What is one best practice to increase employee engagement?

To help you with increasing employee engagement, we asked successful business owners and HR managers this question for their best insights. From creating a buddy system to conducting stay interviews, there are several pieces of advice that may help you with improving employee engagement in the future.

Here are eleven best practices for increasing employee engagement:

• Create a Buddy System
• Listen to Employees and Take Them Seriously
• Look for Signs of Burnout
• Trade Micromanagement in for Macromanagement
• Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them
• Work as a Collaborative Team
• Prioritize Face-to-Face Interactions & Team-Building Exercises
• Create a Dedicated Employee Engagement Resource
• Maintain Frequent Communication
• Emphasize a Physical Presence
• Conduct Stay Interviews

Create a Buddy System

A buddy system isn’t just beneficial when it comes to training new hires — it can be equally helpful in just about any team where responsibilities can be split and delegated. Doing this ensures that every team member feels supported and can reach out for help without hesitation. At the same time, it balances the workload in a way that isn’t overwhelming for either of the members and nor does it compromise the overall productivity of the team.

Riley Beam, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.

Listen to Employees and Take Them Seriously

An easy way to boost employee engagement is to simply listen to your employees. When they come to you with feedback, whether it is positive or not, listen carefully and find out how you can improve based on their feedback. Even if they have positive feedback, take that into account and figure out how to apply what that to other areas that need to be improved. When employees feel that their opinions are taken seriously, they are more likely to stay engaged and be more productive, so take the time to listen.

Maegan Griffin, Skin Pharm

Look for Signs of Burnout

One sure way to help with employee engagement is to make sure that you keep an eye on signs of burnout, which can happen even with the most dedicated members of your team. When an employee begins showing up late, or even completely calling in for an entire day, much more than normally expected, then chances are that they may be feeling overwhelmed, and that they need that extra time to prepare for their current To-Do List.

If you begin to notice this trend, set up a meeting and see how you can help. Maybe they need a few days off to regroup, which is beneficial to everyone, as then their days out of the office will be planned, making it easier to support them in finishing tasks prior to their time away, or upon their return. This means that they’ll be fresh and ready to pick up their tasks, leaving those feelings of burnout and anxiety (that can create a bad culture) behind.

Lauren Kleinman, The Quality Edit

Trade Micromanagement in for Macromanagement

Micromanagement can be a sure start for lower levels of employee engagement. When team members feel as if they’re always being “checked up on,” then this can build a feeling of distrust between a manager and their team. In fact, it can even begin to build varying degrees of resentment, and definitely be a deterrent when it comes to efficiency, creativity and engagement levels. However, macromanagement, which allows a team more leeway to make their own decisions and develop their own strategies, promotes the exact opposite type of company culture. Instead, team members can take more responsibility for their work, which can lead to feeling more connected to their roles and the company itself, in general. And in turn, this can lead to exceptionally high levels of employee engagement.

Lindsay McCormick, Bite

Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them

Showing appreciation for your employees’ hard work can help boost loyalty, engagement, and morale in the workplace. When you see people going above and beyond in their jobs, it’s important to recognize that hard work. If employees don’t feel like their dedication is seen and appreciated, they will likely start becoming less engaged in their work. So make sure you help your employees stay motivated and loyal by recognizing their dedication.

Rachel Roff, Urban Skin Rx

Work as a Collaborative Team

As a business leader in the workplace, working as a collaborative team can effectively improve communication skills and lead by example for employees. Transparency is key for a strong, trustworthy team. Weekly internal meetings are beneficial to address any issues at hand, and sharing meeting minutes immediately after ensures everyone is aligned. Engage with all employees so all voices and creative ideas are heard. Different staff members can take the lead on presentations each week, guaranteeing that everyone is contributing. Open communication in a collaborative work environment strengthens the company as a whole and sets employees up for success in the long run.

Dino Ha, Kaja Cosmetics

Prioritize Face-to-Face Interactions & Team-Building Exercises

Face-to-Face time with employees through Zoom and coordinating through Slack is essential to keeping remote employees motivated. As a company that has been virtual since our inception in 2014, we understand that connecting to virtual staff is key to driving productivity and retention. We need to be able to see each other as if we were sharing the same space. It’s the most effective way to get to know each other better. Slack is amazing for team-building exercises. We hold contests and activities with our team of 157 remote veterinarians participating to encourage interactive learning and fun.
Our last tip is to check in on one another. It is so important to nurture a sense of camaraderie, even in digital workspaces. Life can be unpredictable and little check-ins can go a long way for a colleague navigating their own experience.

Laura Berg, Kong Club

Create a Dedicated Employee Engagement Resource

Whether it is a part-time employee or manager who is dedicated to the customer engagement efforts of a company or a full-time one, it is essential to have a resource whose primary job is to improve engagement. While it is recommended that managers, who are the primary points of contact for teams, play their role in increasing employee engagement, a dedicated resource further assists the effort and even persuades the managerial team to fulfill their tasks and commitments in time.

Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families

Maintain Frequent Communication

One of the best ways to increase employee engagement is through effective communication. Employers should ensure that all employees are kept in the loop about what is happening within the company. This can be done through regular updates, team meetings, and even one-on-one conversations. If you have a remote team then make sure to use tools like video conferencing and messaging apps to keep everyone connected. Communication not only helps to keep employees informed, but it also helps to create a sense of team spirit and increase collaboration.

Peter Lucas, Relocate to Andorra

Emphasize a Physical Presence

Our stance is that people need to be in the office as much as possible, regardless of the latest trends in remote work. The hallway and spur-of-the-moment conversations that happen in person are almost impossible to replicate over Zoom or Slack.  While we do have a hybrid option for those critical employees who live in different areas of the country, we still emphasize the need to be physically present whenever possible. We have found that to be the best way to maintain an engaged workforce, and thus far, has seemed to boost average employee morale.  To that end, we get all employees, local and remote, together physically a couple of times per year to participate in something exciting and memorable. Those shared experiences help form real, lasting relationships among team members.

Scott MacDonell, Bambee

Conduct Stay Interviews

Stay interviews are a great way to let employees know both their contribution to the company in terms of work and their contribution in terms of feedback hold value. Moreover, stay interviews also allow managers and HR teams to have one-on-one conversations that can help identify brewing issues and resolve them quickly. As far as employee engagement best practices go, stay interviews prove to be highly effective for the employee and also leave an organization with many essential firsthand insights.

Eva Taylor, WP Buffs

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