12+ HR strategies to increase Employee Engagement at your workplace

Employee engagement is the key to more customer engagement. Want to increase engagement and productivity? Here are 12 HR strategies on how to go about it.

Enhancing employee engagement is one of the top five company’s HR strategies worldwide, according to SHRM. Employee engagement has a direct impact on a company's financial health and profitability, as most executives are aware. HR glossary includes Social cohesion, feeling supported by one's supervisor, information sharing, mutual performance goals, fun activities, vision, communication, and trust all these can improve employee engagement and productivity.

What is Employee engagement?

Employees who are engaged are aware of their responsibilities and how they fit into the mission and vision of their company. They are enthusiastic about their HR jobs and put in a lot of effort. Employee engagement, on the other hand, is a problem that many businesses face.

It is a notion in human resource management (HR) that represents a worker's level of passion and commitment to their job. Engaged employees care about their work and the company's performance, and they believe that their efforts matter. An engaged employee is motivated by more than a wage, and their well-being may be linked to their productivity, and thus instrumental to their company's success.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2020, only 36% of employees are engaged, despite the fact that this is the highest rate in the prior two decades. That still leaves 64% of people disengaged with their jobs.

Employee engagement through Data

Employee engagement is important to your company since, according to a Harvard Business Review article, disengaged employees cost organizations up to $550 billion each year while only investing $100 billion. That investment is beginning to bear fruit.

According to Gallup, companies with better employee engagement grow their earnings per share four times faster than their competitors. According to the same article, when top organizations are compared to the bottom 25%, the more highly engaged businesses had better customer engagement, productivity, and employee retention, as well as a 21 percent higher profitability.

Further Investigation from Gallup investigation reveals that organizations with good HR and employee engagement have:  

  1. 24% less turnover in high-turnover organizations
  2. 59% less turnover in low-turnover organizations 
  3. 10% increases in customer ratings
  4. 17% higher productivity 
  5. 41% lower absenteeism 

See also:

  1. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/humanresources.asp
  2. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040715/how-productivity-calculated.asp

Examples of employee engagement

1. Google- Transparency

Google has made a concerted effort to cultivate the culture that they desire. The emphasis on transparency is one component of that culture. The HR goals for employee engagement is to break down boundaries and stimulate collaboration and innovation. As a result, employees feel empowered due to the transparency. Culture is made up of behavioural patterns, and Google fosters creativity by cultivating a culture of openness and freedom. Formalizing the requirement that workers spend 20% of their time on something other than their typical work function promotes a creative culture. In the end, culture is about "how things get done," and it should not be left to chance; it is far too powerful a force to ignore.

2. Hyatt- Employee Development

In a sector known for significant employee turnover, the hotel group's high employee retention and long tenure speaks for itself. A big part of this is due to the emphasis on employee development and internal promotion. Another fascinating development technique is how they enable their employees (whom they refer to as colleagues) to listen carefully to one another as well as the hotel guests to solve problems and come up with fresh solutions rather than following scripts, thus making the guest feel special and heard.

Organizations that prioritize transparency, in our view, engage employees more than those that do not. Employees want to be a part of something where there are no hidden motives and they can hear the truth, whether it's good or bad news. Employees who are well-informed feel valued, and they are more likely to be engaged. Many of the companies we've encountered share this commitment to employee growth, and as a result, they're able to elicit the inner motivation that comes with knowing you're progressing. Furthermore, in order to properly deal with the ongoing change that all organizations confront, continuous development is essential.

See also:

  1. https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/case-study/6-companies-that-get-employee-engagement-and-what-they-do-right/

12 HR Strategies that HRs can adopt

1. Define your Organization's purpose and vision

Employees will buy into the company's mission more fully and understand how projects and activities are related to its overall performance goals when the company's purpose and vision are not only clearly defined, but also "lived" by its senior leaders and managers.

