Winner of 2021 Albury Wodonga Business Awards – Excellence in Commercial, Professional and Business Services

Easy Strategies to Create Positive Work Engagement

Employee engagement is more than just knowing whether someone likes their job or not. It’s about creating a workforce that has a commitment to your business and its success. It’s worth every cent to know your team are motivated and emotionally invested towards the work they are doing.

In our last blog we covered some of the reasons why workplace engagement is beneficial, as well as some groundwork you need to have in place to get things moving in a positive direction. In this post we are taking it up a level to strategies for motivating and maintaining great workplace engagement.

Your team will feel they are treated fairly, not just within the team, but from interactions with management as well.

It’s up to you, as the manager or businesses owner You can’t expect your staff to become engaged if there is no clear and decisive message for them to embrace. As a manager it’s on you to help lead your employees towards being a successful, cohesive team.

#1 Collaboration

Collaborate with your team on any issues or changes that come up. At the same time, give your team members opportunities to bring any issues they are experiencing or noticing to the table to find solutions as a group.

Not only will you engage with your team and have them feeling in the loop when it comes to company matters, you are also going to see more cooperation when it comes to implementing any of these items because they had a voice in the decision making process.

A common mistake made by managers is to think they are the sole decision maker. It terms of hierarchy, they think that is part of the job, to call the shots In actual fact, a manager’s role is to support their team on a higher level, so they can do the work they need to do efficiently. A big part of that is understanding what the team is experiencing and proving an impartial sounding board to resolve those issues. Of course the chain of command gets to sign off on any decisions to make sure they are in the best long term interest of the company, but they should start at the bottom and feed up the chain. Not the other way around.

When your team is part of the solution, they are less likely to be the cause of the problems.

#2 Spend time

You build a strong rapport with each team member when you take the time to get to know them and why they are here (in your company). The more genuine you are about taking an interest in them, the more genuine their responses will be. Get curious and really care about them as individuals.

#3 Supply Support

Make sure your staff have up-to-date training in their specific area so they have the tools they need to do their job correctly. Make sure they also have all the physical tools they need to work well too. Check in to make sure the office environment is comfortable and engaging, they have the hardware, furniture and any software they need to do their job to their highest ability.

#4 Keep the loop open

This is similar to collaboration, in that you want to open discussions about what’s happening on a larger scale. Let your team know how the company is performing. Provide updates on any tenders, grants or applications that are on the go. Let them know company wins as well as loses. This will give them a vested interest in whether the business is doing well

Your team needs to be made aware of businesses successes, struggles and concerns.

Providing feedback to your employees of what works and what doesn’t allows them the opportunity to develop new ideas for the weaker areas and continue to be proactive in those sectors that are going strong.

#5 Growth

You don’t want your team to be cute little bonsai trees, you want them to grow to be towering oaks. That means freedom to grow, not a tiny pot.

Give them opportunities to show off their skills and abilities to do their best.

If you are micromanaging you will not only cause a lot of stress, you are limiting them to your path and your plan. Trust that you employed this person because they are great at what they do (yes, maybe even better than you!) and let them do their task to the very best of their ability.

In my office I ask each team member to take a turn doing a presentation or teaching something to the rest of the team. It can be anything, as long as it’s something they really value. What they present is AMAZING and the confidence it gives them to be in the teacher’s seat is simply invaluable.

If an employee comes to you with an idea that doesn’t suit, or you don’t like, find a positive way to respond that will encourage them to keep trying and develop new concepts. You want them to think outside the box and express their ideas. One day something will fit perfectly.

Encouragement and appreciation for your teams work and effort is important.

#6 Recognition

This goes back to knowing your team really well. Different personality types respond to different types of praise. It’s important to understand what form of recognition works best for your staff. You might like to check out the five love languages to get an idea of different ways to recognise someone’s work.

Here are some examples

• Words of encouragement, like, ‚’good job’ or ‚’thank you’

• Gifts which can include a money bonus

• Social outings

• Awards of recognition presented in front of others (like a certificate given at a team meeting)

• A coffee run or small task completed for them, ‘you did such a great job on that assignment, how about I deliver these ones for you today and give you a break!

While one type of praise may make one team member glow, the same response to another team member might equal a cringe. Test the waters before you commit and even ask them if they would like the type of recognition you have planned in advance.

A real key here is knowing who your staff members are. Once you get the right you will find the rest falls into place, just be warned, it’s not a one and done event. You need to continue to invest in caring about your team to maintain that feeling of positivity and keep work production at a successful high.