How to Improve Employee Engagement

Posted on: September 6, 2017 by Signature Insurance Group

Reducing Employee Error > Improving Engagement

No matter what you do, if your employees are not happy and engaged at your company, your output and the overall company culture will suffer. It has been found that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202 percent. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, up to 71 percent of employees are not fully engaged, with 45 percent identifying as not fully engaged and 26 percent feeling actively disengaged. In addition to increasing turnover rates (and thus increasing the time and resources spent looking for new employees), a lack of engagement can be dangerous. LinkedIn reports that businesses ranked in the top 25 percent for employee engagement see 49 percent fewer safety incidents than the bottom 25 percent. If employees don’t care enough to pay attention to their work, they could also be committing costly errors. Protect your business against potential employee errors with a Management Liability Insurance policy in the short-term, and set a long-term goal to improve employee engagement with these tips.

Get your leadership involved.

One of the best ways to instill a behavior in someone is by setting a good example. 80 percent of employees who are not satisfied with their direct manager are disengaged, and it is very difficult for employees to be engaged in their company when they do not believe in the goals and abilities of senior leadership. Make sure employee engagement starts there. Encourage senior leadership to make themselves more accessible to the other members of your company and form healthy relationships with their teams, and have them be clear about demonstrating their goals for the company and how the other employees can fit into those dreams.

You and your fellow leaders should also be fully transparent. Entrepreneur reports that management transparency has a 94 percent correlation with employee happiness, and for good reason. Being honest with your employees and giving them insight into what the company is dealing with and planning will help them to feel like a more integral part of the team. If you leave your employees in the dark, they will likely feel confused and undervalued, which will likely increase their dissatisfaction with your company.

Set goals.

Research cited by Forbes demonstrates that companies with high levels of employee engagement had solid action plans in place. In addition to providing leaders and employees with feedback, the feedback was turned into action plans that would address the problems (both with engagement and in general). Having a strong, concrete plan in place will help your employees to feel more secure in the company and make it easier for them to get involved and help out. When creating your plans, Gallup advises that you write them in realistic, everyday terms that can easily be understood and related to, which will help to increase commitment.

Be flexible.

Everyone has different needs and schedules, and therefore not everyone will do their best work in a cubicle between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm. Offer a certain degree of flexibility to your employees that will allow them to design their schedules to best suit their needs. For example, allow them to create their own hours (within reason), and allow them to work outside the office if their work permits. Statistics have shown that employees who are given freedom with their hours and locations tend to be happier, more engaged, and more productive.

Give them the attention they need.

There’s no better way to make an employee feel like he or she doesn’t matter at all than to give him or her absolutely no personal attention. We understand that it can be difficult, especially at larger companies, to make everyone feel important, but employees who feel like cogs in a machine will not be motivated to work hard or carefully. Give your employees a certain degree of autonomy within their jobs, and always make sure to acknowledge the positive things that they do.

In addition, you want to make sure that they have everything they need to perform their jobs properly. Properly train your employees and continue training throughout their time at your company if they are introduced to new duties, and always leave yourself or other members of senior leadership available to address any questions or concerns they may have. Tools are also important: make sure that your employees have what they need to conveniently carry out their duties.

Finally, hold meetings, distribute surveys, or put out a suggestion box for your employees to voice their concern. We recommend a combination of the above in order to accommodate everyone (some employees may not be comfortable publicly airing their grievances). If they have suggestions, you should be open to hearing them. They could have smart insight into some of your company’s policies and procedures, and they will feel like their voices matter more.

Let them grow.

If your employees feel like they’re in a rut, their work will likely reflect that. One of the best ways to motivate your employees is to give them something to work towards. For example, you can offer opportunities for promotions and raises, which will drive your employees to work harder and increase their level of investment in your business. Another way to do this is by giving them an opportunity to return to school or take classes. This will help them to improve and will also be a perk that many will want to keep.

Step away from work.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but creating a company culture that’s all work, all the time is more likely to decrease productivity and work quality, and increase stress. This goes hand-in-hand with the earlier point about making upper management accessible: take some time to have fun with your company. Organize bonding events or a retreat, volunteer together, and regularly do fun things within the office like a holiday gift exchange or birthday celebrations. It will help the members of your company to form closer relationships with one another, which will improve their work together and create an overall happier work environment.

About Signature Insurance Group

Signature Insurance Group has been working since 1969 to provide comprehensive insurance solutions to individuals and businesses across the United States. We offer a range of insurance products and services in risk management, employee benefits, business insurance, and personal insurance, and we pride ourselves on our commitment to creating “Signature Relationships” with our clients where we commit to providing the best, most comprehensive service possible. To learn more about our goods and services, contact us today at (800) 464-3606.

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