3 things managers need to know about employee engagement

Monday morning rolls around and it’s the start of yet another working week. Another five days of the same old stuff. Or at least, that’s how it feels when you are not engaged with your work. For many others, the time spent at work is motivating, inspirational and invigorating. In order to ensure that employees aren’t simply going through the motions at work, managers play a vitally important role. Good management won’t simply monitor employee engagement, it’ll help improve it.

Take a step back

Poor employee engagement can certainly come from a lackadaisical management style, but it can also come from an overbearing one. Micro-managing every little detail of an employee’s job will make them feel untrusted and worthless. By taking a step back at the right moments, managers will give their staff a sense of responsibility that will greatly improve their workplace motivation.

Similarly, although having clear processes in place is important, try not to create unnecessary hurdles for your staff. If your employees constantly need to seek permission from more senior members of staff before they can carry out their work, they’ll surely start looking elsewhere for a job with some freedom.

Help is available

Managers can have a lot on their plate at any given time. They may have to oversee an entire team of staff, have one eye on the company’s overall fortunes and look after their own workload all at the same time. With so much going on at once, it’s understandable if they let employee engagement slide.

Fortunately, digital solutions are available that offer a helping hand. Employee engagement software, for example, can make the process of collecting staff feedback much simpler and quickly deliver valuable insights. Software can help businesses run surveys in different languages, collect results across multiple devices and use analytics tools to make sense of all the data.

Digital tools also help companies to order feedback in terms of priority and formulate action plans that ensure things get done. Notifications can also be sent to employees to demonstrate that their comments and criticisms are being noted and responded to. With the right software in place, businesses can show that they’re not just listening, but acting too.

Sharing is caring

As a manager, you play a vital role in conveying the company’s overall vision. By sharing the organisation’s strategy, targets and challenges with employees, they are more likely to care about their work. If the company has experienced a particularly successful period, then be prepared to shout about it, but equally, managers should be open and honest about any difficulties. By keeping clear channels of communication, managers ensure that their staff are informed and, more importantly, engaged.

As well as sharing information about the company, managers can also boost engagement by speaking to staff regularly on a more personal level. Be sure to give regular feedback on performance and, in particular, always give praise for a job well done. When employees feel valued, they will be happier, more engaged and more productive.

-Rebecca Carey

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