Employee engagement needs to be a key strategy for companies hoping to retain talent and improve productivity in the twenty-first century.
As a younger generation enters the workforce, companies have to adapt to their requirements if they hope to retain talent in a competitive business landscape. A 2015 study by the Education Advisory Board showed that millennials will change jobs up to 20 times in their career, about twice as many as the baby boomer generation. That’s because having a job by itself isn’t enough for them; they want to feel connected to something bigger.
How to improve employee engagement
Employee engagement needs to be a key strategy for twenty-first century companies. According to a Gallup poll, only 29% of millennials are engaged at work, 16% are actively disengaged, and 55% are not engaged. Furthermore, 87% of employees worldwide are disengaged at work.
It’s clear that companies need a more effective employee engagement strategy if they are to avoid the decline in productivity, and loss of talent, that comes with the lack of engagement. Here are five ways you can improve employee engagement and give yourself a competitive advantage.
1. Assign workers to roles that cater to their strengths
Ensure that when you hire someone, you have a particular role in mind for them; one which will allow them to play to their strengths while giving them room for growth. This means the company needs a refined recruitment strategy; as opposed to one that just seeks to grab talent wherever it may be.
2. Focus on leadership
Leaders need to lead by example. According to a New York Times article, at a company where leaders model the desired behavior, employee engagement is improved by 55 percent. It’s essential for large companies to focus on leadership development, hence why executive coaches are in such high demand.
3. Team building
Building team spirit, whether it be through the occasional sporting event, social gathering or volunteer work, improves collaboration and creativity among the team. Of course, you want to arrange team building activities that appeal to the personalities within your team. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of team-building ideas, and activity-providers who cater for team-building events.
4. Be transparent
Authenticity and a sense of trust is important for employee motivation. Tim Eisenhauer on Entrepreneur.com writes that, according to a study by Blessings White, managers who showed their human side were rated 59 points higher on critical skills among employees. Furthermore, leadership needs to be visible and accessible, so employees can see that leadership is actively involved in the running of the company.
5. Be supportive
Employees with supportive supervisors are 1.3 times more likely to stay with the company and 67 percent more engaged, writes Tim Eisenhauer. This aspect can be neglected, especially in large companies, where management is often distant, and unable to acknowledge the worth of their employees in person.
Employee engagement strategy is sure to be a key to the future of business leadership. If you’re interested in playing a role in building the business environments of the future, you should consider studying a coaching course at SACAP. These courses can help prepare you for a career as an executive or business coach, while providing valuable insight into the business landscape. For more information, enquire now.
