18 Employee Engagement Ideas [Practical Tips on Engagement]

Organizations are highly focused on employee engagement, but why is this the case? Because engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and committed, leading to higher profitability and customer satisfaction. For employees, engagement fosters a sense of purpose, improves job satisfaction, and enhances overall well-being.

It’s therefore no surprise that investing in employee engagement is a strategic imperative that benefits both the organization and its people.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, it’s not simply about having a people strategy for motivating employees and meeting basic levels of job satisfaction. “It can be seen as a combination of commitment to the organization and its values and a willingness to help colleagues”.

This will include things such as:

• fair treatment for employees
• support for staff well-being
• empowering staff to shape their roles
• meaningful ways for staff to voice their opinions to management
• effective people-management skills
• performance management systems that seek to motivate
• opportunities for personal professional development
• communications to reinforce the organization’s strategy and vision and to ensure staff are well informed

So, let’s look at 18 things your business can do to impact staff engagement. But first, we need to define what is meant by employee engagement.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral state of being fully involved and committed to one’s work. It goes beyond mere job satisfaction; engaged employees are motivated to contribute to the organization’s goals and objectives. This level of commitment is crucial for an organization’s success, as it directly impacts productivity, profitability, and retention.

Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work, take pride in their contributions, and are willing to go the extra mile. However, achieving high levels of employee engagement is a two-way street, requiring effort and commitment from both the organization and its employees.

Why is Employee Engagement Essential?

Employee engagement is essential for organizations aiming to achieve their goals and objectives. Engaged employees are more productive, efficient, and loyal, which translates into increased job satisfaction, retention, and profitability. When employees are engaged, they communicate better, collaborate more effectively, and are more innovative, leading to improved decision-making and problem-solving. Additionally, engaged employees are more likely to provide excellent customer service, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. In essence, employee engagement is a key driver of organizational success and a critical factor in maintaining a competitive edge.

Now, let’s look at 18 things your business can do to impact staff engagement.

Ensure staff understand the organization's purpose

Every organization has a purpose. How well this is communicated internally can have an effect on employee engagement. That’s one of the findings from Deloitte where 73 percent of employees who said they work at a “purpose-driven“ company are engaged, against just 23 percent for those who don’t. This makes employee engagement important for achieving organizational success.

Give employees a voice to raise concerns and provide employee feedback

A 2016 Deloitte report says the top challenge for engagement programs is moving from a once-a-year mindset to a “continuous listening approach to monitoring engagement.” In essence, listening is the key to employee engagement, which translates into increased employee job satisfaction, retention, and profitability.

Conduct Regular Employee Surveys

Conducting regular employee surveys is a vital strategy for measuring employee engagement and identifying areas for improvement. These surveys provide valuable insights into employee attitudes, perceptions, and experiences, helping organizations understand what motivates and demotivates their workforce.

Regular surveys also show employees that their opinions are valued and respected, fostering increased trust and engagement. Utilizing employee engagement software can streamline the process of conducting surveys, analyzing data, and tracking progress over time. By regularly gathering and acting on employee feedback, organizations can continuously improve their engagement efforts and create a more supportive work environment.

Hold Exit Interviews to Learn and Improve

Holding exit interviews is an essential practice for understanding why employees leave and identifying areas for improvement. These interviews offer valuable feedback on employee experiences, shedding light on what the organization did well and where it could improve.

This information is crucial for enhancing employee engagement, retention, and overall organizational performance. By analyzing the feedback from exit interviews, organizations can identify patterns and trends, allowing them to develop targeted strategies to address common issues and concerns. Ultimately, this proactive approach can lead to a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

Give new employees a mentor

Mentoring matters. Mentoring strengthens collaboration skills of both parties and enhances understanding of diverse needs across the workforce. How well this is communicated internally can engage employees and have a significant effect on employee engagement.

Support ways for employees to build relationships beyond the workplace

Organizing social activities beyond the workplace helps foster team cohesiveness amongst staff, whilst also addressing issues of health and wellness. In essence, listening is the key to encouraging employees and enhancing employee engagement.

Recognize performance when it deserves to be acknowledged

Recognizing every little achievement is not the objective. However, when a major milestone is achieved, the contract won, a project brought in under budget or ahead of time, such contributions should be recognized amongst the wider organization. By regularly gathering and acting on employee feedback, organizations can continuously improve their engagement efforts, thereby improving employee engagement.

Foster collaboration

As social creatures, people often thrive in teams. Recognizing these traits and fostering group interaction can achieve much greater commitment from staff. Ultimately, this proactive approach can lead to a more engaged and satisfied workforce, enhancing overall employee engagement efforts.

Encourage healthy physical/dietary pursuits

The encouragement of physical activity quite apart from the day-to-day responsibilities of an employee’s role can significantly enhance staff happiness and satisfaction. “When employees eat healthily, exercise regularly and get enough sleep, they’ll feel and perform their best“. Mentoring strengthens collaboration skills of both parties and enhances understanding of diverse needs across the workforce, benefiting each team member.

