Very few terms have the power of creating panic in the boardroom, quite like 'employee engagement.' Numerous studies and research have shown how these words still continue to send shivers down the spines of HR managers and CEOs. The numbers, unfortunately, seem to be lacking severely, and companies are constantly left wondering about just what they're doing wrong.
A report by Gallup showed that over 87% of the global workforce isn't engaged within the organizations where they work. This is quite a surprise, considering how most of these employees spend more than 60 hours a week in their respective organizations. So, who's responsible for ensuring better engagement for employees, and how can your workplace design boost it?
For starters, it is the job of the organization's leader to ensure the right protocols are put in place for employee engagement. Alongside these protocols, there need to be people who manage and fulfill them in order to promote collaboration and higher productivity levels in your workforce. Lastly, you need to consider how office design and development can be used to boost employee engagement in the workplace.
In this post, we will cover all the essentials of improving employee engagement within your workplace. Let's dive right in.
How to Boost Employee Engagement in the Workplace
Retire Your Old Workplace Design
RIP cubicles and secluded workspaces. The latest workplace designs are moving away from cubicle farms and blending into beautiful yet highly functional workspaces that prioritize employee well-being and engagement. Modern office designs focus on improving employee engagement and productivity levels by fostering an environment of collaboration, efficiency, and improved focus.
Top talent in the workforce is now refusing to stay chained to cubicles while working. They prefer more dynamic environments that allow the free-flowing of ideas, higher creativity levels, and teamwork for the organization's success. By retiring your old workplace design and opting for this new-and-improved work model, you can continue to attract talent that dedicates its time and skills to your company with a high level of engagement.
Model Your Core Values and Vision
Employees are naturally more engaged when they are offered well-defined and clear goals to work on. These goals should be general organizational goals as well as personal benchmarks to help them identify and keep track of their own progress. The best way to do this is by modeling your company's core values and vision in a way that brings your employees on board at each level.
Your company's core values and mission statements make up the foundation of the work environment and culture. This, in turn, plays a significant role in how engaged your employees are. So, by training your employees in accordance with these values and setting targets for each quarter, you can instantly notice increased employee engagement.
Incorporating this practice gives your employees a sense of purpose. It acts as inspiration for them, motivating them to continue putting in hard work with determination to succeed and meet all their KPIs. You should also lead by example and share your company's accomplishments with the team while discussing their personal achievements alongside.
Create a Safe and Ergonomic Work Environment
Safe and healthy office buildings aren't just beneficial for employees, but they can also do wonders to boost productivity levels and improve the general performance of your workforce. They reduce time lost to illnesses and workplace-related injuries and increase employee satisfaction which naturally translates to improved work on a daily basis.
The key to creating a healthy workspace is to ensure a highly ergonomic office setup. Ergonomic office setups require you to consider various factors like employee posture while working, screen levels, minimal strain on the shoulders and wrists, etc. One of the best products for workplace ergonomics is the Dual Monitor Mount F7D/F8LD from FlexiSpot.
You can configure your monitors with the two monitor arms that the product comes with. You can easily choose to place the displays next to each other or even top-to-bottom as per your needs. Additionally, the monitor mount rotates in portrait and landscape modes to view the longer page without scrolling.
This monitor mount is designed to be highly responsive and adjustable. It reflects the slightest of touches and can be used to rotate, extend, tilt or even swivel your screens with a mere flick of your finger. The hassle-free installation through the grommet mount bases further makes this product one of the biggest steals of 2022.
Aside from an ergonomic setup, you should also consider improving the air quality of your office, reducing noise levels, and bringing in a biophilic workplace design to help your employees feel rejuvenated while they work.
Focus on Flexible, Future-Centric Designs
Traditional office spaces were designed for fixed purposes only. There is no room for a dynamic environment within cubicles and frosted doors. As an organization's leader, you need to understand that this model no longer works to fulfill current workplace challenges.
The solution lies in modular and adaptable workspaces that allow flexibility and can be adapted to different employees' needs. These workspaces need to be designed to fit different kinds of projects and cater to the rapidly changing world of business.
Flexible and future-centric workplace designs identify the fact that the work environment is growing and changing at quite a rapid pace. There are hundreds of new jobs nowadays that didn't exist a mere 7-10 years ago.
Your workplace needs to be flexible enough to allow room for such growth to continue functioning in a sustainable, workforce-friendly manner for maximum engagement. You can bring in movable furnishings, invest in standing desks, and create interactive, dynamic settings for a workplace design with no particular end in sight.
Prioritize Employee Growth
Creating an office culture that fosters continuous improvement and development does more than increase the skills of your workforce. It can do wonders to improve and boost employee engagement in the workplace while also communicating to your workforce that the organization genuinely values and prioritizes their growth.
By showing your employees that you care about their development and believe in their potential, you can get higher levels of autonomy from your workforce. They will realize that your organization is invested in their future and that it recognizes the fact that the business can only perform as well as its employees.
So, by arranging quarterly training sessions or bi-annual workshop weekends, you can encourage higher levels of engagement within your workforce. The best part is that it doesn't require a huge training budget or fancy instructors to come on board.
Your company can easily start with cross-training employees to everyone learns how to do different jobs within a department. It is a great way to share skills and develop a deeper understanding of how an organization works as a whole.
Coaching and mentorship are also key ingredients for employee engagement. When your workforce feels like they are being guided well and receiving proper counseling from their managers, they will take more ownership of the firm and be willing to go the extra mile to achieve excellence.
Supply the Right Tools
Employees are now opting to either work from home entirely or choose a hybrid work model instead of going to the office each day. This shift in work models has brought about a need to improve your technological tools within the office and even offer to provide them to employees who are working from home or other remote locations.
You will need reliably fast Wi-Fi, the latest laptops or desktop systems, smart furniture, and effective tools that seamlessly integrate technology for improved work experiences. It is the best way to ensure that your employees stay engaged within your organization.
This may sound like quite an extensive and expensive list, but the guaranteed increase in ROI will definitely make it worth it. You will instantly notice your employees being able to perform better as they have access to all the tools they need to do a good job.
Additionally, the comfort that comes from advanced integrated technology allows employees to get more done within a shorter period of time. The quality of work improves significantly, and your business will have the potential to experience exponential growth due to better employee output.
Train Managers in Employee Engagement Best Practices
Reports have shown that employee engagement is often directly proportional to their manager's attitude. The better the mentorship employees receive from their managers, the higher will be their levels of engagement within the office.
The best way to ensure that your managers are playing their role in creating an engaging work environment is by offering training and leadership programs. You can enroll the managers in seminars and offer them appropriate tools to develop better leadership skills and act as guidance coaches to their team members.
Your HR should also set up employee engagement protocols and best practices to be followed by the managers. It will allow your organization to reap the awards of a highly engaged workforce in the long run.
