Though half of 2024 has passed, it’s never late to hunt for employee engagement strategies. After all, your organization needs these to motivate the workforce and strengthen its commitment to the business.

What is Employee Engagement and Why is it Important?

Employee engagement is an important metric for measuring how invested employees are in their work and the company as a whole. It also refers to the degree they’re motivated and passionate about their work, ensuring their commitment to contributing positively to the company.

However, employee engagement isn’t synonymous with employee satisfaction. Satisfied employees may not be willing to go the extra mile for their companies. Moreover, they’re more likely to coast through work rather than put their all into their productivity.

Similarly, the concept isn’t the same as employee happiness. Happiness is a short-term measurement that changes rapidly. Therefore, it doesn’t indicate how invested employees are in the company.

The Importance of Employee Engagement

Leveraging employee engagement ideas can positively impact the success of your business. Here are some ways this is possible.

• Increased Productivity – Engaged employees are more motivated and efficient in their tasks. In fact, Gallup reports an 18% rise in productivity where employee engagement strategies are a priority.
• Higher Retention Rates – Since they feel valued, employees have a more positive attitude towards work. As a result, they’re less likely to leave the company.
• Better Customer Satisfaction – Your engaged workforce is more likely to go above and beyond for your success. It’s also likely to contribute new ideas and improvements. So, expect better service and, ultimately, higher customer satisfaction.
• Reduced Absenteeism – Gallup reports an 81% difference in absenteeism between engaged and non-engaged workplaces. That’s because engaged employees tend to take fewer sick days, and are more consistent in their attendance. One possible reason for this is that they typically experience less stress and better overall health.
• Increased Profitability – Using employee engagement strategies leads to higher profitability due to increased productivity and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, a fall in employee engagement can reduce profitability by 54%.

How to Increase Employee Engagement – 5 Effective Strategies

After that quick recap of the basics, it’s time to explore five interesting employee engagement strategies you can use.

1) Introduce Autonomy in the Workplace

Workplace autonomy is the degree of independence and freedom employees have in how they perform their job tasks. It empowers employees to make decisions, manage their own work, and determine the best ways to accomplish their responsibilities.

What further makes autonomy one of the winning employee engagement strategies you can embrace is the freedom it offers. Employees can approach problems and tasks in innovative ways, without being strictly bound by rigid procedures.

You also won’t compromise on accountability since workers are responsible for outcomes. This, in turn, increases their sense of ownership and motivation.

2) Get Managers on Board to Drive Engagement

Managers have a large impact on employee engagement. According to a Predictive Index survey, 94% of respondents with great managers reported more passion and energy for work. On the other hand, only 59% reported the same despite bad bosses.

To ensure your managers contribute towards your employee engagement goals, consider –

• Strengthening your bonds with them by being transparent and open
• Listening actively and empathetically to your managers
• Empowering them by delegating responsibilities and providing them with autonomy
• Recognizing their achievements and appreciating them regularly

3) Get Feedback Directly from Employees

Traditionally, surveys have been used to assess the level of employee engagement within an organization. With their results in hand, you can identify your priorities and tweak your employee engagement strategies.

However, considering the amount of time surveys take, you may start noticing a few disgruntled workers already. That’s why feedback apps are a great alternative.

Not only do they allow employees to highlight issues then and there, but also the organization gets to address them swiftly. This makes your workforce feel heard while you get to nip issues before they escalate and spread.

4) Set Up Mentorship Programs and Growth Plans

Investing in your workforce’s career growth is one of the best employee engagement strategies for many reasons –

• Growth plans and mentorship programs require a lot of interactions and communication. This enables employees to connect and even bond with one another.
• Such programs further cultivate trust between employees. This can make it easier for mentees to confide in their mentors, even about personal struggles.
• As employees feel valued and invested in, their engagement and satisfaction levels increase. This, along with the specialized expertise your career development initiatives offer, boosts overall productivity and employee retention rates.

If you wish to pull this off right, consider gamifying your growth initiatives. Gamification in the workplace has proven to be highly effective in organizations worldwide. And you can easily incorporate it into your growth and career development programs.

5) Shift the Focus to Workforce Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing is ensuring the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial health of members of your workforce. And it’s one aspect most workers won’t compromise on.

According to Deloitte, 84% of employees prioritized improving their wellbeing in 2023. Moreover, 74% have ranked this above advancing their career.

The same study even uncovered that 60% of employees would consider quitting if they could have better support for their wellbeing. The same was voiced by 64% of managers and 75% of C-level executives.

In addition to improving retention, ensuring employee wellbeing creates a bond between the workforce and the organization. Companies including it in their employee engagement strategies also report higher performance and healthier workplaces.

If you wish to begin working on this aspect, here are some tips to set you in the right direction –

• Devise a wellbeing strategy to complement your employee engagement strategies. You may also want to customize this according to employees as no two people are alike.
• Instill employee wellbeing in leaders. Your managers’ attitude has a large impact on individuals’ mental health. So, you may want to incentivize leaders to grow committed to this aspect.
• Foster a culture that encourages people to grow without fearing judgement or discrimination.
• Give your people access to wellness tools or webinars so they can address the different aspects of wellness on their own.

Want to Drive Engagement Quicker?

Automate, automate, AUTOMATE. If you truly wish to get the most from the above employee engagement strategies, that too quickly, you need to consider automation.

Before you go hunting for other employee engagement tools, why not check out what nGAGE has to offer? Request a demo and discover yourself how the app can fuel your employee engagement activity.