50+ Employee Engagement Ideas and Strategies for Companies
Milton Herman
Why would you want to invest in employee engagement strategies? It’s a chain reaction. Happy employees work harder. They’re more creative and productive, which results in higher profits and improved business development. Here are employee engagement ideas to consider.
What is Employee Engagement?
If you wanted to write a simple employee engagement definition, it would be that this term refers to the attitude that employees feel toward their jobs. This includes:
- Their role within the company
- Their attitude toward coworkers
- Their relationship with supervisors
- How they feel about the company culture
- Their emotional attachment to the company itself
When employees are engaged in their work, they are happy and more productive. This aspect becomes a competitive advantage for the company.
→ Read More: What is Employee Engagement? Benefits, Strategies and Steps
Why is Employee Engagement Important?
There are many benefits of employee engagement for an employer. If you are wondering whether you should implement an employee engagement action plan, consider the following advantages:
- Engaged employees put forward more effort on the job. A positive employment experience shows in everything they do, from their attitude when they arrive at work to their motivation to do their work and their thoroughness on the job.
- They are more motivated during training sessions. Employees who feel positive about their job and their place at the company learn faster and retain the information better than those who are simply “putting in time” to collect their paycheck.
- They are more creative and look for solutions when facing a challenge, before consulting a manager. This frees up managers for other, more important duties.
- Happy team members are the company’s ambassadors. They can help spread the word about your company through social media posts.
Finally, you want to boost employee engagement because it is one indicator that has a bearing on your bottom line. When you improve the employee experience, employee happiness, employee retention, productivity, and customer rates also tend to go up. As a result, profitability is also likely to grow.
Employee Engagement
Time to start or overhaul an engagement strategy? Capitalize on Employee Engagement Opportunities.
Improving Employee Engagement at Work
Are you wondering about how to improve employee engagement? Here are some examples:
1. Hire new employees based on their attitude and personality
This doesn’t mean that education and experience isn’t relevant when trying to fill a vacant position. When the HR team is looking at two candidates with similar backgrounds, give the edge to the person with the attitude and personality you feel that will be the best fit for your organization.
This is the employment brand you want your company associated with. Someone can have great credentials on paper but if they can’t communicate well with colleagues they end up being a fly in the ointment of your company. This becomes an ongoing problem.
2. Make your workplace reflect the community you serve through diversity in hiring
It’s important to have a business that is sensitive to the needs of its customers. By employing a workforce that includes people of all ages and from different cultural backgrounds, you will have a better understanding of your customer base. Your company will also gain a reputation as HR leaders, and you may end up with a wider base of candidates to choose from when filling available positions.
3. Let all employees know that inclusion is one of your company values
Let everyone know that all voices are welcome at your company. Engaged employees have ideas they are willing to share, either in meetings or by e-mail, with their managers. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts and ideas, even if the company does not decide to implement them.
4. Show respect for everyone in the workplace
This should be a given for every interaction on a company-wide basis, whether it is verbal or written. All employees, no matter what their job title or area of responsibility, should be aware that no one will be allowed to treat anyone else in a disrespectful manner.
5. Assign a buddy/mentor to each new hire
Starting a new job can be stressful for a new team member. You want their employee journey to start on a positive note. Let your new employee know they have someone they can approach for help and advice in the early days of their employment and going forward. They can ask human resources for help, too. It will help the new person feel more comfortable as they get settled in and will allow them to picture themselves as long-term employees from the start.
6. Plan for each new hire’s first day of work and be prepared
Don’t let your new hire feel like an afterthought when they arrive at work. Have a space ready for them to place their belongings when they arrive. Prepare their workspace in advance so that their desk is stocked with essentials when they first sit down. Make sure someone goes over the office layout and points out the essentials (where the restrooms are located and where the break room is so your new employee can get a cup of coffee).
7. Complete the onboarding paperwork in advance
When a new employee joins, there’s a lot of paperwork to be completed. To ensure the new team member’s day runs smoothly, forward the documents to your new hire in advance. The paperwork can be filled in and emailed, faxed, or mailed to your Human Resources Department before your new hire’s start date.
