\/h2>\n<p>Not every company can offer a long list of benefits and perks. However, most can add something new to the mix as one of their employee engagement ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the most <a title=\"contemporary companies are adding these benefits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/blog\/top-20-employee-benefits-perks-for-2017\/\">modern types of add-ons<\/a> include extended paid parental leave for new moms and dads, pet insurance options, partial tuition reimbursement, and wellness stipends. Just knowing an employer is putting employees first sends a clear, positive signal.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Host Friendly Internal Competitions<\/h2>\n<p>A little competition isn&#8217;t such a bad thing. In fact, <a title=\"cooperative competitions can produce noticeable outcomes\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/work-in-progress\/2015\/07\/08\/competition-at-work-positive-or-positively-awful\/#76cd5dc22da8\">cooperative competition<\/a> is linked to improved creativity and effective output.<\/p>\n<p>Friendly competitions could mean anything. Some companies give bonuses or gifts to the person who solves the most customer problems in a month. Others offer half-days to the team that figures out how to shave the most dollars out of the budget without losing quality.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is for the competition to be fun and enjoyable. Otherwise, workers will feel like they&#8217;re being forced into unhealthy and unwanted battle with colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>A good way to make sure that no one feels uncomfortable is to ask employees their thoughts ahead of time.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Experiment with Flexible Schedules<\/h2>\n<p>When asked, <a title=\"63 percent of employees see work flexibility in the future\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/ee\/et\/publications\/pub\/pwc-consumer-intellgience-series-future-of-work-june-2016.pdf\">63 percent of employees<\/a> said that they thought the typical eight-hour, onsite work week was losing favor. Many firms have begun to try flexible scheduling.<\/p>\n<p>What is flexible scheduling? It can be letting people work from home sometimes. It could also be allowing workers to come in early and leave early.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest challenge to flexible schedules? Making sure work still gets done.<\/p>\n<p>This strategy can only be used for non-customer-facing personnel. Anyone expected to be present to serve customers can enjoy a different perk.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Reward Company Longevity<\/h2>\n<p>Long-term employees are corporate anchors. They need special consideration when planning employee engagement ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Great ways to reciprocate years of service include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>parking spots closer to the front door<\/li>\n<li>books and courses<\/li>\n<li>memberships (e.g., health clubs, fruit-of-the-month-club)<\/li>\n<li>trips to national and international conferences<\/li>\n<li>time off or sabbaticals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even organizations on tight budgets can give loyal employees the chance to leave a few hours occasionally.<\/p>\n<h2>7. Ask Employees to Become Social Brand Ambassadors<\/h2>\n<p>About <a title=\"76 percent of small businesses use social media\" href=\"https:\/\/smallbiztrends.com\/2017\/03\/companies-that-do-not-use-social-media.html\">three-quarters of small businesses<\/a> maintain social presences. However, those same companies may not have the resources to <a title=\"4 Benefits of Hiring a Social Media Strategist\" href=\"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/279\/4-benefits-of-hiring-a-social-media-strategist\/\">hire a social media strategist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They don&#8217;t have to.<\/p>\n<p>Companies can ask key workers to become weekly or monthly &#8220;brand ambassadors&#8221; on social channels. The workers add something interesting, maybe even personal.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, an employee may want to discuss a social cause he feels deserves attention, and then upload a video to Instagram. Another may take the chance to share a poem she wrote about being a grown-up when she was 10.<\/p>\n<p>This shouldn&#8217;t be a chore, but a fun assignment that has other perks, such as a small bonus or gift card.<\/p>\n<h2>8. Celebrate Special Occasions<\/h2>\n<p>People appreciate downtime, even if it&#8217;s just for a morning breakfast or afternoon snack. Birthdays and work anniversaries are great times to boost morale by celebrating with a little food and fun.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s best if one person keeps a calendar of all special occasions, rather than trying to control it by group effort. That way, no one&#8217;s big moments slip by. The last thing any company wants to do is forget a birthday!<\/p>\n<h2>A Large Supply of Employee Engagement Ideas<\/h2>\n<p>As the years pass, companies everywhere will develop more employee engagement ideas. Those that do so first have a better chance of attracting and retaining talented people ready to stay for a while.<\/p>\n<p>For more fresh business productivity and management ideas, read the <a title=\"5 Online Tools to Make Business Owners More Efficient\" href=\"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/291\/5-online-tools-to-make-small-business-owners-lives-easier\/\">essential efficiency tools<\/a> owners need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every company needs a regular supply of employee engagement ideas, or it could experience more churn than a pint of creamy Haagen-Dazs. Workers are feeling less connected to their workplaces&hellip; <span class=\"read-more-span\"><a href=\"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/401\/8-essential-employee-engagement-ideas-to-boost-your-team\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;8 Essential Employee Engagement Ideas To Boost Your Team&#8221;<\/span> <span class=\"genericon genericon-next\"><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upgifs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}