How to Engage Employees
What is Employee Engagement?
What is employee engagement? Employee engagement occurs in business when the employee takes ownership of his or her job. They don’t just show up for a paycheck; they are committed to their job because not only do they like it, but they feel that they can make a difference in what they do. They are committed to doing the very best job they can to get their work done not only right, but above and beyond expectations. They have an emotional commitment toward the company’s goals. Employee engagement doesn’t happen magically. It is built on trust and integrity as well as honest communication between management and the employees.
In today’s business, managers often mistake happy employees or employees who show up for different functions and meetings for engaged employees. Employees who show up for meetings and functions may or may not be engaged employees. Employees may be happy at their job, but they may not be committed to doing the very best they can because they have an emotional engagement with the work. They may not trust the company they work for or maybe they don’t understand the goal of the project they work on. The good news is that there are methods of employee engagement that managers can implement that can help their employees become more engaged.
Employee engagement examples include:
- Employees who are committed to getting the job done right
- Employees who offer new ideas and creative ways to improve their efficiency and the company
- Employees who look forward to coming into work because the work they do is interesting to them
Why is employee engagement important? It’s important because they become more productive and more creative employees. Engaged employees are happy and productive, and their commitment not only produces a better product, but they also work toward making a company more successful. Improving employee engagement to drive business performance should be a priority task for managers.
What Great Managers do to Engage Employees
Managers can greatly impact employee engagement. A managers impact on employee engagement can greatly affect the success or failure of an organization. First, a manager must always know how to engage employees. This requires the manager be open and available to employees to discuss all matters, be it work or not. The manager needs to be open and honest with their employees, offering employee performance improvement suggestions when needed. They can do this through meetings to help evaluate the employee’s performance on a task by offering more efficient ways the employee might be to complete or improve the task at hand. Focus on the employee’s strengths, rather than their weaknesses. This will help the employee understand how to better perform his or her tasks using their best abilities to accomplish them. Employee performance improvement suggestions should be given in a positive manner rather than negatively. Great managers know how to keep employees engaged and motivated by basing their employee’s performance evaluations on clear goals and expectations. If the employee isn’t sure what is expected of him or her, he or she can lose track of the task’s overall goals. This can lead to employee dissatisfaction and eventual disengagement.
Great managers also recognize their employees in meaningful ways. That means treating them positively and honestly. It’s also important for managers to know when to step in and help employees and when to let them figure the task out for themselves. This is tough, but it involves an engaged manager who knows and understands their employees’ strengths and weaknesses. It also helps for managers know their own strengths and weaknesses and be honest about them to themselves. Only this way can they truly be engaging managers who can foster employee engagement. Great managers also let their team know that they are appreciated.