Did you know that only 34% of the American workforce is actively engaged on the job? These engaged employees are enthusiastic about, committed to, and involved in their work.
However, over 60% of the American workforce is either disengaged or not engaged, meaning they often do the minimum required amount of work and have no connection with their organization. That's a scary thought.
So what can you do to help your employees stay engaged in your workplace? Read on for our top tips.
Prioritize Their Wellness
Physical and emotional wellness is a big factor in how engaged employees feel at work.
Offerings like health benefits, wellness programs, healthy food offerings, flexible work schedules, and work-life balance help ease many stresses in your employees' personal lives, and thus help them stay focused and engaged in the workplace.
Be sure that your company has a culture and benefits program that truly helps your employees and creates a supportive ecosystem.
Supply the Right Tools for Employee Engagement
For employees to do their best work, they need to have the right tools available to them. This includes everything from office supplies to the latest and greatest hardware and software.
This may seem obvious, but it's surprising how often employees feel that the tools and processes they have access to fall short. Anything that bars an employee from doing their work effectively can decrease their motivation. This, in turn, decreases their engagement.
Check in with your employees through climate surveys and ask whether or not their tools and infrastructure are adequate.
Encourage Professional Development
By helping your employees grow in their professional careers, you are not only bringing new ideas into your organization, but also showing them that you support their career.
Try assisting employees in attending industry conferences, as well as offering access to internal and external courses or programs. Larger organizations even offer their employees assistance with higher education. There is much you can do to highlight professional development.
Sure, there's a risk that you will invest time and money in developing employees who will leave. But the alternative can be gloomier: disengaged, underachieving workers.
Coach Your Leaders
Another employee engagement best practices is to focus on the management team.
Employees who are supervised by engaged managers will mirror those attributes. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that employees who work for highly engaged managers are 59% more likely to be engaged themselves compared to those supervised by disengaged supervisors.
Clearly, the leadership team has an impact on the engagement of employees. So, start by coaching your leaders and keeping them accountable.
Engaged Employees Are Your Most Valuable Asset
We hope this article has helped you get ideas for how you can boost employee engagement in your workplace.
At SynchronyHR, we offer a variety of services that can help boost your employee engagement, including climate surveys, wellness initiatives, and access to top-tier benefits.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your organization.