How To Improve Your Employee Engagement

With the majority of full-time workers in the UK working upwards of 40 hours a week, conversations about employee engagement in the workplace often raise the question “How do you get the most out of your employees?”

Waning attention spans, general fatigue, “quiet quitting” and work-related stress are all concerns for employers particularly as these factors directly impact individuals and can, by proxy, affect the workforce as a whole. 

The correlation between the overall morale of a workplace and its efficiency as it relates to productivity has been proven to be strongly linked. Therefore, the most prosperous places of work must foster an environment that is conducive to employee satisfaction and personal development.

Working Towards A Common Goal

It goes without saying but it’s never been more true – employees always perform better when they’re passionate about what they’re working towards. A workplace that is transparent about its processes, goals and philosophies will allow employees to better understand their roles within the organisation, prompting both more efficient and more consistent hard work. Empowering employees to feel that they are more than just another cog in the wheel will almost always result in a boost in productivity.

A shared vision for success won’t just impact the individuals, though. A team that has outlined clear goals will also be able to function more fluidly as a unit. Employers that fail to outline a clear, overarching vision for their employees will soon find their employees striving for individual success, rather than collaborative success. These competitive environments can be a breeding ground for toxic workplace behaviours that will not only affect professional relationships but worker productivity, too.

Recognising and Rewarding Hard Work

There is nothing more motivating for an employee than seeing that their hard work does not go unnoticed. Employees who go above and beyond for their workplace are crucial to the overall success of an organisation and as an employer, it’s important to both recognise and reward these individuals as a standard for better employee retention.

Employee burnout is an extremely common phenomenon as new employees will often work at a pace that is largely unsustainable in the initial phases of their employment but will gradually slow down due to factors such as stress and declining motivation. By encouraging employees to strive for a better work/life balance, you can mitigate much of this burnout, while also helping to keep them motivated.

Optimising Your Office For Productivity

Getting the most out of your employees isn’t always just about the culture of your office – sometimes the features of the office itself can actually affect employee productivity. If your team is working in a dull, closed-plan office with a lack of airflow, not only will their performance be negatively impacted, but morale will be significantly lower too. Ensuring that the office temperature is optimal and employees have enough room to breathe are just a few small ways you can optimise your office space.

Communal areas, such as lounges and kitchens, should always be well-lit and decorated with neutral colours to reflect the calming nature of those spaces. If possible, consider dotting some small indoor plants around your workplace as these have been proven to lower stress levels. Staff should be encouraged to move around frequently and leave the office during breaks as the fresh air can provide a sudden boost to their mental clarity.

Investing In The Personal Development Of Your Employees

There are few things more important to employees than the feeling that the work they are producing is having a positive impact on both their professional and personal development. Employers with the best leadership skills recognise that each of their employees is on an individual career path, but they will also go above and beyond to support their development goals and help them reach their highest potential. Staff that feel as though their employer has a vested interest in their growth will, in turn, perform at a much higher level because of the greater alignment between their own professional goals and the organisational goals of the business.

Conclusion

Employers wanting to get the most out of their employees must first focus on how they can better improve their employee engagement. By outlining clear goals and expectations, as well as putting processes in place for better support and rewards, you will be creating a workplace culture of collaboration, collective productivity and personal accountability.

Employers wanting to get the most out of their employees should also consider making use of personal development training and resources designed to upskill and scale the professional growth of their staff and invest in training and development course offerings wherever possible.

At Keystone Training, we provide a multitude of Personal Development Training Courses and Webinars that will help you to better serve the personal and professional needs of your employees. If your business is interested in taking one of our Personal Development training courses, we can help tailor the course to your company’s requirements and needs.

For any questions on how our Personal Development courses can aid your existing training processes, please feel free to contact us today.