Employee engagement is the buzzword in human resources lately. It is the focal point for several organizations with many investing thousands in revenue to achieve it. So, what exactly does this term entail and how can you crack it?
In simple terms, employee engagement is a parameter that describes the level of enthusiasm, connectedness, and happiness your employees feel toward their job. It reflects a two-way commitment and communication between the team members and the firm.
You can also look at employee engagement as a metric to ensure and check job satisfaction amongst workers and you can achieve it via several means. The end goal is to improve revenues, enhance employee loyalty, and reduce absenteeism and talent acquisition costs for an organization.
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Let us understand some of the most effective employee engagement initiatives that you can use to create a positive working environment.
What Are Employee Engagement Initiatives?
Employee engagement initiatives are means that are designed to improve team bonding and employee morale – on an individual as well as group level. It is important for companies to focus on such initiatives since how employees feel can directly impact the success of an organization.
So, in the practical aspect, what are employee engagement initiatives exactly? Well, simply put, they are methods that directly address the employee’s perception of the organization.
These initiatives dictate the relationship between an employee and the company and form part of a wider strategy to improve the employee experience. Popular employee engagement initiatives examples include mentoring and coaching, provision of professional development opportunities, arrangement of team bonding activities such as offsites, office lunches, and more.
Now that we know what initiatives to improve employee engagement entail, let’s understand their relevance for your business, especially in today’s modern job landscape.
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How Can Employee Engagement Initiatives Improve Your Business?
As mentioned above, employee engagement initiatives help you measure the level of commitment and connection that your employees have toward the organization. It directly ties to the performance and growth of your business.
If your workforce is happy and aligned with their work, they are bound to perform better. This will eventually lead to improved results that can culminate in higher revenues and more growth for the organization.
A happy team can also prove to be a great vehicle for publicity for the company. By boosting employee engagement, you not only keep your employees happy but also compel them to speak great things about the organization. This can, in turn, help attract better and the right talent.
At the same, employees who are happier at work are more loyal to the organization. For companies, this means reduced absenteeism and talent acquisition costs.
Lastly, a great benefit that employee engagement initiatives have is enhanced company culture. It's a means to boost the business’s reputation with clients and help the organization bag more work.
Let’s discuss some of the most trusted initiatives to improve employee engagement.
12 Employee Engagement Initiatives Used By Top Indian Firms
There are several team-building activities to increase employee engagement that are in practice today. These have evolved over time and are no more limited to a good pay or benefits package alone. Some of the best ways to increase employee engagement are listed below:
1. Mentoring and coaching
Employees are looking for more at the workplace than just their job. To this effect, you can help them figure out their true potential and chalk down their goals via meaningful mentoring and coaching.
Put in place a mentoring program that tags each employee to a mentor who is an impartial senior at work. Allow for fruitful communication and a judgment-free zone between the mentor and the mentee to achieve the best results with this initiative.
2. Lucrative benefits packages
Among other things, one of the primary motivators for most employees is money. However, a CTC simply doesn’t cut it for most modern workers in the ever-evolving job market. Employees nowadays are expecting more in terms of both monetary and non-monetary benefits.
In tune with this, companies can offer lucrative benefits packages to employees or uplift their existing benefits packages. This includes a good mix of monetary perks such as bonuses, incentives, etc. as well as non-monetary benefits such as recognition, flexible work, and more.
3. Themed parties and get-togethers
One of the best initiatives to increase employee engagement is organizing themed parties or get-togethers. Gone are the days when employees appreciate the plain-Jane team lunches and office parties. It’s time to up the game with more interesting ideas, such as quirky-themed events.
You can pick a TV show or a web series and ask employees to dress up as their favorite characters or simply have a Bollywood-themed party where everyone can dress up as their favorite film stars. This ensures employees have fun and connect in novel ways.
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4. Professional development and higher education support
Companies across the world have realized that it’s pay-back time. Instead of merely extracting results from employees, organizations are now focusing on their holistic growth. One way to do this is by offering professional development avenues to employees to help them learn new skills.
