7 Ways To Boost Your Company’s Employee Engagement In 2017

Many business owners have just one major issue on their mind – employee engagement. And, because of this, it’s led to a whole new management model. However, it’s vitally important to first understand what employee engagement means. After all, the definition of the term is still indescribable.

Most people, when they think of employee engagement, think of someone who is passionate about their job to ensure the company meets the mission and goals. They show it in their work, their communication and face.

If your company’s goal for 2017/2018 is to increase employee engagement, you need to find a way to measure and create it. Here are a few engagement trends happening for 2017, that are sure to carry over to 2018, and how you can increase the employee engagement in your office.

Engagement Is Set To Increase A Little

The latest poll from Gallup showed that there has been a stagnant growth in employee engagement. In 2015, only 32 percent of workers in the U.S. were actively engaged in the business. In 2014, that number was 31.5 percent. In 2011, that number was 29 percent. What does this mean for 2017? Chances are it’ll move, but not more than a couple of percentage points.

Millennials Are Going To Be Challenging

The largest generation in the nation’s workforce for 2015 were millennials, and this is not going to change. In fact, the number of millennials in the workforce is going to continue, as more baby boomers retire and graduates earn their degrees and begin their career. In fact, it’s believed that by 2030, the workforce will contain 75 percent millennials. A Wall Street Journal post declared these predictions a myth and felt 44 percent was more of a likely number.

It really doesn’t matter what the exact number is; millennials make up the majority of the workforce. Companies who want more actively engaging employees need to alter how they approach the group. According to various research, they need to offer a welcoming company culture, open communication and a desire to attain fulfillment.

Employers Need Sympathetic, Kind-Hearted Managers

Most people, when they quit their job, do it because of the boss – not the job itself. A boss that is positively and actively engaged with the employees keep the turnover rate low on the job. These types of bosses will hold people accountable for their actions, have pride and self-respect, show sympathy and empathy, and are a true leader.

Request Employee Feedback For Improvement

According to a 2015 employee engagement study, employees who weren’t asked about their job performance and how to make things better tended to be less engaged in the workplace. However, when employees were aware of their weaknesses and the strengths, engagement increased.

While it’s nice to have data, it’s the connection between engagement and feedback that gives you a better clue as to how you can get your employees to be actively engaged in the workplace.

Work/Life Balance Is Set To Be A Work/Life Blend

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the best businesses allow for flexibility. There are many job aspects that don’t require a person to actually come into work to get the job done. They no longer have to work in the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. timeframe. If more companies embrace this flexible philosophy, it will lead to higher employee engagement numbers.

Increase In People Analytics

If you want your company to grow, you need to consider the analytics of your employees. What are their perceptions? What kind of behavior do they demonstrate? How do they affect their performance?

Managers can use this information to find ways that’ll boost engagement. Two ways that will help you gain insight is to use self-reported behaviors and aggregated survey data. From there, you can figure out how it affects the key performance indicators like customer satisfaction, sales and erosion.

Technology Will Be Employee-Focused

The HR technology market has five-to-seven year cycles it rolls out new tech to replace the older tech. It appears that 2017 is in a transitional phase of two cycles. What’s about to be seen is the arrival of feedback apps, a new line of pulse tools and anonymous social networking tools. These tools will help employers to check in with their employees, eliminating the annual performance reviews.

There’s no doubt that the business sector constantly changes, develops, retreats, breaks and rebuilds. Each person that works in a company can make sure that the company is healthy and fruitful. A company’s leader will have more tools at their disposal to increase the engagement of their employees, which means the 2017 Gallup survey should show a positive shift in the amount of people coming to work and staying in their position.

Does any of the above sound familiar to you? then send me, Joanne Victoria, an email to: Ask@AskJoanneVictoria.com, placing Engagement in the subject line. I will respond ASAP!