8. Ensure employees have everything they need to do their work properly
Make sure your workers have their basic needs looked after before you start thinking about other methods of trying to boost employee engagement. Invest in the specific tools and systems they need to do their work properly. If you can minimize distractions that waste time and lead to stress and frustration for your team members, it is a bonus for both of you. Productivity and employee satisfaction will increase.
9. Put your new hires to work on the first day
Let your new team members start contributing from the day they start work. They may need to complete training on company procedures or some specific equipment; however, there must be some parts of their job they can start on immediately.
10. Allow employees to make decisions within their areas of responsibility
No one likes to be micro-managed at work. Let your employees know that you trust them by letting them make decisions (and make it clear when they should turn matters over to a manager or supervisor).
11. Assign company values to an employee
Each month, select one of your company values and assign it to an employee who exemplifies it. The employee will be selected by his or her peers. Make a point of announcing the person who best reflects the value to all your employees and on your company’s social media posts.
12. Establish a long-term employee engagement plan
Improving employee engagement should be an ongoing part of your company culture. This is not something you can start to embrace for a year or two because it is trendy and then drop because it doesn’t seem to suit your business goals. When employee engagement is done right, it provides multiple benefits for a company. Ensuring positive experiences at work for employees should be considered a lifestyle for your business, not a fad.
13. Encourage employees to take care of their physical and mental health
Start by setting a good example by looking after your health. See your doctor and dentist for regular check-ups. Make it easy for your employees to take time off from work to do the same.
14. Ask employees what they think by conducting employee engagement surveys
An employee may be spending more time at work than with their “significant other” (once you take into account time for sleep). Given the major time commitment involved, it’s vital that employees feel engaged at work and that their efforts matter. Conducting a confidential employee engagement survey at regular intervals will help you to keep track of what you are doing that employees like and areas they would like to see improved.
15. Ask employees which tasks they enjoy doing most, then let them do them as often as possible
Employees want to do well at work and be appreciated by their employer. Those who feel appreciated will be engaged in their work. They also want to be given the chance to do their best work. All of these elements make for a great employee experience.
Managers often don’t know which employees are best suited to certain tasks. The manager doesn’t take the time to ask about team member passions and interests regarding their work or take the employees’ skills into account when assigning tasks. Let employees specify which tasks they especially like (and dislike) so that the manager can assign the employee tasks they like more often. The disagreeable tasks can be rotated throughout the team so that no one gets stuck with them all the time.
16. Establish an open-door policy for questions or concerns
If you want your employees to feel comfortable being open with managers, they need to know that they can do so without concerns about being judged or criticized. It is not easy taking the initiative to approach a manager for a discussion. Let employees know that they can do so without fear of any negative consequences.
17. Recognize employees’ efforts for a job well done
Employees who go above and beyond the call of duty should have their efforts recognized by their manager in some way. If you can’t reward your employee financially by giving them a bonus, see if you can give them some extra vacation time or gift certificates for dinner at a nice restaurant. With your Employee Engagement Platform, make sure the employee knows why they are receiving the reward and you will increase the likelihood that your employee will remain engaged going forward.
18. Consult with employees when deciding on an appropriate dress code
Unless you are working in a very conservative industry (law or banking, for example), you may want to consider whether your employees really need to come to work wearing a business suit.
- Is business casual (dress pants and a button-down shirt) a better fit for your company?
- If your team members aren’t involved in client-facing roles, can they come to work wearing jeans and T-shirts if that is the attire that makes them feel comfortable?
- Would a better option be to allow employees to “dress down” by wearing casual clothes one day per month?
19. Share and recognize employees’ achievements away from work
In 2021, savvy companies understand that employees have an entire life away from the workplace. Take the time to celebrate their achievements during their downtime by sharing it in a weekly huddle with your team or in the company newsletter. Support side projects by encouraging your employees to discuss them during these sessions or submitting the details for the newsletter.
