According to a Harvard Business Review article, employers may be in for a rude awakening over the next year. The article referenced a study which estimates 55% of employees intend to start a job search in the 12-month period between August 2021 and August 2022. This staggering figure would be devastating to many businesses, as high employee turnover rates can wreak havoc on your ability to deliver the high-quality products or services you provide.
The best way to combat this upcoming wave of employee turnover is to prioritize improving your employee engagement. Focusing on better employee engagement can pay huge dividends for your business:
In spite of these important benefits, Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report found that only 15% of employees are highly engaged. This presents a huge opportunity for your business. Below are some tips that can help you achieve better employee engagement in 2022.
More than ever before, employees want to know that they work for an organization that is committed to a bigger purpose than simply making money and improving their own bottom line. This has resulted in an increasing number of individuals prioritizing company values and mission when choosing their next job.
There are two important components involved in improving your ability to help your employees feel that their job is connected to their own personal values:
No one wants to work in a highly stressful environment. These situations tend to have a negative impact on employee engagement since one of the easiest ways to cope with stress at work is to simply check out.
There are several steps you can take to reduce stress in your work environment:
The onboarding process sets the tone for a new employee’s experience at your company. As a result, it has a significant impact on employee engagement. The onboarding process is a great opportunity to help new employees connect to your company’s mission, vision and core values. This will allow them to more easily see how they fit into your company culture.
As part of the onboarding process, make sure you help your new employees understand how their role will impact the team and the company culture. Provide detailed information regarding the expectations and responsibilities associated with their role in order to set them up for success.
While it’s important to hire individuals who possess the skill set necessary for success in their role, it’s rare to find someone who has the total skill set you’re looking for. Whether it’s understanding how to navigate specific technology used by your company or providing institutional knowledge about your processes and systems, some training is likely going to be necessary when you hire new team members. Work with your managers to establish a training plan that will get all employees up to speed so that they can feel confident in their ability to perform their role. This will significantly improve their engagement at work.
It’s natural for employees to want to feel appreciated and be recognized for their hard work. When people receive this recognition, they tend to enjoy work more, be more engaged, and feel motivated to work harder. This is one of the easiest ways you can improve employee engagement.
Some ways to recognize your employees include:
Working long hours is common at many companies, and paid time off benefits often fail to be sufficient to provide employees with the ability to recharge. When working 40-50 hours a week (or more in some instances), 2-3 weeks of PTO will simply not be enough to prevent burnout. This is especially true now, as studies have shown the average work day has increased by 48.5 minutes during the pandemic.
One way to combat burnout from long work hours is to provide extra time off to employees. Rewarding your team with an additional week of time off can give them the ability to recharge and focus more energy on their passions. Ultimately, this will help them be more engaged when they return to work.
None of the tips listed above are difficult to understand, but implementing them at your company can be more challenging than you might expect. It involves taking a hard look at your company culture and policies in order to make adjustments that will improve the experience of your employees. If you feel you may benefit from a third-party professional who can guide you through this process, PassioHR can help.
At PassioHR, we provide comprehensive employee engagement services that will help you attract and retain the talent you need to grow your business. Our exclusive Elevated Engagement Plus™ approach has been crafted to help you create a more successful and inspired organization. We help you achieve this by working closely with you to understand your unique workforce dynamic and the challenges your team faces. This information will drive the creation of customized recommendations to help you improve employee engagement at your company.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
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