Further, employers can give deserving teammates a chance to step up levels via promotions wherever possible. Also, another way to keep employees engaged at work is by providing them with subsidies for higher education in addition to their paycheck.
5. Flexible working arrangements
If there’s anything that the pandemic has taught us, it is the importance of time. Instead of being intrigued by the hustle culture, countless employees these days are looking for jobs that offer a good work-life balance.
Companies can thus bring in more employee engagement by providing remote working or flexible working avenues to employees. This will enable them to save on the time and energy spent commuting, while still getting the job done. It’s a win-win situation.
6. Health and wellness programs
A big reason there are so many disengaged employees out there is an overall lack of mental as well as physical health support. Many employees are working round the clock and ignoring their well-being in the bargain.
For companies, this can translate into a dip in performance as well as revenues. To avoid this, employers can come up with a comprehensive health and wellness program at work, such as the one with Loop. Our plan includes medical insurance along with complimentary benefits such as mental health support, bi-weekly wellness sessions, and more.
7. Employee surveys
Employees feeling unheard at the workplace is a common problem. It could also be the cause of their low engagement and poor performance. To tackle this, companies can consider rolling out surveys to seek employee feedback.
With the help of periodic employee surveys, employers can seek to understand the problem areas and gaps when it comes to meeting employee expectations. It also enables companies to know how their current engagement initiatives are being received and if they need to do more to keep their workforce satisfied.
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8. Rewards and recognition programs
A pat on the back or an unexpected gratitude note goes a long way. All of us crave recognition for a job well done, and this stands equally true for your employees.
Appreciate them for their hard work with periodic rewards. You can do this in the form of bonus payouts, vouchers, or even gratitude notes. You can also go the traditional route with ‘employee of the month’ pin-ups on notice boards or by sending out employee recognition emails.
9. Networking opportunities
While it’s great to have regular team exercises such as lunches, icebreakers, and scavenger hunts, employees are now looking for more meaningful get-togethers that can allow them to network with peers and industry professionals from outside of the office.
Employers thus, can organize industry-wide meetups or allow their team members to attend similar networking events organized by other companies or forums. This will allow employees to gain more knowledge and connect with like-minded professionals beyond the boundaries of the office.
10. Manager-level training
Many employees quit jobs due to a lack of managerial support or bad bosses. This is a rather common problem and can cause heavy losses and increased costs for acquiring new talent for companies.
To ensure that employees stay longer, companies can train their managerial-level staff to perform their roles better. Teach them to have a more humane and empathetic approach at work and to operate within the code of ethics of the organization.
11. Diversity and inclusion
Several companies nowadays have included diversity and inclusion as part of their overall vision. This means that their hiring criteria are no more limited to the caste, gender, or sexual orientation of a candidate. Employers are also working towards bringing better women representation in the office.
To achieve higher employee engagement, including the principles of diversity and inclusion at work in all aspects. This will enable employees to see the organization in a good light and to develop more trust in the long run.
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12. Charity initiatives
Another great way to drive employee engagement is to allow employees to contribute to a cause that is bigger than themselves. You can do this by organizing charity drives or providing volunteering opportunities for them.
To this effect, companies can tie up with non-governmental organizations or arrange for charity events as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. By supporting humanitarian causes, companies can also improve their company culture and overall reputation in the industry.
Achieve Employee Engagement With Loop’s Comprehensive Wellness Offerings
As per Gallup – engaged employees are those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace. To ensure that your team members feel so, you can adopt some of the best employee engagement initiatives listed above into practice.
However, the prime factor behind the happiness of employees is their well-being. You can take care of your employees' holistic wellbeing with the help of Loop’s comprehensive health packages.
The comprehensive health initiatives not only include medical insurance coverage for financial security but also go a level above and include a host of other benefits such as 24/7 doctor support, mental health counseling, and complimentary wellness sessions to cater to better employee health and outcomes.
Give your team what they truly deserve - better benefits, better care, and better health outcomes.
