The Ultimate Employee Engagement Guide

 

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a measure of motivation and whether or not your team is willing to put in the extra effort to help your business perform and grow. It is also a sign of commitment.

Highly engaged employees offer higher value and contribute to a better company culture, which then improves morale and employee satisfaction for other team members as well.

Want to improve employee engagement? Start with building an EVP.

Related: What is an employee value proposition (EVP)?

Types of employee engagement

There are many ways to maintain employee engagement at work. You may decide to run with a few options or hone in on a specific set and really put effort into making it an area in which your organisation excels.

The main types of employee engagement include:

1. Clearly defining your organisation’s values
2. Making a shared purpose
3. Ensuring a positive and safe work environment
4. Motivating employees with rewards
5. Caring for health and wellbeing (physical and mental)
6. Defining individual employee roles
7. Nurturing employee relationships
8. Maintaining clear communication channels
9. Creating and fostering leaders
10. Fostering personal development
11. Psychological Safety: Allowing the employees to be themselves in the work environment

A genuine and dedicated approach to the above actions from higher levels of management will create a company culture primed for positive engagement between employees.

When all employees buy into the core company values, a sense of shared goals and purpose can be a driver to succeed. A company with individual employees that strive to achieve grows as a whole.

Why is employee engagement important?

Engaged employees are energised and passionate about their work and find it much easier to achieve and maintain positive mental health. These high-performing employees are more willing to go the extra mile, often without being asked, and raise the bar of the service offered by your company.

The benefits of employee engagement work for both employer and employee. Engaged workers will not only be happier and more fulfilled by their job but feel as though time in the workday passes much quicker.

An engaged workforce is focused on their work instead of waiting for the clock to allow them to go home.

Key benefits of implementing employee engagement initiatives

As a business owner or manager, you likely understand that customer satisfaction results in customer loyalty. The same applies to your employees.

According to a study performed by Deloitte, 85% of HR professionals in Australia listed the creation of a positive employee experience as a top priority in the quest for better engagement.

If you take the time to implement successful employee engagement strategies in the workplace, you’ll see a range of benefits, including:

1. Increased employee performance and higher productivity
2. Improved relationships between team members and clients
3. Greater profitability
4. Higher employee retention
5. Dynamic teamwork

The chance of achieving a workplace with successful employee engagement directly correlates to the quality of your employee engagement practices. The more time you are willing to spend designing, implementing and managing them, the greater the outcome of your engagement efforts.

What are the key drivers of employee engagement?

The key drivers of employee engagement will differ based on organisation, but there are a few constants that drive employee engagement in almost every sector.

These include:

1. Leadership
2. Learning and development opportunities
3. A sense of meaning at work

Pay and work benefits are essentially the one basic rule for every employee at work. The next level up features professional development opportunities in your company and the chance of a promotion.

In addition to this, leadership style and whether or not the management team makes employees feel respected in their role and an alignment of values and meaning are paramount in every industry.

The rules as to what drives employee engagement are not set in stone, they will differ based on the dynamic, age and size of your workplace, but leadership, development opportunities and a meaningful shared vision helps inspire employees across the board.

The leader’s role in employee engagement strategies

The actions of senior leaders affect employee engagement. Engagement is dependent on team leaders following through with their promises.

For example, if employee feedback is asked for and received, it should receive actioned, tangible change. To ensure this is done, you need a 360-degree feedback process to not only understand the pain points in your entire organisation but to show how you plan to develop a way to action changes.

Employees will judge managers on what they do in response to their feedback. Asking for feedback but ignoring it is more damaging than not asking in the first instance. Sometimes you won’t even need to ask.

Employee turnover figures are a litmus test for employee engagement, and a churn rate greater than 10% means your internal practices need some work. An employee survey can be the best way to find out where you’re going wrong and how best to improve.

Employee engagement strategy examples

To build and increase employee engagement in your workplace, you’ll need to do more than just offer remuneration and perks.

There is a range of strategies and ideas for how to assist employee engagement, but they all come down to placing a high value on your employees and ensuring they are happy.