20. Suggest that your employees become company ambassadors
Your employees are already using social media in their personal lives. Your company needs to share its story with the public. You can’t force any of your employees to share positive messages about your company online; however, you can suggest that they post things about work on their personal accounts, using internal solutions such as a Social Advocacy Platform.
Before your employees post anything, you’ll want to go over what kinds of messages are appropriate and which ones are not. A good rule to keep in mind is that if someone wouldn’t post something on a billboard on a busy highway for everyone to see, then it probably shouldn’t be posted on a social media site.
21. Let employees know how their work advances the company’s goals
Employees may not see how their efforts help the company advance its vision for the year (and beyond). If they understand how valuable they are, employees will see how their work is an investment in the company’s success, which will also benefit them. Explain to them how their work impacts the company and why it is important for them to continue to give their best effort.
22. Keep your team up to date on company “inside” information
Don’t let your employees be the last to know about what is happening inside their organization. Make a point of keeping them informed through blog posts, regular announcements, or company-wide announcements (in real-time) so that they always know about the direction the company is taking or challenges it is facing before the news becomes public.
23. Be flexible and allow employees to move laterally within the company
At times, employees will want to try a different role. This may be because they may be curious about a different career path or there may be personal reasons why a different job may appeal to them (more flexible hours, different work schedule, possibility of remote work, etc.). Work with employees to create a path to get them into a different role. This will help your company retain experienced employees when they may have otherwise moved on.
24. Support employees by helping them develop their skills
Let your employees know you encourage them in developing their employment skills by reimbursing their tuition (partially or in full) for work-related education programs. Your workers will stay motivated and be prepared for future opportunities within the company. This is a highly effective employee engagement program.
25. Encourage employees to be innovative
Your employees can bring some interesting and creative ideas to the table for improving how the company runs and/or saving money. Let them know that these ideas are always welcome, whether or not the company decides to implement them.
If the company does implement an employee’s idea, give the worker credit for it. Recognize them publicly for their contribution.
Employee Engagement
Time to start or overhaul an engagement strategy? Capitalize on Employee Engagement Opportunities.
How to Increase Employee Engagement?
Not all employee engagement activities take place inside the workplace. These ideas help encourage engagement outside of the office, factory, plant, etc. It’s important to acknowledge that your team members have total lives and to celebrate achievements, whether they occur on the job or in another area.
26. Celebrate and acknowledge your employees’ achievements
The big and small achievements of your workers matter and they should be acknowledged. Celebrate and acknowledge their hard work as appropriate so they know they are appreciated.
27. Encourage employees to pursue meaningful personal projects
Give your employees a certain amount of time while they are at work when they can pursue their own projects. Arrange for people from different teams (and different departments) to meet and get to know each other so they can collaborate on personal projects as appropriate. This positive energy will only benefit your employees when they return to their regular work.
28. Let teams create a culture that works for them
Each team is unique, since its members bring their own skills and abilities to the table. To encourage team engagement, ask the team to come up with two or three values it can agree on that will be in play as its members work together. Putting these ground rules into effect early on can help to ward off difficulties later.
29. Be clear about what you want employees to accomplish
As an employer, it is very important that employees understand what they are supposed to accomplish at work and how their progress is going to be measured. Ask managers to explain goals to team members and then have the team members repeat the goal back to the manager (either orally or in written form). From the responses, the manager will be able to gauge whether the employees fully understand their responsibilities.
30. Choose goals that capture employees’ interests in some way
Essentially, you want to speak to your team members’ WIIFM thoughts when you present new goals you want them to reach. What do we mean by WIIFM? What’s In It For Me. For some employees, helping their employer reach its goals (and continuing to work and be paid) is enough. Other people are more cynical and think in terms of WIIFM more often. This doesn’t mean they’re selfish, they could be supporting family members or have other extenuating circumstances.
There are ways to appeal to employees in the this category, including:
- Offering salary increases or bonuses to employees when the company reaches the goal
- Offering extra time off when the company reaches the goal
- Putting all employees’ names into a draw for one or more prizes once the goal is reached
- Making a charitable donation to the charity of the employees’ choice on reaching the goal
31. Set goals that are challenging, but not impossible to reach
Be fair when setting goals for employees. They will know when the goals are unreasonable. Most people appreciate a challenge but they don’t want to feel they are being set up to fail.
