How employee engagement gives impetus to a productive workforce

Friday October 06, 2017 , 3 min Read

Employee turnover might as well be the single-most worrying factor for many companies, big or small. As the workforce gets more in tune with their needs and aspirations, it is upon employers to ensure they meet their employees' expectations. This puts the onus on employee engagement, as it is essential to find ways to motivate employees to give in their best at the work assigned. Here are a few methods to make that happen:

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Precision and timely communication

Keep the language of your internal communication curt and simple. Using fancy and jargons might make you seem scholarly, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the task at hand. When you define something in the simplest of manner you leave nothing to misunderstanding. Also know which medium of communication is the most effective, whether it is a face-to-face meet or phone conversations or emails. Above all be consistent with your communication strategies.

Be accessible

Never come across as distant or haughty to your subordinates, this will instil a sense of inapproachability. As a team leader or manager you need to be available to discuss strategy or progression of work at any given point. The relation between the workforce and the leader is a delicate one.

Provide necessary resources

Another operational constraint that can halt or delay progress is unavailability of resources or manpower. The sense of competition among teams should be limited to innovative ideas and not going at each other's throat over poaching each other's resources.

Promoting innovation

Constructive feedback always fosters an environment of innovation and ideation. Allow an open channel through which ideas can be discussed and scrutinised, opening possibilities of their implementation. This gives employees a sense of purpose and that their opinions are valued, hence increasing engagement.

Feedback and appreciation

Never keep away from dishing appreciation on a job well done. The validation uplifts the teams' spirit and also becomes a drive for future projects.

Different companies have different strategies for employee engagement. For instance, Uber provides customers the ability to rate the drivers and give detailed feedback. This pushes drivers to be well-behaved, polite and helpful. Moreover, incentives are given to drivers with higher ratings. Such strategies are very alluring and becoming popular day-by-day. Companies like KFC and Pizza Hut also have rating systems for the delivery employees.

Do not hesitate to improvise on your current strategies to engage employees in their work. It is after all how the small building blocks become a whole – employees must act together and work hard to produce momentous results.