How To Improve Employee Engagement: An Ultimate Guide [2023]

Before we dive into the question of "how to improve employee engagement in an organization", we first need to have a clear understanding of what employee engagement is, in the first place, before discussing staff engagement session ideas.

Imagine waking up every morning, dreading the workday ahead of you. Will you be able to put in your best work with that mindset?

Now imagine waking up and being excited and willing to participate wholeheartedly in your job. You look forward to meeting your coworkers; you enjoy the role you play in the office, and you are actively connected and committed to the day-to-day work that you do.

Suddenly, the same day looks a lot brighter, right?

This is what we know as employee engagement, something which motivates employees to put in their best efforts and work according to their true potential.

Employee engagement is the level of connection your employees feel with your company.

Do you know of the different types of employee engagement? Click here to find out.

As their employer, you need to put in some effort and invest in the betterment of your employees to help them engage in their job, which would ultimately have long-term benefits for your company.

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Employee engagement handbook

A playbook for modern HR leaders to boost employee engagement with actionable solutions.

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To know this, you need to know how to raise employee engagement in the workplace.

Want to know about top employee engagement objectives? Then this post is for you.

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What Are The Top Drivers Of Employee Engagement?

Jumping into attempts to improve employee engagement without having a proper understanding of how to do so, or by moving aimlessly, can do more harm than good.

Employee engagement is driven by a couple of factors, and it is important to first identify those drivers and then plan accordingly.

A few of the top drivers of employee engagement are:

1. Work environment:

It is impossible to maintain a positive spirit if the working environment around you is negative and toxic.

Mismanagement and miscommunication among employees, or between employer and employee, can bring out a lot of grudges and build a bad vibe among your employees.

A good, healthy, and professional work environment, with free and open communication, trust, and a sense of camaraderie, is bound to improve the level of engagement a person feels towards their jobs.

Mental and physical wellbeing:

Our bodies and minds are what enable us to work, and if they are not in their optimum condition, work is bound to be impacted.

Lifestyle diseases like obesity, and diabetes, along with mental health issues like stress and anxiety, can disengage employees and make it very difficult for them to properly focus on their work. Thus, your work gets disrupted.

Why health and wellness is important for employees? Click here to find out.

3. Job satisfaction:

It is one thing to work, and a completely different one to enjoy your work. If your work is something that you enjoy or are passionate about, it is expressed through your efforts, and quite naturally, in your engagement levels. Vice versa, if you find your work interesting, you will tend to feel more engaged with it.

It is difficult to enjoy a work that you don’t like or do not find interesting. Thus, choosing the right employees for the right roles is also essential in terms of employee engagement.

4. Company culture:

Quite similar to the work environment, toxic company culture is bound to spread negativity and decrease engagement among employees and hinder meaningful work.

If your company’s culture and core values do not resonate with your employees, they will have a hard time fitting in, and being engaged in their work.

Looking for top factors that affect employee engagement and motivation? Check out this blog!

How To Improve Employee Engagement In The Workplace?

Now that we have discussed what is employee engagement and what drives it, we can now focus on the ‘how’ part: how to improve employee engagement and satisfaction, and what can be the employee engagement activities in a corporate office.

1. Improve communication:

Your company is essentially a team, which functions well when all the team members function properly individually, and together.

Thus, a thriving team spirit is extremely important to facilitate smooth working in a company, avoid misunderstandings, and encourage employees to be more engaged.

In order to increase team building, there should be well-functioning channels of communication - not only between employees but also between the employer and the employees.‍

2. Offer employee benefits:

Offering additional perks and benefits to your employees can do wonders in terms of improving their engagement and raising their morale.

They can also take care of your employees’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, thus helping them to focus more on work. Giving employees health and wellness benefits elevates their employee experience by a great deal, and increases their sense of attachment to their workplace.

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3. Acknowledge and reward good work:

Recognizing good work and appreciating your employees not only motivates them more but also makes them feel more attached to the company.

Employee rewards and recognition programs boost employee engagement, making your employees feel valued and recognizing their hard work.

Here are 3 steps to create an employee recognition program, to show your appreciation for your employees.

4. Provide incentives:

Offer your employees incentives as forms of perks. The incentives do not have to be very expensive or time-consuming; just some simple efforts on your part can make your employees feel appreciated.

The incentives can be anything - from a discount coupon to free gym memberships for a month or even the title of ‘Employee of the Week/Month”.

5. Take feedback:

What better way to know how to boost employee engagement, than hearing it from your employees themselves. Take regular feedback from them, conduct regular pulse surveys, and find out what your employees want.

However, do not stay limited to just taking feedback; make efforts to act on the suggestions accordingly.

6. Champion core values:

In order to know how to improve employee engagement at work, you must first know about your company's values. There must be some core values that your company endorses, or tries to work by.

Those are the values that have probably attracted your employees to your company in the first place, so champion those values, and try to maintain a culture built around those values.

7. Invest in hiring and onboarding:

Better employees can better your company. Simply put, if you hire talented recruits fit for the roles you offer, they are bound to be more engaged at work than recruits who do not quite fit in.

Thus, investing in the hiring and onboarding process is one of your most essential tasks as an employer.

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8. Provide regular training and up-skilling opportunities:

Like a machine needs regular oiling, so dos your company. Regularly maintain training sessions to reinstate the skills of your employees.

Simultaneously, offer them courses so that they can constantly keep themselves updated with the market. This would help the growth of both your employees and your company.

9. Provide paid leaves:

Human beings are not robots, and are bound to fall ill, or have a bad day, at some point. They should not be forced to work, since they will not be able to work their best on those days, and they can spread the diseases to their coworkers.

Your employees might also decide to become parents, and might require maternity and paternity leaves to spend some time with their infants.

Offering paid leaves would encourage your employees to be truly engaged in their work - without worrying.

10. Engage in fun team-building activities:

After a long week of work, motivation can run low among the employees of your office.

It is, thus, a good idea to arrange some kind of fun, engaging activity that increases employee engagement, while improving team spirit and reinstating the lost energy among them.

Engage your employees with some fun Friday games, that will help in team building.

How Does Employee Engagement Impact Your Bottom Line?

Employee engagement increases the bottom line of your company by increasing the productivity of your employees, reducing absenteeism, reducing employee turnover rate, and so on.

Let’s now look into why employee engagement is important to a company’s success here.

A highly engaged employee is likely to be more productive. With more productive employees, the growth of your company will be in an upward direction, and their performances would be boosted. This would also ensure customer satisfaction. Thus, your company will be set to make more profits.

Absenteeism is the silent killer of productivity, which ruins teamwork, and reduces performance, slowing down the entire company. However, higher engagement ensures low absenteeism, thus increasing the profits of your company.

A high employee turnover rate hinders the company greatly and costs a lot - not to mention wastes time and efforts in paperwork - to hire temporary staff or train recruits. With increasing employee engagement, there will be a lower turnover rate, and companies can significantly cut recruitment and training costs.

Thus, it is important to have an idea of how to improve employee engagement level, since it directly impacts the company’s bottom line.

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Need somehow to improve employee engagement ideas?

Check out this playbook for modern HR leaders to boost employee engagement with actionable solutions.

The key to improving employee engagement in your office is by creating a strong company culture, as well as a sense of trust and loyalty among your employees.

And you must go above and beyond by giving them health benefits, wellness programs, and corporate health insurance.

Employees feel that their wellbeing are valued in companies that provide rewards and benefits. Employees appreciate your efforts, and put more effort into their work, thus improving their engagement!