Ways to improve employee engagement

Communication is one of the key areas of employee engagement. Employee engagement often suffers when people don’t know what is happening at their company. This can relate to anything from new hires, to growth plans, to project updates. Communicate frequently with your employees to ensure that they are involved and updated on the company’s goals.

Companies can also consider organising quarterly town halls (virtual or live) to keep employees updated on the business. On a personal level, managers should hold regular conversations with their team members, both individually or as a team, to find out if they have any concerns, if they need any support or are facing any challenges.

It is also recommended to conduct employee pulse check survey to solicit feedback. Questions asked should be specific, time relevant and addresses any hypothesis you may have. Don’t forget to communicate the results or any post-survey action plans to let employees know that you value and have taken into consideration their feedback.

Having a robust career development programme in place can help organisations and its employees adapt to the changing nature of work and types of jobs, as well as in the management of manpower requirements. Besides talent retention, this also entails ensuring that employees at all levels have career resilience, by being equipped with skills that are aligned with the long-term business strategy.

Employees usually value new challenges and opportunities to stay engaged in their work, grow their skills, and advance in their experience. With the COVID-19 pandemic, employees have had to adjust quickly to new work demands, learn and apply new skills in a short period of time, manage reduced workplace interactions or cope with job security concerns. Nurture a growth-based culture by investing in your employees and providing proper training support. When you focus on personal development, your employees will in turn be more motivated, equipped and engaged to take on new challenges and roles within the business.

Managers, more than anyone else, have the biggest impact on their team’s morale and experience in the company. This means that they are the key drivers of your employee engagement strategy. Effective managers ensure that they acquire and develop talent, and understand that their success and the organisation’s are dependent on their employees' achievements.

To leverage on this, the leadership team should ensure that they are training and empowering managers to take an active role when engaging their employees. Managers should also be provided with the technology and tools that they need to ensure that they continuously focus on emotionally engaging their employees.