Give clear guidance on an employee's (or team's) objectives and timelines

Imagine if you were turning up to your place of work and had little idea what your employer’s expectations were? Organizing employee engagement activities beyond the workplace helps foster team cohesiveness amongst staff, whilst also addressing issues of health and wellness. Clearly explaining the organization’s expectations of its staff and when it should be completed will empower staff to then set their own agenda to meet the ultimate objectives.

Foster lifelong learning and professional development opportunities

Organizations which want to retain their talent can increase engagement by giving staff opportunities for career development and learning over the course of their employment.

Employees want to “develop their skills and continue challenging themselves. They don’t want to do monotonous tasks that require minimal effort. Engaged employees constantly use their mind and enhance their skills.” Such contributions should be recognized amongst the wider organization to encourage employees.

Play to an employee's strengths

Focus on what an employee does well and encourage them to build on their skills. This not only gives the employee a greater sense of self-worth but enhances the value of their ability to deliver on wider organizational objectives. Recognizing these traits and fostering group interaction can achieve much greater commitment from team members.

Don't trust in salary alone to motivate

Many have heard of the Mazlow Hierarchy of Needs. It argues that beyond basics, such as a salary to put food on the table and clothes on their backs, employees need more than financial rewards to motivate and engage their minds each day they turn up for work.

As Harvard Business Review’s analysis found, “results indicate that the association between salary and job satisfaction is very weak”. When employees eat healthily, exercise regularly and get enough sleep, they’ll feel and perform their best, becoming an engaged employee.

Recognize and encourage innovations from staff which improve performance

Let staff improve on work practices. Foster a sense that they can influence how the workplace operates and that their contributions to improving the way things are done are valued. Recent studies also suggest that a culture of innovation is synonymous with high levels of employee engagement.

Clearly explaining the organization’s expectations of its staff and when it should be completed will empower staff to then set their own agenda to meet the ultimate objectives, keeping employees engaged.

Encourage decision-making from the bottom up

There’s a cliche that the best managers are those that make their own roles redundant. Conversely, the idea that delegating decisions to those that do the job is invariably the best strategy for engaging an employee with the task and securing their commitment over the long term. Engaged employees constantly use their mind and enhance their skills, which can significantly improve employee engagement.

Ensure staff have the necessary work tools to perform

There is little point in aiming to increase staff commitment to the organization if they are stymied by the lack of basic tools for the job expected of them. Good equipment is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Promote office health and wellness

This is all about recognizing that downtime during office hours is key to allowing staff to let off steam, socialize, get moving if at a desk for many hours. Some research suggests that introducing standing desks to office environments actually improves staff performance.

A University of Leicester study found that 43 percent of employees who swapped their seat for a standing desk said their performance improved after a year. As Harvard Business Review’s analysis found, “results indicate that the association between salary and job satisfaction is very weak,” making employee engagement important for overall job satisfaction.

Create a Positive and Inclusive Work Environment

Creating a positive and inclusive work environment is fundamental to boosting employee engagement and motivation. A positive work environment is characterized by respect, empathy, and open communication, where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to contribute.

An inclusive work environment embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that employees from all backgrounds feel welcome and included. Organizations can foster such an environment by promoting work-life balance, providing professional development opportunities, and encouraging employee feedback and participation. When employees feel respected and included, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their work, driving overall organizational success.

Encourage staff to communicate what they do to the wider organization

Staff need to be given opportunities to share their knowledge and responsibilities with colleagues within the organization. This will foster a sense of being valued and appreciated. It will also ensure that staff better understand how their co-workers fit into the organization. Recent studies also suggest that a culture of innovation is synonymous with high levels of employee engagement, highlighting the importance of employee engagement efforts.

Seek employee input on new team hires

Nothing feels more engaging than asking existing staff to give input into the type and character of people the organization should be seeking to bring into the team. It not only makes existing staff feel their opinions are valued but will ensure that new hires hit the ground running with a team already invested in their success.

Conversely, the idea that delegating decisions to those that do the job is invariably the best strategy for engaging and encouraging employees with the task and securing their commitment over the long term.

Let staff take greater responsibility and ownership of their tasks and targets

Organizations that want to get the best from employees should seek to ensure that staff feel ownership of their role. If they have a set of tasks and objectives, management should negotiate with and push employees to perform. This should be done to maximize the sense that there is real ownership of their role and input into how they merit recognition from contemporaries and the wider organization. Good equipment is not a luxury, it is a necessity to boost employee engagement.

The tip of the iceberg

In these engagement ideas, the overarching point is to find the many, often small, frequently easy-to-implement ways in which managers can make employees feel genuinely valued and recognized for the contribution they make to the success of the operation through employee engagement activities.

When an organization focuses on engaging employees, the results are often higher productivity, better staff retention and improvements in overall organizational success. If your organization isn’t fostering an engagement culture, you need to ask the question, why not?