Anjan Pathak — February 26, 2020 Most top companies have already realized that modern employees demand personalized working experience. According to Gartner, 2020 is going to be all about the ‘voice of the employee.’ This leads to organizations getting more profound insights into their employee engagement levels. Their ideas have shifted from how their committed employees perform at a job to how their employees feel being at work, which we better know as employee experience.
The good news here is that companies can improve engagement by just giving more attention to their employees. But the better news is- you don’t have to spend a massive amount of money while making employee engagement work for your team and your business. It would be best if you act consciously and thoughtfully.
That being said, first and foremost, you need to understand what your employees need and what they expect from the organization. Surprisingly, you will find that employees want their basics first. It includes an excellent work-life balance, a personalized workspace, natural lighting, a comfortable office temperature, and a sincere appreciation for their efforts. However, the modern workforce is dynamic. To get that 1% growth every day, you need to do more than provide them with the basics, and actually, there’s a lot that you can do for better employee engagement.
Considering both the above aspects, I have boiled the list down to the top 5 tips to drive employee engagement that can be tailored to suit your office culture and budget.
1. Take ‘Happy Monday’ Initiatives
Make an effort to help your employees start the week on a better note, putting in place some employee engagement programs, especially on Mondays.
On Monday mornings, the offices are generally quiet, and most employees tend to be gloomy. But there’s one sure-fire way to improve the mood of your people- play some beautiful tunes! As the day proceeds, there is an ideal set of things that can motivate your employees to be productive.
Your employees can play some D&I games or take part in yoga or more lively physical activities like Zumba! You can arrange for a complimentary Monday lunch menu, and memorable team meetings to cheer up the week. In short, Monday blues should get a backseat in the 2020 workplace.
2. Encourage Employees’ Passions Outside Of Work
The culture of caring about the employees’ passions can quickly multiply engagement over time. Make it clear that you care about who your employees are and what interests them beyond work.
Have a conversation and encourage them to do these things regularly rather than limiting it to weekend goals. If needed, provide them some off time to fulfill their interests. This will help them reduce stress, boost energy levels, and keep them refreshed and inspired the whole week.
3. Use Videos To Keep Employees In The Loop
Emails are prevalent means of communication in workplaces, and employees are too used to it by now. 2 in 5 employees tend to ignore such emails considering it to be monotonous.
To break this routine, you can try sending videos of 30-60 seconds instead. It has a higher click-through rate than any other form of content, being easy to consume, understand, and easy to remember.
Internal podcasts are excellent in enhancing employee engagement more organically and conversationally. Besides, such real employee-centric videos can spell the right spark because everyone loves a bit of limelight.
4. Focus On What Your Employees Do Best
The biggest mistake you can make as a team manager is assigning tasks to employees who do not match their skills. Identify, recognize, and praise the talents. Know in which areas they can contribute their level best.
This will motivate your employees and bring them the ‘feel good’ factor without even you trying for it with other engagement tactics. Years down the lane, these engaged employees will turn out to be bona fide brand ambassadors for you.
5. Get Onto The Next Level In Creative Rewarding.
Employee reward programs have been evolving with every new year catering to the diverse needs and preferences of the changing workforce. The static annual bonuses, ‘employee of the month’ trophies, certificates, and vouchers, cannot satisfy recognition, acceptance, and self-esteem anymore. There is, indeed, a lot of scopes to move from this conventional approach in rewarding.
Adopting a highly personalized reward strategy is the secret to driving engagement in 2020. Cloud-based rewards programs have inspired the companies to move towards a more creative, non-monetary incentives system. Point-based gift cards have proved to be exciting with the whole lot that it offers.
Getting more creative, you can sponsor your employees for travel breaks, a luxurious spa day, or at least a fantastic dining experience. It would also be great if you can get them some personalized care packages or membership of some cafes’ around you.
Basically, it would be best if you use your creativity, get new ideas, and make new decisions to make decent rewards programs.
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