Employee engagement has been defined as "the willingness and ability for employees to go the extra mile", but what about those employees who aren't willing to complete the first mile, never mind the extra mile? Improving our employee engagement strategies can attract employees and maintain motivated employees.
Many of the techniques in employee motivation have stood the test of time. What's old again becomes new again and the importance of each theory can evolve with the times. The major techniques include:
Security: Professional security as well as financial has become so important in recent years due to business conditions and the economy. 50% of employees say they would want to stay with their current employer until they retire.
Trust: Employees believing in the capabilities of leadership and their organization as a whole, trust can make employees feel safer, and employees are more likely to share organizational ideas and concepts.
Relationships: Good working relationships with both manager and coworkers. A sense of community/family is vital in the work place, and often a manager/employee relationship is the lowest priority. This is problematic as a manager/employee relations is one of the biggest reason an employee decides to leave a company.
Stress: While some stress can increase productivity, daily stress can cause concerns for the future (which overlaps with security)
Career Advancement: Opportunities to use skills and abilities often edges out job security for employees and can be the number one factor in having an engaged employee.
Each one of these employee engagement strategies are highly inter-connected and can be overwhelming for employers. Keeping engagement simple is the best approach. Address areas of concern and make engagement a constant topic during leadership meetings. Also be sure to get feedback from the employees you are trying to engage as well.
The 2013 Gallup State of the Global Workplace study indicated that only 13% of employees were completely engaged, yet companies with engaged employees see 240% improvement in business results! Download the 2013 Gallup report here!
