MightyRecruiterHow to Engage Your Employees With 3 Simple Steps
Are your employees breaking out the champagne as they head for the door on Friday It’s nothing new that most working professionals dislike Friday, but why not try to change that The problem could be that you simply don’t know how to engage your employees. You might have great policies in place! You might have a comfortable office. You might even have a multi-generational staff that creates a unique and interesting culture. However, if they don’t feel engaged with each other and with the management, they are less likely to be excited to head back in to work Monday morning.
So, do you want to help your employees be part of something bigger Do you want to help them to know they have an impact on the company Do you want them to have a meaningful journey All it takes is three simple steps to engage your employees.
1 ï Be an Effective Communicator
In order to engage effectively, you have to communicate effectively. Engagement relies on effective communication and you can’t very well get anywhere without it. Take some time to consider each generation that you have on your staff. Consider how they were brought up to communicate and how they do it most effectively.
For example, if you have Millennials in your workforce, they’re great at texting and social media. You may be able to get something through to them more easily if you do it via electronics. Boomers, on the other hand, may be more likely to engage in face-to-face discussions. They may enjoy receiving the information on an actual piece of paper. Knowing how each individual and each generation communicates most effectively will empower you to reach out to every employee on a personal level, helping them to understand exactly what needs to happen in the workplace.
2 ï Explore Employee Motivations
Again, because of the generational gap you might have on your workforce, your employees could have very different motivations. Explore those and discover what they are so you can help them to reach their goals. When they are able to get ahead and feel confident about what they’ve done, they are more likely to engage in the company with a positive attitude.
The motivation of a Gen Xer, for example, might be to find the perfect balance of work and home. They may have children in the home, aging parents to care for and a work schedule to add to it. Take some time to communicate with these people to understand what they need. If a work-at-home position is an available option, offering it to someone with this motivation could be your best bet. This generation may also be looking to move up into higher positions within the company. Give them opportunities to prove themselves. Allow them to tackle smaller leadership positions so they can show you what they’re made of.
A Boomer might have a very different motivation. They may be looking to pass their knowledge onto a younger generation while they prepare to retire. Allowing them to mentor a younger employee could help them feel a sense of accomplishment in preparing that employee to reach his or her goals in the workplace.
Understanding each individual motivation will help you as an employer to put employees in the best positions for what they want to accomplish. Doing so will help you engage your employees as they feel accomplishment and appreciation, and see their abilities improve business.
3 ï Offer Customized Benefits
It all seems to come back to age and generations, but that truly is what makes a workplace unique. When you look at the generational differences between employees, you may soon realize that the benefits they expect are quite different. For example, Boomers tend to rely more on health insurance than younger generations. They are looking for retirement packages that are the best in the industry. They want to ensure their family will be protected should something happen to them.
Younger generations, however, are not concerned with those same issues. They want the benefit of travel. They want discount packages to their favorite gym, restaurant or local amusement park. In many situations, Millennials and Gen Xers are more concerned with the here and now and what they can get for instant gratification, whereas Boomers and other older individuals have a greater pictures in mind. One sure way to find out what benefits packages your employees would like is to engage your employees with a survey. After you find out their specific desires, you can customize their benefits to fit their lifestyles.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to engage your employees. Understanding the different generations you have on your workforce can help you communicate more effectively, give them opportunities that match their motivations and offer benefits that are customized to their lifestyles. For more tips on bettering your workplace, check out some of the other tools and articles on Mighty Recruiter.