How to keep employees engaged
In every workshop I conduct and during every presentation I give, I get around to talking about Job One of the manager: setting expectations and holding employees accountable. If your employees are engaged, the job of holding them accountable becomes second nature because they hold themselves accountable.
What can a manager do to build an engaged work force? Start at the top. Managers have the responsibility of building their businesses by hiring individuals who will be building blocks of an engaged workforce.
Start with the creation of the job and commit it to writing in the form of a job description. Once you know what the job is, you can begin your search for the right person to fill that job. When you hire the right fit, you’ve hired an engaged employee.
Employee engagement is not an event. It is a company culture. The interconnectedness of employee engagement, performance and accountability is what drives your company’s performance. Especially in times of economic distress, it is important for managers to understand the importance of maintaining a high level of employee engagement.
What does engagement look like? Numerous studies show these 10 common themes. Answer the questions below and you’ll have your 2009 work plan developed to engage employees.
Pride in the employer: Are your employees proud to work for your organization? Do they talk about your company with a smile on their faces and excitement in their voices? How do you talk about your company?
Satisfaction with employer: How satisfied are your employees? Can you answer this question honestly? Do you employ individuals who simply collect a paycheck?
Satisfaction with job: Do your employees experience job satisfaction or do they simply go through the motions of their jobs? Can you tell the difference? Have you watched your employees work, talked with them about what they do and how their jobs affect the rest of the company, asked them questions about their work?
Opportunity to perform well at challenging work: Do your employees have a chance to shine and show off their talents? How does this actually happen at your company? Recognition for employee contributions: Do you have regular celebrations to recognize the accomplishments of your employees? Do you have team celebrations to recognize the accomplishments and examples of teamwork?
Personal support from supervisor: Have your supervisors made a personal commitment to your employees and take pride in their accomplishments? Do they write personal notes to their employees thanking them for a job well done?
Effort above and beyond the minimum: Do your employees regularly go above and beyond the expectations of the job or do they do just what is needed to slip by under the radar? Can you identify the employees who regularly do more than the job requires?
Understanding the link between the job and the organization’s mission: How many employees even know what your organization’s mission is? Do they see how their job contributes to the company mission? Do you talk about your organization’s mission?
Prospects for future growth: Do your employees believe they have a future with you that you are willing to invest in?
Intention to stay with the employer: Do your employees work with you because they choose to, or because there is nothing better?
What does engagement look like in your organization? When employees are faced with challenges, they are inspired to be innovative and solve their problems proactively.
Allow your employees to get their creative juices flowing and arrive at their own conclusions. Force them to present solutions rather than dump problems in the laps of their supervisors. Jobs that offer variety, autonomy and elicit coworker trust stimulate engagement and enthusiasm. Employees gravitate toward work they are talented at performing. If you want to know how a job is done, ask the person doing the work, not the supervisor supervising the work. And then watch an employee glow. And smile. Allow your employees to own their jobs. Now you’ve got engaged employees.
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