How to encourage employees engagement and productivity

A business's strength often lies in its people. Employee engagement is an intelligent way you can gain real-time information on your customers, your services and your operations. Not only does boosting employee engagement allow you to incorporate their feedback into your business, but it can also improve productivity in the workplace and increase employee loyalty. We look at eight ways you can encourage your employees to engage.

Create clear communication channels

For employees to engage with your business, it is essential that there are clear communication channels across the whole of your company. From WhatsApp groups to share relevant industry news, to monthly emails updating your staff and asking for suggestions, make sure there is a place where your employees can go to share their ideas. 

Ask for feedback

One of the best ways to encourage engagement is by simply asking team members their opinion. If you have a new proposal, a new marketing strategy or a new product that you aren't sure on, ask your employees what they think. They are often the ones who spend the most time with customers and will know and understand their needs and opinions. This valuable information can be lost if employees feel disengaged and unimportant. 

Design a productive work environment

The environment your employees are in can have an impact on their productivity, and recent research has found some surprising hacks for creating a space that feels positive and healthy. From free tea and coffee, free fruit to air cleaning plants, and a smart work environment layout, there are so many ways you can improve productivity in the workplace through design.

Introduce a flexible working culture

A flexible working culture doesn't mean throwing out the rule book, it means listening to your employees and making sure that they can do the very best work for you. This could be allowing employees to work from home one day a week, it could be finishing early on a Friday or it could be introducing Flexitime. Though not appropriate for every business, a flexible working culture makes employees feel trusted, listened to and therefore more motivated to work and stay at the company. 

Encourage employee involvement

No matter what size your business is, it is important that employees feel a genuine desire to help the business succeed. The message 'what's good for the business is good for you' should be an authentic claim, with rewards, incentives and appreciation when things are going well. Investment into a Business System like ERP is another great way you can make sure your employees are actively engaging with the business, allowing them to access reports and stay updated on the latest changes to better serve customers and ensure greater productivity. 

Set clear targets and goals

Furthermore, group goals and targets can be a brilliant way to make your employees feel involved with the company. Having realistic goals will give your employees something to strive towards and help bring the whole team together. 

Do something good 

Another way you can encourage employees to engage is to rally together for a good cause. This might be a charity bake sale, a Christmas jumper day or could all volunteer as a team for a day. Bringing the team together is a vital part of employee engagement, and making sure Directors, Bosses and Managers are there too because they can get to know their employees and build relationships.

Practise gratitude

The key to employee engagement often lies in gratitude. Make sure your employees know that they are valued and regularly thank or praise them for their work. Noticing the work that they have done and appreciating their effort is paramount to creating a thriving and engaged workforce. This can be a great tool for increasing productivity too.