How to Engage Employees and Develop Office Cultures

Gina Deveney
Posted by in Human Resources


As a manager, you are constantly on the lookout for methods of employee engagement to create a stimulating office culture. A recent survey from State of the American Workplace Report stated 70 percent of American workers do not like their job. Employees who are not satisfied bring down morale and underperform. It is critical to understand what it takes to engage and motivate employees; engaged employees provide a competitive advantage.

Steps to Engage Employees

Engaged employees are committed and involved. They want the business to succeed; therefore, they show up both physically and mentally. As a manager, you are responsible for employee engagement. When your employees lack motivation, incorporate the following techniques to get them engaged.

Communication Is Imperative

Communication is not an option when restructuring your company’s culture and engaging employees. Open lines of communication reinforce unity, which drives the sense of community and employee motivation. Explain to them how their work contributes to the team and the company's direction, and encourage them to collaborate with others in the office.

Additionally, find opportunities to communicate with them individually. Individual conversations afford you the ability to match their strengths with the organization’s needs, such as job openings and improvement teams. Managerial recommendations about openings within the organization motivate employees to work harder at their current positions.

Develop a Stimulating Office Culture

Like any other business relationship, the relationship you have with each of your employees needs cultivating. The process starts with creating a company culture that is desirable.

o Learning and development are encouraged.

o Shared needs are acknowledged.

o Rewards are monetary and nonmonetary.

o Contributions are valued.

o Teamwork is encouraged.

Positive company cultures do not happen alone; you create and nurture them. Employee engagement improves when employees feel a sense of community. Your new company culture is the cornerstone to improving your business and increasing employee motivation.

Measure Employee Engagement

The only way to determine if you are improving is by measuring. Employee surveys help you understand what you are doing right and wrong. For proper measurements, assess your employees' sentiments before the new changes and then again after the changes are adopted.

Measuring your results supports the idea of open communication and engages your employees. Take the information via surveys, and work to improve the culture; otherwise, you jeopardize all of your progress.

Engaging your employees does not have to be a mystery. You are crucial to improving employee engagement. Focus on developing a company culture that supports the company's direction. Reinforce your commitment through communication. Employees like being informed about their company. Finally, the only way to know if your employees are satisfied is to measure your progress. Successful employee engagement resides in your ability to effectively change their perception.



(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)

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