Focus on proactively developing the employee experience, and this journey begins before someone even applies for a role in your organisation.

It includes the physical (even if remote) environment and your company culture. Have you set your employees up for success with the right tech tools? Do your workplace policies resonate with today’s workers or just company leaders?

Employee experience is the most direct way to achieve better engagement.

Different ways you can conduct an employee engagement survey

Now that you know what an employee engagement survey is, it’s time to move on to how you can conduct one.

Here are some different ways you can get employee feedback through an employee engagement survey:

• Use a free survey tool like Survey Monkey or Google Forms
• Send out paper surveys
• Host focus groups
• Do one-on-one interviews
• Use an employee engagement survey software

Each of these methods has its own pros and cons, so it’s important to choose the one that will work best for your business.

For example, if you have a large team, conducting focus groups or one-on-one interviews might not be practical. In this case, using employee engagement solutions would be more effective.

Employee engagement survey questions

Below are some employee engagement survey questions that we love to include in our engagement surveys to get the best results.

Before we look at the questions, you want to refrain from asking yes/no questions to your employees in any engagement survey. Instead, stick to scales and open-ended questions.

When you send the survey out, it’s very important that you ensure that these are completely anonymous. You also want to encourage your employees to be as open and honest as possible.

Career goals survey questions

Ask your employees questions about their aspirations within the company and their career.

• I can see myself working here in five years

Note: Employees that aren’t looking for a new job at another company still may not intend to stay at yours for another two years. It’s good to get an understanding of their career goals and where they see themselves in the future. If the answer is somewhere else, you can then offer them solutions to keep them in the company for longer.

• I always want to give my best whenever I’m at work
• I’m proud to be a part of this company
• I always recommend my company to others

Note: You want your employees to be the biggest brand ambassadors out there. If they are truly proud of working for your business, they will be more likely to talk about it to friends, family, former colleagues or potential clients. This is great for recruitment into your business as well as potential referrals that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

• I rarely think about looking for a job at another company

Note: This is a great question to get a better understanding of the commitment of an employee. People who are truly engaged with their current work find that looking for a new job isn’t even on their radar.

Career development survey questions

Make sure you cover questions about your employee’s career advancement and how well they are doing within their current job role. It’s good to get an understanding of where they want to go with their career.

• I have access to the things I need to do my job well

Note: A simple question – do people have the tools they need to do their work properly? The answer should always be yes. If employees feel like they have all the right resources to do their job well, they will be more motivated to do so.

• I have access to learning and development tools I need to do my job well

Note: This next question goes a little deeper look at whether learning and career development opportunities are openly available to employees so they can go above and beyond their job roles. Learning and development is a HUGE driver of employee engagement across most industries, so you want to make sure your employees feel like they have the means to expand their skills if they need or want to.

• Most of the systems and processes here support us in getting our work done effectively
• I know what I need to do to be successful in my role

Note: The first thing someone needs in order to be aligned with the company is to understand what they need to do to be personally successful. Otherwise, they can’t move forward. This basic level of understanding needs to be in place for people to develop their alignment with the company further.

• I receive appropriate recognition when I do good work

Note: Reward and recognition are of the utmost importance when it comes to engaging a workforce. It’s human nature to want a little shoutout when you do something good. When an employee in your company does an amazing job at a particular task, they should be appropriately recognised for their achievements.

If people don’t get any recognition for making progress, it’s hard for them to stay motivated. We have previously looked into what employees really want from their employers and how you can reward employees without a huge budget.

• My manager has shown a genuine interest in my career aspirations

Leadership survey questions

Ask your employees for feedback on the leadership team and management of the business

• My manager recognises my full potential and capitalises on my strengths
• The leadership team of my company really know what they’re doing

Note: Are you investing in the right leaders? An employee will look up to the leaders in your business for guidance and advice. If they feel like the powers above don’t know what they’re doing, the levels of trust within your business will deplete.

• My manager is a great role model for employees

Note: Asking open-ended questions about managers being role models to other employees is different from asking for direct feedback on that manager. This approach looks more at how people see their manager within the broader context of the company.

