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Employee engagement is becoming more important for companies in America every passing day. A recent study by the Gallup Organization shows that roughly 75% of American workers are disengaged from their jobs, resulting in over $350 Billion dollars of lost revenue each year! These figures are astounding, and are likely to continue unless companies start to take proactive steps to keep their employees engaged.
Employee engagement is defined as, “A high level of commitment employees have towards their job, manager, company, co-workers, and customers.” Aside from the increased productivity, an engaged workforce will result in a high level of teamwork, increased job satisfaction, a lower turnover rate, better customer satisfaction, employees going above and beyond their required job duties, outside the box thinking and a decreased need for supervision. How much better would things be if all of these characteristics described your company? Below, you will find four simple steps your organization can take to create an atmosphere encouraging employee engagement, ultimately making you an “Employer of Choice.”
Step #1- Organizational Trust
The first step is to create a high level of trust throughout the organization. Trust seems like such a simple and obvious concept, but unless a conscious effort is paid to creating trust, it will not exist. You cannot expect trust to appear just because you are the boss; your employees have to feel safe. They have to know you have their back, and you have their best interests at heart. If you show that you care about them and their development, they will be willing to go the extra mile for you, and the company. As Steven Covey explained in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, your relationship with others is like an “emotional bank account.” In order to increase trust and strengthen the relationship, you have to continuously make deposits over an extended period of time by doing things for them and showing that you value them as a person. Once trust is established, you will find it much easier to manage each employee in a way that best suits them, which in turn will create a healthy working environment.
Step #2- Empower Your Employees
The second key to encouraging employee engagement is to be a leader who empowers employees. The traditional leadership style is that of a controlling nature, where management imposes their will on employees who they view as objects. This style discourages employees from taking ownership in their job, makes them reluctant to present ideas, and makes it hard for them to get excited about their job or the company. Empowering your workforce will make them feel like it is their company, and they will take a strong interest in the success of the organization. Give your employees more responsibility, let them see a task through to completion, value their input on decisions, and give them the freedom to use their mind and be creative! The result of empowerment is a workforce of employees who will work for the company, not just for their paycheck.
Step #3- Focus on Communication
Healthy communication is the way to tie the first two steps together. It is one thing to promote open and honest communication, but it is another to show it. By allowing your employees to confront others and their managers without fear of repercussion (or with heavy office politics in the way), you will be amazed how many thoughts, ideas, views and helpful comments they can provide. Knowing they can be assertive in the way they communicate will result in an increased level of mutual trust, in turn allowing the employees to be given more responsibility. Remember, effective communication leads to healthy relationships, and nobody enjoys working at a company where they don’t get along with or can’t communicate with coworkers.
Step #4- Provide Effective Feedback
So your employees now have a vested interest in their job due to being empowered, they trust that you are going to do all you can to help them develop and they know they can openly communicate with you whenever they have a question or a concern. What is it that must be done to drive employee growth and encourage your employees to meet their goals and experience success? The way to accomplish this is by providing consistent and effective feedback. For employees to stay engaged, they have to feel that they are moving towards something- that they are growing and doing a good job. As Dale Carnegie said, “In our interpersonal relations, we should never forget that all our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation. It is the legal tender that all souls enjoy.” Feedback can have an adverse effect if it is not given properly, so make sure that you provide the feedback in a timely manner, you focus on their positives, you provide them a chance to react and you have all the facts before confronting them. Employees need to know how they are doing on a regular basis or they will loose the passion to grow and develop.
Bring it All Together
Apply these four simple concepts and you will drive employee growth and increase employee engagement. Today’s world is an employee’s market- don’t make the mistake of other companies and wait for your employees to defect before you take the time to evaluate the culture you are promoting. Establish a high level of trust, lead through empowerment, create a culture of healthy communication and provide effective and consistent feedback. Your employees will be happier and your profits will skyrocket!
