WhatYou Need To Know About Building An Engaging Workplace
It’s a transformative time for businesses and organizations.
Competition in the last decade has grown rapidly in almost every industry, dramatically increasing a company’s need to provide new, interesting and innovative products and services.
So how are successful organizations supposed to keep up with increasing competition and cultivate a thriving industry? By bringing out the best in their employees, of course.
Engaged employees are dedicated to their company and personally invested in its success. They maintain a passion for growth and constantly strive for innovation. But encouraging employees to be actively engaged isn’t always as easy as it sounds. In fact, a recent Gallup survey found that 70% of employees describe their work experiences as miserable. So, what can supervisors do to uplift employees and promote success?
Here’s everything you need to know about building an engaging workplace.
Find the Right Cultural Fit
Tight schedules, strict budgets and pressure from HR often result in hiring managers choosing the first candidate who technically matches the job description.
But just because an employee can perform all of the essential duties doesn’t mean he or she is a good fit for your company culture.
Bringing on new employees who don’t work well or fit with your intended culture, especially when done frequently or over a long period of time, can mean disaster for long-lasting employee engagement.
Hiring employees without considering their cultural fit will cause new hires to feel like they don’t belong or, as continuous new employees change the culture over time, longstanding workers will feel out of place in a new and unfamiliar environment. As the dissatisfaction from either group grows, their tendency to leave the company will increase.
While every employee needs to fulfill the job requirements of a position, their cultural fit within the company and ability to contribute to an engaging workplace should be considered along with their technical skills.
Establish Clear Expectations
There’s nothing more frustrating than not knowing what is expected of you at work. When employees are left trying to guess what to do, how to accomplish their goals, or even worse, how they fit into the company it’s almost impossible for them to be entirely engaged. Even if you want to participate and do well, you can’t be committed if you don’t know what to do.
Once employees have been successfully recruited, and as often as needed throughout their employment, managers and supervisors must make sure that employees have been properly trained and perfectly understand their roles and responsibilities within the organization.
Everyone understands and processes information differently, and assuming your employees think just like you is a huge recipe for misunderstanding and irritation. Check in with your employee on occasion to make sure you are both on the same page and involve them in decisions about goals and expectations.
Keep in Regular Communication
Neglected relationships will never lead to an engaging workplace. Communicate and collaborate with your employees often and encourage them to openly and regularly work with each other. However, it is important to remember that regularly communicating with your employee does not mean micromanaging.
Take an interest in your employee’s welfare and show that you care about his or her growth on both a personal and a professional level. Today, businesses all over the world are using enterprise communication and collaboration tools to help encourage healthy and productive communication.
Collaboration tools make communicating about anything easy, whether it’s group and project-based conversations or personal instant messaging. Collaboration tools also offer coworkers the ability to keep in touch while working remotely or temporarily away from the office, keeping everyone updated, interested and engaged.
Show Genuine Appreciation
While they’re usually fairly rational, people are also highly driven by their emotions. In fact, a recent study even suggested that 70% of the average person’s decisions are based primarily on emotions.
One of the most influential emotions in the workplace is appreciation and recognition. Managers are often all too eager to point out mistakes and offer up criticism, but generally tend to neglect complimenting an employee’s success or recognizing progress or achievement.
When employees feel undervalued or unappreciated, they will quickly become disengaged and emotionally disconnected. Continual dissatisfaction can even be contagious, causing decreased effort and engagement across the team.
Don’t assume that employees inherently know you appreciate their efforts, an engaging workplace depends on managers regularly and honestly praising success. Thankfully, companies today can use collaboration software to announce achievements on a social media-inspired intranet, promoting a culture of appreciation and creating an exceptional work experience for every employee.
Empower People With Potential
Understanding an employee’s strengths and weaknesses will help them excel at your company. Rather than being overly critical when employees struggle with a new role or responsibility, genuinely assess their abilities and determine if they might be better suited in another position. Make this transition a positive experience, allowing an employee to play into his or her strengths, and avoid implications of failure or inability.
Similarly, try to recognize potential within your employees and help them cultivate their skills. When employees know you have their genuine interest at heart they will be open with you about their strengths, weaknesses, and interest.
Reward ambition and fuel potential wherever you can and help employees find their most engaging path within the organization.
While every employee is of course ultimately responsible for their own interests and actions, managers can play a huge role in encouraging, supporting and sustaining a successful and engaging environment. When the right people are hired, trained and given the tools to succeed, organizations can discover value beyond what they have ever seen.
