Creating A Workplace that Encourages Employee Engagement

Though there’s plenty of talk about employee engagement, the majority of what you hear is about how to handle it on the back end. What if instead of always working to fix the problems that low engagement causes, you created a workplace that encouraged employee engagement? This proactive approach is by far the best way to handle getting your employees involved in the day-to-day operations and success of your company and keep from working to correct what a bad workplace environment created. When your workplace proactively encourages employee engagement, it’s something that permeates every level of the organization, from the top to the bottom. To launch your engagement efforts, check out these three ways of creating a workplace that encourages employee engagement. Encourage Ownership When people feel that they are responsible for the success or failure of something, there’s a sense of ownership involved. It goes without saying that when you feel a sense of ownership, you take care of it more than you would otherwise. Start with your managers and supervisors in your company and get them involved. Encouraging ownership of the engagement in your company makes double the difference because not only do employees take responsibility, but the employee buy in also helps the level of engagement to rise throughout the company. How to make it happen: Don’t be afraid to talk about your efforts with supervisors and managers. Let them know why engagement is important and talk in literal terms about the difference it can make in your company. Get Everyone on the Same Page Once you’ve gotten the company’s leaders (at every level) involved in your effort to create a workplace that encourages employee engagement, it’s time to reach out to the rest of your workforce. The conversation that takes place with them will be different than it was with the organization’s leadership because it will hone in more on specific engagement indicators. After all, an engaged workforce is one that cares about the success of a company and understands how they affect that success. How to make it happen: Let employees know what goals the company hopes to reach and then break it down further. Share what goals each business area must achieve to do so, and then discuss what each individual must achieve. It’s easier for people to step up to the plate when they know what’s needed from them. Celebrate Successes While you probably won’t have a celebration specifically in recognition of employee engagement increasing, there are plenty of things that go along with increased engagement that are party worthy. For instance, when engagement goes up, often times productivity, sales and retention (a.k.a. anniversaries) do as well. Celebrate them! It may seem unproductive to spend time on celebrations, but it clues your employees into the fact that not only do you acknowledge the work that goes on but you also recognize that it is exceptional and worth celebrating. Celebrations can be anything from an award to a party to recognition at a meeting. The key is calling attention to the exceptional work. How to make it happen: At first, you may need to seek out a cause for celebration but that’s ok. As engagement spreads, so will the reasons to celebrate. What have you done at work that contributes to creating a workplace that encourages employee engagement? Let us know in the comments section below. Looking for ways to improve employee engagement on Glassdoor? Visit How to Manage Reviews. RELATED EBOOK: download 5 Steps to Leveraging Employee Reviews