How to Improve Employee Engagement in the Workplace

It is the role of an organisation’s HR team to know how to improve employee engagement in the workplace. Businesses that have engaged employees are 18% more productive; leading to improvements in customer experience, employee turnover, revenue, profitability, and many more. When employees feel connected to their work, they tend to work harder, stay longer, and motivate their colleagues. This helps the organisation become successful. 

Unfortunately, a study showed that only 15% of employees are engaged in the workplace. So what’s happening here? The good news is that you can easily improve employee engagement by changing a few simple things. In this article, we’ll guide you through the different employee engagement strategies that actually work. Plus, we’ll share how mentoring plays a role in making your employees feel connected to their jobs. 

The Importance of Keeping Your Workforce Happy

Let’s take a look at the statistics of why you need to keep your workforce feeling valued and connected to their jobs: 

• Workplaces with highly engaged employees lead to lower absenteeism by 78%.
• 147% of companies with engaged employees outperform their competitors in earnings per share.
• It has also increased employee wellbeing by 68%.
• Employee turnover rate decreased by 51% in low-turnover organisations (40% or lower annualised turnover) and 21% in high-turnover organisations (more than 40% annualised turnover).
• Increased sales profits by 23%. 
• Engaged employees are 17% more productive than their counterparts
• Greater trust in the organisation’s leaders

Clearly, organisations with engaged, supported employees are out-performing those with lower engagement.  Recognising and channelling this dedication in the right direction can help an organisation. So how do you increase employee engagement at work? Let’s talk about that next.

How to Increase Employee Engagement at Work

Creating an engaging workplace is a team effort. Managers and HR teams must work in tandem, with HR equipping leaders with the tools required to boost and maintain engagement, as well as mechanisms to measure engagement and it’s impact. Start by establishing a baseline:  

Conduct a Survey

One of the most effective ways to measure how engaged employees are is through an employee survey. This is the fastest way to get an understanding of how engaged an organisation’s workforce is. To ensure that the survey gets answered, ask short questions and ask for opinions. Keep the survey anonymous and confidential so employees will feel the need to answer the survey. It’s also important to ensure that organisations continue to measure the impact of each intervention along the way. 

Encourage Two-Way Communication

Employees want to feel valued and that their opinions matter in the organisation. One way to achieve this is for the company to be transparent about its decision-making steps. It’s also worth getting the employees onboard and listening to their concerns. 

Recognise Top Performers

A study showed that two out of three employees feel like they aren’t getting enough recognition for the work they put into the company. Recognising top performers in the organisation may sound simple, but it’s one of the best ways employees feel their work is valued. When their effort is not recognised, they will not exert maximum effort into their job. This can also lead them to start looking for another job, where their work will be appreciated. 

Employees want to be seen as human beings in their organisations– which means they want their voices to be heard and their hard work to be valued. Although a hefty paycheck can help employees feel like they are important, there’s no comparison to having an emotional connection to their workplace. By recognising their work, they develop a sense of purpose for what they are doing. 

Hire Competent Managers

“People leave managers, not jobs."

Managers are the link between employees and the vision, mission and values of the organisation. As a result, the managers (and HR heads) need to lead by example. Given their position in the company, they can be prone to abuse it and go on a power trip. If employees feel like the rules of the workplace only apply to a select few and not the managers, they distrust the management and lose interest in the organisation. This creates a toxic environment and culture that leads to disengagement. Employees will then start looking for a new job. 

It is the role of the organisation and top-level management to look for the right managers who can motivate employees and importantly, provide them with the tools and training to create positive cultures. They can also take accountability when things go wrong instead of pointing fingers. 

Provide Opportunities for Growth

One important way employee engagement can be improved in the workplace is by investing in the personal growth of the employees. Mentoring helps polish employees to become equipped for the organisation’s long-term growth. Not only does mentoring help hone the skills of employees, but it also builds a sense of loyalty in them. 

Employees love to work for a company that supports them and adds value to their lives. By allowing them to grow their skills, they get to feel engaged in the workplace and have something forward to look to. 

How Mentoring Helps Improve Employee Engagement

Mentoring can help improve employee engagement as it provides guidance and support. This also creates opportunities for networking as it breaks down organisational silos and encourages employees to interact with other members of the workforce. 

The best way to kickstart mentoring in the workplace, however, is to invest in mentoring software that makes matches based on personality and values. Program administrators tend to make unconscious biases when matching mentors and mentees. But by using mentoring software with this tool, such biases can be erased and a science-based match can be created. 

Brancher can do the job for you. We’ve got an excellent platform that can help you make informed matches in your organisation. Reach out to us today for a demo of how our matching algorithm works.

Resources:

1. Gallup. (2013, June 20). The Benefits of Employee Engagement. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236927/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx

2. Gallup. (2024, May). The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes. Q12® Meta-Analysis: 11th Edition. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/321725/gallup-q12-meta-analysis-report.aspx

3. Jaramillo, Santiago. (2018, June 22). Forbes. Four Lessons From Companies That Get Employee Engagement Right. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/06/22/four-lessons-from-companies-that-get-employee-engagement-right/?sh=34da6e5d21bd

4. Quantum Workplace. Why You Need an Employee Engagement Model to Measure & Drive Engagement.  https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/employee-engagement-model-framework

5. Lipman, Victor. (2017, April 15). Forbes. 66% Of Employees Would Quit If They Feel Unappreciated. https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2017/04/15/66-of-employees-would-quit-if-they-feel-unappreciated/#23f821dd6897