32. Let your teams set their own goals
This may seem a bit unnatural if your company is used to management having a more hands-on approach. We’re not suggesting that managers back off entirely. Allowing teams to set their own goals means they present the proposed goal to their manager for discussion and approval, not that the team has the green light to do whatever they want.
It also indicates that the company trusts the team members to determine what they want to accomplish, the steps involved to get it done, and a timeline to reach their goal. The team is more likely to stay engaged with the project if it was fully engaged from the beginning.
33. Put employees at ease so they feel comfortable discussing work issues
Let employees know that they can always approach a member of the management team to discuss a work issue. They will always be treated with respect and their concerns will be held in confidence.
34. When an employee asks for help with a problem, focus on the issue
Too many people fail to practice active listening. Instead they are only waiting for their turn to speak. Most people don’t approach someone else for help unless they have exhausted their own resources trying to solve the problem or they have become completely frustrated with the situation and can’t find a solution.
35. Encourage employees to find their own solutions
This doesn’t mean that a manager can’t offer advice to an employee who is having a problem. It means that if an employee is having a problem with their work schedule due to family responsibilities, the manager may suggest considering a lateral transfer to another job with a more family friendly schedule and asks the employee for their thoughts. The employee suggests modifying their existing job to working three days a week at home but keeping the same schedule for the other two days. Now the manager has to decide whether that schedule is workable.
Fun Employee Engagement Ideas
36. Find activities employees can participate in
Organize social events that employees can enjoy together. These can include going bowling, going on a scavenger hunt, or an escape room. The idea is for people to meet and interact who don’t necessarily work together regularly. It builds a better sense of team engagement within the organization.
37. Use your petty cash to treat your employees
Now and then, everyone in your organization needs a break. Dip into your petty cash (or corporate card) and take everyone out for ice cream on a hot summer day or head out for hot chocolate when the temperature drops. This type of gesture gives your team members a chance to get to know each other in a casual setting and discuss topics unconnected with work.
38. Invite your team to a sporting event
Get away from work and take your team to the ballpark, rink, or court. Local teams are entertaining to watch and ticket prices for games are usually reasonable. Contact the ticket office to ask about group rates. Your company may even get a shout-out at the game!
Don’t forget to take a team photo as a souvenir you can display at work to remind everyone who participated in a wonderful time spent together. Spending time together outside of work is a simple example of team building activities.
39. Get involved with a charity (or two)
Conduct a survey to find out which charitable causes are most important to your employees. Choose the top one (or two) from the list and decide to support that cause for a year. Hold fun events during the year to raise money for the charity (bake sales, hot dog lunches, silly hat Friday, etc.) and give your employees time off from work to volunteer for the charity.
40. Choose themed office days
Have some fun (and encourage employee participation) by declaring that one Friday a month is a theme day. Employees can come to work in casual clothes, put on their favorite sports team’s jersey, or wear silly hats.
41. Celebrate the people in your company
Make a point of celebrating birthdays, work anniversaries retirements, promotions, and new employees joining the company. These are moments where people can be honored, placed in front of their colleagues, and made to feel special.
42. Post photos of employees at work
Take photos of teams at work or attending events and post them on the walls at the office. Include a mix of posed images and informal ones, where employees are having fun or where the subject doesn’t know they are being photographed. Ensure that employees are being featured in a flattering light to encourage team engagement.
Employee Engagement
Time to start or overhaul an engagement strategy? Capitalize on Employee Engagement Opportunities.
Employee Engagement Examples for Remote Workers
Remote workers, who may never set foot in the office at all, may have a difficult time feeling as though they are part of the team. These virtual activities suggestions will help them to feel engaged in their work and improve their productivity as well.