To achieve success in this area, ask your senior leaders the following questions: Is the organization's declared mission still applicable, or has the business moved on? What changes might be required? How can employees from all departments share their thoughts and feelings?

2. Transparent & Regular Communication

As companies grow, the bonds that bind co-workers can loosen and weaken, resulting in departments functioning in isolation and employees becoming separated from their co-workers before it's too late. Unless you have a specialized internal communications team, it's probable that HR will be in charge of company communications (perhaps with help from your marketing team).

  • Slack is a popular application that aims to bring messaging, tools, and files together in one place.
  • Zoom chat allows for secure direct messaging as well as group chats.
  • Microsoft Teams. Another platform that brings together chat, files, and conference calls.

By the way, Ricotta, our corporate social platform on Slack, integrates with these and other communication tools. That you can openly communicate and identify each other. Two birds, one stone!

See also:

  1. https://www.ricotta.team/blog/is-slack-better-than-ms-teams
  2. https://www.ricotta.team/blog/slack-channel-ideas

3. Encourage Knowledge Sharing

Often, teams' function in isolation and are unaware of what the rest of the team or the company is up to. This not only creates a chasm between teams, but it also fosters a siloed culture.

Create an open sharing platform where each team may submit updates on their project and critical learning points at regular intervals. Teams will learn much more quickly as a result of the shared information and the various thorough orientations on each project. You can be more creative by planning exciting themes to present team updates so that it isn't a dull event.

4. Use of Measurement & Analytics

Our number #1 tip is to measure your engagement! Your employee engagement. HR surveys for employees will provide the insights you need to build a great company culture, and there are many tools you can use to facilitate the process.

  • SurveyMonkey is a popular survey tool with a lot of functionality packed into their free plan 
  • Type form is a survey platform that also integrates with over 500 apps
  • Office vibe is a user-friendly hr analytics employee engagement solution with a focus on insights direct to managers
  • Culture Amp makes it easy to collect and understand employee engagement data, including turnover forecasts powered by machine learning.

5. Professional development and Performance measure

Employee engagement is heavily influenced by opportunities for growth and development. We're seeing more self-directed, on-demand, and bite-sized options as we adapt to how employees need and desire to learn.

If you're thinking about getting a core HR system or already have one, it can include a learning management system (LMS). These accomplish the following: SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, Cornerstone, OnDemand

Online Learning, such as the following massive open online course (MOOC) platforms, could be added to the LMS or offered separately: Coursera, edX, LinkedIn Learning, Udacity.

6. Wellness

A wellness programme might include initiatives to increase employee knowledge, education, and access to technologies that enable them to manage their own health. If your company already has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), start by talking with employees and encourage them to use the EAP coaching and healthcare specialists.

Mindfulness tools, such as the meditation software Headspace, can also help with stress management and attention. According to their findings, just four sessions reduced burnout by 14%. Fitbit also has a programme for businesses that includes subsidized Fitbit device ownership, as well as internal company competitions and awards.

7. Employee surveys and Feedback

Your employees are the foundation of your business, and if you don't know what they're thinking, you'll quickly find yourself in trouble. When it comes to evaluating and understanding your employees' feelings and ideas, surveys and questionnaires are essential.

Make it a habit to do employee feedback and surveys on a regular basis to learn about the real challenges they are encountering and to assist them in resolving them. The more the teams are solicited for their input, the more empowered, trusted, and valued they will feel – and the more engaged they will be.

8. Coach the Right Manager


Do your leaders and managers have the coaching abilities they'll need to help their employees grow? Employees will feel more empowered to work hard, take chances, share ideas, and create if they do so. Employees will have nothing but positive things to say about their bosses, and team productivity will rise. 

The success of their employees is important to good managers. They try to figure out what each team member's strengths are and provide them as many chances as possible to use those strengths in their jobs. Managers that do this empower their staff by recognizing and appreciating their contributions. Companies must recognize that the manager role is different and critical, with particular functional needs that necessitate a certain skill set. Organizations should be selective in their employment of team managers and train them to play an active role in developing their teams' engagement performance goals.

