Effective employee engagement and how it can prove beneficial to your organization

The functioning of any professional entity is dependent on two very important factors; the vision of its leader and teamwork of employees working within the organization. The employer–employee relationship can be quite complicated which mainly focuses on maintaining a positive outlook and approach by both parties involved. The employer works toward a profitable future and sustainable development while the employees maintain a positive attitude and help achieve this goal.

One of the most important factors that determines a perfect balance to maintain harmony and at the same time promote a healthy outlook overall is “employee engagement.” For employees, a high morale and job satisfaction are the two perks which will indicate growth and prosperity within the organization. However, the main question remains is how the morale can be maintained and boosted from time to time.

Employee engagement is one of the techniques followed in any major organization wherein engaging activities are planned for the workforce to employ and express themselves in every way possible. Job satisfaction is hard to come by and without a proper channel of communication, employee grievances cannot be expressed vocally. Employee engagement looks into the aspects of generating an effective communication channel in the first place to then establish a proper grievances redressal system.

It is important for the employer to understand what the employee’s perceptions are about their assigned roles and designations, what their expectations are from a particular job or task. Employers must also look into key areas like career advancement, improved opportunities for growth, quality of work relationships, and most importantly whether is there an effective communication channel or are the messages getting lost in the grapevine.

Understanding the types of employees in an organization
Before the organization can find out ways to improve employee engagement, it is imperative to understand the different types of employees. The process will be more effective when the workforce is segregated, and a complete SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis profile can be compiled to analyze possible areas for improvement. Granted priorities of every employee will be different, especially when it pertains to their job, which is why a better understanding of the workforce will prove beneficial in the long run.

Engaged employees: The best of the best in your entire workforce. Their commitment to work and to provide the best output is unquestionable which is why employee engagement is not necessarily something which is needed for this section.

Not engaged employees: These employees can be identified by certain factors like working and doing the bare minimum, but not putting in the extra efforts for the betterment of both the organization and their job prospects. Moreover, hand engaged employees take the vision and mission of their organization seriously and work towards potential growth, excelling in every one of their tasks. However, it shouldn’t come to anyone as a surprise that the percentage of not engaged employees is more than that of engaged employees.

Actively disengaged employees: This percentage of the workforce is actively vocal and discontent with everything the organization has to offer, which is why they also prove to be a big nuisance to the workforce which is actually doing well.

Different ways in which employee engagement can be improved
Employees are the organizations’ driving workforce and multinational’s realize the value and worth of their employees. Employee engagement directly affects the organization’s productivity. A simple logic being that a happy employee will be satisfied with his or her job and give their best output. The best way to get this result would be to give back to the employees in kind and make them feel important, appreciated, and not take them for granted.

Steps which can be taken towards improving employee engagement
Role allocation: Playing to the employee’s strengths and understanding their weaknesses will enable the employer to assign roles and entrust responsibilities accordingly. Talent acquisition and retention strategies should be in line with the company goals so that the right people are hired.

Training: One of the most important steps to employee engagement is training. Training sessions will also give the team opportunities to bond and allow everyone to be on the same page. A sense of trust and accountability is created amongst the team members who will be beneficial in the long run.

Interact with employees: The whole point of employee engagement is finding productive ways to interact with employees and find out what they think about the program. Employee participation will directly determine if the engagement program is effective in bringing about a positive change in output and also outlook to determine job satisfaction.

Overall, the main purpose of employee engagement should be to bring about a change in perceptions the workforce for the majority of the employees often tend to be not engaged. Organizations which manage to achieve this operational efficiency will progress toward greater financial returns and make a mark in their respective industry as one of the best places to work.