Every company has a different view of employee engagement. It is a very broad term that encompasses many ways to engage with employees. Employee engagement isn’t just pizza parties and swag giveaways.  Those types of events are more appreciated and even though appreciation is part of the engagement. Employee engagement is so much more to employees than we think.  It’s about connecting employees to the culture, which is created by the mission, vision, and values the organization has established. It helps to create a more meaningful environment. Employees who are connected to the company feel inspired and engaged. Our employee engagement department focuses on recruiting, orientation, onboarding, communications, training, and employee events. Engagement with candidates who wish to become an employee starts at the recruiting stage. Recruiting is the first introduction to any company.

First impressions for all new employees are vital. Onboarding provides a first impression of the organization. The first day of employment and the upcoming weeks will set the tone for how an employee views the company and their position. It will make or break their future with the company. Onboarding is a great time to introduce the company’s culture and mission, vision, and values. The onboarding process should not stop at Human Resources, it should continue with the manager. Ideally, their manager should schedule meetings and lunches with peers, colleagues, and other important company employees to assist with the acclimation period. This will continue to keep them motivated and engaged during their first few weeks and make them feel like a valued member of the team.

Training is a very important way to engage with your employees. Many of the reasons employees seek new employment opportunities are because they don’t feel invested in them or there are no growth opportunities within the company.  Focus on building and cultivating relationships where employees will talk to you about their career and development goals. Encourage higher education or other types of training that show your commitment to them. This will build a lot of trust and loyalty.

“Engagement should be woven into the cloth of every organization and become part of the culture.”

One of the major topics in the workplace and the employee engagement space is healthy to work habits. There are many ways that companies can help employees foster healthy work habits. Companies can encourage taking breaks when needed, ensure that the space the employee is working in is comfortable, provide flexible work schedules or hybrid options, wellness weeks, employee assistance programs, and more. All these options will show employees that you care.

Today employees are looking to give back and they like to do so by volunteering. They like the idea of building stronger relationships within the community and they like taking action for a meaningful cause.  This is a great way to get a team of people together to build strong relationships in and out of the workplace. 

Employees want to do their jobs efficiently. Make sure they have the right tools and the right access and training to processes, policies, and procedures.  Making sure that they know how to find what they are looking for to do their job will avoid causing the employee unnecessary stress. When employees find meaning in their work they are more productive, committed, happy, and engaged.  They are motivated by much more than a paycheck. They want their contribution to benefit the organization. 

If you are uncertain about your culture or if it needs to be improved, you can conduct an employee engagement survey.  This survey is a set of questions created by the survey provider designed to obtain the climate of the culture. The goal is to determine how engaged your workforce is or is not. The outcome will help you determine what steps are needed and you can create an action plan to target employee feedback.  Remember always share the survey feedback and action plan with employees so that they feel heard through the survey.  They want to be sure that the survey will be used to make a positive impact or address the concerns that were provided.

Engagement should be woven into the cloth of every organization and become part of the culture.   Employees who are happy thrive, they are loyal, positive, motivated, and have a positive effect on your business outcomes.