9. Compensation and Reward system

For any employee, money is a significant motivator. Knowing that he or she is being compensated fairly and competitively in the sector can be motivating. To make it more robust, create a solid compensation system that includes perks such as PF, Medical Insurance, and so on. 

Employee Reward and Recognition is a critical component in fostering a great work culture and, as a result, engagement. Recognizing and rewarding the right people is an important retention strategy that should be carefully defined and structured.

Create monthly or quarterly incentive programmes that recognize employees based on a variety of criteria. You can commend them for technical proficiency or behavioural traits such as punctuality, teamwork, and so on. Cheering and praising accomplishments may seem insignificant, but it goes a long way toward reminding employees that their labour is valued and appreciated.

10. Be Fair and Realistic

To maintain the respect of their employees, businesses and leaders must treat people fairly and hold themselves to the same standards. Employees want to know that they will be judged and evaluated solely on their performance, not on external influences.

Employee expectations should also be realistic, according to managers. While engaged employees are more likely to take on a bigger task than their less engaged counterparts, relying too heavily on them might lead to burnout or dissatisfaction.

11. Work-life Balance

You must respond to the question, "Why is this company in existence?" Tesla, for example, claims to be here to "strengthen the world's transition to sustainable energy." The rest of this procedure can be guided by your mission statement. It should be simple to believe in, emotionally captivating, and provide individuals in your organization a better feeling of purpose in their work. Needless to say, the days of a regimented 9-5 workplace atmosphere are long gone. 

Many developing economies have recognized the value of providing work flexibility and defining accountability outside the confines of office locations and work hours. Employees today are concerned with more than simply getting paid at the end of the month for the tasks they complete; they are also concerned with the overall experience and enjoyment of working. The ability to establish work synergies and contribute successfully to the organization is harmed by a stressed employee who is half-focused on personal matters. Everyone seeks work-life balance and flexibility. Many businesses create projects around work-from-home, childcare, and sabbaticals, among other things, to help employees attend to family responsibilities and hence feel engaged.

12. Regular Breaks to rest

You must respond to the question, "What is the purpose of this company?" For example, Tesla argues that it is here to "strengthen the world's transition to sustainable energy." Your mission statement can guide the rest of this procedure. It should be easy to believe in, emotionally engaging, and provide employees in your company a greater sense of purpose in their work.

By the way, we also have Ricotta Trivia our own virtual Team building app with lots of fun. Do check it out and play games and trivia as a team with Ricotta Trivia. The best part? It's asynchronous and 100% on Slack

See also:

  1. https://www.ricotta.team/blog/slack-games
  2. https://www.ricotta.team/blog/would-you-rather-questions-for-work-place

Conclusion

"To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace"- Doug Conant.

Employee engagement in HR refers to a worker's enthusiasm and dedication to their job. Employee engagement is vital to a company's performance because of its links to job satisfaction and morale. Employees that are actively involved in their work are more productive and perform better. Employers may increase employee engagement by successfully communicating with them, providing rewards, and addressing career growth opportunities.

Employee engagement activities and hr engagement activities are not a stand-alone HR function. It requires organizational commitment and involvement to undertake efficient efforts to offer the benefits we discussed before. Employees who are highly engaged are more likely to be productive and loyal to the company. The first step in improving employee engagement using the best employee engagement techniques is to develop a comprehensive hr employee engagement strategy, of which the engagement survey is only one component. Employees, leadership, and other stakeholders must all contribute to developing and implementing an effective and long-term HR engagement strategy, but it is well worth the effort.

As a result, by cultivating a culture of involvement, you may achieve tangible, long-term consequences for your firm. Correct Employee Engagement with the right employee engagement tactics, the firm develops an outstanding Employer Branding and a sense of pride among all employees.

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