• The leaders at [company] have communicated well

1. Prioritise results over working hours

One option is to move away from monitoring and measuring input or hours worked, as this can add undue stress on staff who genuinely want to engage.

Employee success isn’t always directly correlated with the measurements, which is why focusing instead on measuring outcomes may be more beneficial for all involved. The number of hours your employee is in the office is not as important as the work they deliver.

An outcome-focused workplace culture puts more emphasis on the result, empowering employees with their responsibilities while allowing them to work in a way that is more conducive to their lifestyle.

This is a great way to provide job satisfaction and increase employee engagement. The option of remote work, which we have seen a rise in now more than ever, can be a great way to see more productive work while offering a benefit to staff who can enjoy a more flexible schedule.

2. Engage employees with rewards and recognition

One of the best ways to drive employee engagement is through reward and recognition. For every piece of criticism an employee receives, six pieces of positive reinforcement should counteract it. If your employees do not feel recognised or appreciated, they will be less engaged, less productive and disloyal.

Implementing a reward and recognition plan goes beyond the occasional gift card. It must be part of your company’s culture. To do this, you need a leadership framework for reward and recognition that encourages employees to be part of it.

Both managers and employees should be armed with the tools to reward and recognise each other, as this will actively encourage positive behaviours.

At Employment Hero our version of a gift card is Hero Points, an easy way to offer gifts or bonuses for employment anniversaries, new clients or the Christmas bonus. Hero Points make it easy to reward or recognise with discounts on something staff will actually want or need.

3. Use personalised communication styles

Another example can be as simple as your communication style.

This is something that should be customised to each employee, which can be difficult for larger companies, which is why every level of management needs to be engaged.

Sit down with each employee and spend the time learning how they like to be communicated with. Changing your style of communication to suit will be more effective than trying to make the employee change their way.

4. Provide regular employee feedback

A great way to do this is by conducting regular one-on-ones. Regular feedback is essential to measuring employee engagement and helping employees reach their full potential and move up in your company structure.

Whether you’re a manager or early on in your career, the need for constant communication is an important part of a well-functioning team.

Measuring engagement with employee engagement surveys

The best way to measure employee engagement is via employee engagement surveys.

Employee surveys give your team a chance to be honest about the culture in your workplace, identify critical areas of improvement that you otherwise may not know about, and see which areas of improvement mean the most to your team.

The specific employee engagement survey questions you ask are crucial, as you’ll want to ensure they will give you the information you need while also being actionable. Remember, you will only get a team of highly engaged employees if you act on employee feedback.

Employee satisfaction and happiness go hand-in-hand with employee engagement. So it’s important to incorporate wellbeing surveys as part of your employee engagement strategy.

Using an employee engagement software

All of this can be made easier with Employment Hero engagement software. Our employee engagement software simplifies your process and offers measurable ways to track the levels of employee engagement in your company all through one website experience.

Some of the advantages of using our employee engagement platform include:

• An employee self-service portal where employees can request leave, view payslips and update their details easily, building trust and heightening employee engagement.
• The Employment Hero mobile app through which employees can manage leave and timesheets or find contact details on the go.
• The Manager Dashboard is a reward and recognition tool where members of your organisation can publicly thank each other and show of appreciation, helping employees feel engaged with the entire organisation.
• Custom Surveys where you can create and send Custom Surveys to employees to collate, track and analyse feedback, comparing it with your business outcomes.
• Happiness scores provides insights via an anonymous, monthly score that gauge the vibe of your business
• Peer to Peer Feedback through which staff can recognise the efforts of one enough to establish greater camaraderie and performance

Learn more about how we can help with employee engagement strategies by booking a demo with our business specialist today.

Engaged employees – the key competitive differentiator

Just remember, achieving great engagement levels cannot be done by one process. It requires a mix of communication styles and channels, defining purpose, collaboration, and learning.

Make use of the tools available to you to help your team communicate openly and collaborate seamlessly in turn creating a positive change in your company culture.

Download our guide now to learn more about creating a team of highly engaged employees.