Company culture is the foundation of the workplace. From an employee’s perspective, it can be the difference in how they approach their work and the discretionary effort they are willing to commit. A company’s culture sends a very clear message about how well an organization values their employees and can be the difference between loyalty and turnover.
But company culture is not something you can build overnight. It takes dedication and a healthy dose of employee engagement to establish an inclusive and scalable organization.
With that in mind, let’s walk you through our top five employee engagement ideas to get the gears turning. If you need help implementing any of these, Socius Strategies is here to help. We are a human capital consulting firm with extensive experience in connecting culture and operations. Let’s get to it.
1. Engage New Hires
First impressions often last, and that goes for both you and the employees. When you welcome new hires to your company, establishing rapport is the first step to encouraging them to engage with you. From day one, employees assess your workplace’s culture and consider how it’ll affect their performance and motivation.
The best time to stimulate employee engagement is during the onboarding phase. During this time, the focus should be on helping your new hires adjust to their new role and the company’s way of doing things. Some easy ways to do this include:
-
Introducing new hires to the company executives, managers, or owners
-
Create a “buddy program” where new hires are connected with more experienced members of the team
-
Communicating your expectations of them and their work while understanding their expectations from the company
-
Plan social events (aka team-building sessions) to acquaint new hires with existing employees….on the topic of social events,
2. Organize work social events
You can foster employee trust and camaraderie through informal office gatherings designed to make people feel more at ease and engage with one another. Even if it’s for just one hour every week, employees can get together and talk about non-work-related topics. This creates an environment where people feel free to express their identity and not limit their work persona to work stuff only.
Not sure what types of events to create, remember that the ultimate goal is to strengthen the bond between you, the employees, and the organization. This will help you….
3. Recognize exemplary behavior in your employees
Exemplary work ethics and professional attitude always deserve mention. When people are recognized for a job well done, they want to keep the momentum going. However, remember that each employee may wish to have that recognition delivered differently. Some people want to be praised in large groups, while others are happy to hear that from their manager in a more private way. By connecting with your employees, you can learn and understand what and how to…
4. Motivate and lead
Think about a time when you felt as though you were driven to do more than was asked or expected at work. If you are like others, that happened because you felt connected to others you worked with, you felt valued and appreciated, and you wanted to “give your all.” Managers who actively invite contributions by team members, act in ways that are seen as fair and equitable, and create a sense of belonging to the organization have a better opportunity to motivate others successfully. They collaborate with team members to set goals, layout expectations to achieve those goals, and provide feedback when needed. While this may seem like a tall task, it can be more easily realized when managers are…
5. Supportive and open
Sometimes, employees feel that they can’t express their true selves. They may hide their ideas and limit what they share. Being a supportive and inclusive manager or employer can encourage employees to share all aspects of themselves.
Be open to them and make them feel that they can easily approach you at work. Intently listen when employees come to you with ideas of how to make work more efficient. They’re the ones at the frontline, so they see things that upper management can easily overlook. You’d be surprised at how much valuable insight and actionable data you can gain, which can be used to improve your company culture further.
Want to learn more? Schedule a consultation by reaching out to us at (415) 722-7503 or fill out our contact form to get started.