43. Hold your remote employees accountable, but be flexible
Your employees who work from home may work better on a different schedule than 9-5, Monday-Friday. As long as they are completing their work as agreed, give them the flexibility they need to work in the way that is best for them. No one likes to be micromanaged, and your remote worker may have family responsibilities or other reasons why a “standard” schedule is not feasible for them.
44. Encourage employees to have a work-life balance
When working from home, it can be challenging to know when to stop “work” and switch into “home” mode. Ask your home workers to define specific work hours and create a schedule so that they are not always feeling as though they have to be working.
You want to improve employee motivation and avoid employee burnout by encouraging employees to speak up if they are having challenges balancing work and being at home. Their manager should be the first person to help them find out where the problem is and how to deal with it. If necessary, the employee can seek further assistance through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or other community resources.
45. Use video to communicate with remote workers
If remote workers are only receiving instructions for projects by email, it can be difficult for them to really get to know their managers, and vice versa. Make a point of scheduling a video call once a month or more often if needed to see and hear your remote worker. The idea is to put a face and voice to the person who is emailing and sending in their work. Taking this step will help both parties feel more engaged in their work and able to work more effectively together.
General Employee Engagement Tips
46. Do what you say you are going to do
If you want to build positive, long-term relationships with employees, executives and managers have to walk the talk. Today’s job seekers and employees can spot disingenuous tactics. Even if one sneaks under their radar, they aren’t likely to hang around too long after they have spotted a business owner or boss who isn’t being authentic.
47. Executives need to communicate with employees. They also need to listen to them
Executives may be more comfortable making announcements to employees than reading messages from them, but it’s important that employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions to those in charge. The executives are making decisions that affect the employees’ livelihoods, which means the employees have a sincere interest in those decisions and how they are being made.
48. Make sure the workplace layout includes natural light
Everyone in the workplace will perform better if they can spend at least some time during their day exposed to natural light. It is a natural mood-booster, since sunlight causes the brain to release serotonin, a hormone that promotes feeling good and a sense of calmness. It also helps some people increase their focus.
49. Add indoor plants to create an attractive atmosphere and increase employee focus
Plants break up an indoor space and create points of interest in a business and work environment. They clean the air and according to the results of a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, help to increase the attention span of participants who were asked to perform demanding work.
LumApps for Employee Engagement:
50. Ask employee engagement experts for help and advice
The idea of pursuing employee engagement solutions is still relatively new for many employers. The good news is that you don’t have to come up with all the answers alone. Consult an expert for help to build a policy that will help you engage and empower employees.
51. Build long-term employee-engagement solutions
This is a situation where you do not want to settle for a quick fix. Develop your employee engagement programs with clear objectives in mind. Run them for at least 12 months, then take time to evaluate how well they have been working. Build on the successes and tweak the areas that need improvement.
52. Keep trying to find engagement ideas that will work for your company
Employee engagement ideas that are successful for one company may not work as well for another. If you try a particular employee engagement strategy and you aren’t happy with the level of engagement you see, feel free to try something else.
Taking the time and making the effort to put these employee engagement ideas and strategies into effect is worth it. Your business will reap the benefits of lower employee turnover and higher efficiency. These two benefits will hopefully lead to higher profits.
Employee Engagement
Time to start or overhaul an engagement strategy? Capitalize on Employee Engagement Opportunities.
Employee engagement refers to an employee’s commitment and connection to their employer. The workers’ level of engagement drives a company’s success. High levels of engagement improve performance at all levels of the organization. They encourage long-term employee relationships as well as customer loyalty. Why Are Employee Engagement Surveys Important?
- Reduction in Absenteeism
- Increase Productivity
- Better Employee Safety
- Lower Turnover
- Higher Growth
The benefits of employee engagement are numerous – from higher productivity to increased profit.
- Reduction in Absenteeism
- Better Employee Safety
- Defines company values
- Boosts company success
- Enhances company reputation
- Reduces employee turnover
- Hire new employees based on their attitude and personality.
- Ensure employees have everything they need
- Establish a long-term employee engagement plan
- Establish an open-door policy for questions or concerns
- Share and recognize employees’ achievements
→ Discover more than 20 employee engagement strategies