Keeping your employees engaged plays a big role in the success and growth of a company. The more engaged and satisfied your employees are, the more likely they are to put effort and dedication into their work and to stay in the company. In the long run, it can mean more profits and a healthier company culture, which can reflect a positive company reputation towards job seekers and consumers alike (Burnett & Lisk, 2019). There are many ways to maintain employee engagement, so here are some specific strategies you may not know about.
Implement Flexible Work Arrangements
Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) let employees decide where, when, and how they want to do their work. Some examples include flexitime, compressed work weeks, telecommunication, and hybrid set-ups. FWAs give employees more leeway in their work, allowing them to achieve a better work-life balance based on their current situations and work on their self-management. They also accommodate to the different working styles and strategies of each employee which can lead to high-quality outputs and more productivity. As a result, FWAs not only improve employee engagement, but they can also provide other benefits such as increased happiness, better health and well-being, positive attitudes towards work, lowered stress-levels, and instilled sense of empowerment (Weideman & Hofmeyr, 2020).
Tips for implementing FWAs:
Have a well-defined FWA policy and make it open for discussion with employees.
Properly understand and implement it amongst employees fairly.
Foster a company culture that supports FWAs.
Support FWAs with other practices such as an agile working culture.
Practice Authentic Leadership
All leaders in a company, from the CEO down to each manager, are responsible for taking care of their employees and keeping them engaged. While there are many leadership styles and strategies managers can do, an effective and beneficial one is the authentic leadership style. Leaders practicing this style promote a healthy, ethical company culture. As they lead their employees, they seek to enable and serve them using their position while also being self-aware of their capabilities and impact as a leader (Calderon-Mafud & Pando-Monero., 2018). Authentic leadership can both empower and engage employees and make them more loyal to their leader and company.
Tips for practicing authentic leadership:
Practice open, clear communication and direction and allow employees to be open as well.
Offer constructive feedback while recognizing their strengths.
Identify points for improvement and provide opportunities to grow.
Support and be committed to employees and their well-being.
Arrange Social and Environmental Initiatives
Social and environmental initiatives are a great way to take care of the community, but they also help with employee engagement. When companies practice their values, employees can find their work more meaningful since they feel they are contributing to something good. People also have their own personal values which they practice outside of work. If their personal values align with those of the companies, then they can feel more comfortable to be themselves at work. They can feel more attached to, and therefore more engaged with, the company (Glavas, 2016). Some example projects are tree plantings, clean-ups, donation drives, and outreaches.
Tips for arranging social and environmental initiatives:
Make employee participation in programs voluntary, not mandatory.
Integrate policies into their work (ex. getting a certain number of clients, commissions, or tasks done would be equal to an amount of goods that would be donated to a cause).
Spread the word within the company through peer communication to build the company’s credibility regarding their programs (Potoski & Callary, 2018).
Have Time for Socialization
Social relationships amongst employees are another factor in employee engagement. A person in a company barely works alone and often must collaborate with other coworkers or their managers as well, so it’s important to foster healthy relationships with them. Employees with high quality social relations with each other have better teamwork, leading to increased performance and decreased workplace stress (Harvard University, n.d.). They also feel a sense of belonging within the company which can make them more comfortable to stay. Healthy relationships in general can be beneficial for one’s well-being, so they can also be more engaged with the company.
Tips for having time for socialization:
Have team building activities, holiday events, social gatherings, and recreational activities like company lunches and trips.
Invest in communication tools like group chats, video and voice call platforms, and email channels.
Create peer support groups within the company.
Foster a company culture that encourages camaraderie and fun between employees.
Care for Employees’ Well-Being
A company is built on its employees which is why it is important to properly care for them. A company that abuses its employees and disregards their well-being would be breaking the building blocks its stands on. Employees would be less committed and perform poorly, leading to higher turnover rates and less profits. On the other hand, employees would be more engaged and produce better outputs if they had higher levels of well-being (Sivapragasm & Raya, 2017). They would also be more compelled to stay if they knew they were cared for by the company. As such, it is important to properly care for employees through a healthy working environment, company culture, and supporting policies and practices.
Tips for caring for employees’ well-being:
Give adequate rewards and compensation to employees.
Provide opportunities for learning and growth through trainings, workshops, seminars, and promotions.
Assess employee goals and needs and find ways to address them.
Offer well-being seminars, mindfulness trainings, counselling services, and the like.
There are several strategies to keep employees engaged. However, as times change and the market becomes more competitive, it’s important to continue innovating ways to measure and maintain employee engagement to keep the company going in the long run.
We at Fidecita wish you the best in your mental health endeavors. Click here to know more about Fidecita HR Advisory’s Mental Health Care services.
References
Burnett, J. R., & Lisk, T. C. (2019). The future of employee engagement: Real-time monitoring and digital tools for engaging a workforce. International Studies of Management & Organization, 49(1), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2019.1565097
Calderon-Mafud, J., & Pando-Moreno, M. (2018). Role of authentic leadership in organizational socialization and work engagement among workers. Psychology, 9, 46-62. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.91004
Glavas, A. (2016). Corporate social responsibility and employee engagement: Enabling employees to employ more of their whole selves at work. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 796. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00796
Harvard University. (n.d.). Work design principle #3: Improve social relationships in the workplace. Retrieved December 19, 2023, from https://workwellbeinginitiative.org/module-4-moderating-work-demands
Potoski, M., & Callery, P. J. (2018). Peer communication improves environmental employee engagement programs: Evidence from a quasi-experimental field study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 1486–1500. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3520699
Sivapragasam, P., & Raya, R. P. (2017). HRM and employee engagement link: Mediating role of employee well-being. Global Business Review, 19(1), 147–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150917713369
Weideman, M., & Hofmeyr, K. (2020). The influence of flexible work arrangements on employee engagement: An exploratory study. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(4), a1209. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v18i0.1209
Commentaires