Employee engagement is the buzzword within companies and a topic that often comes up in conversation in the workplace environment. It's a necessary component to reducing the threat of high employee turnover, lack of engagement and maximising productivity. Engaged employees are happier to perform in their roles, motivated to do their best and satisfied with the workplace culture.
However there are many barriers that stop the progression of engagement and companies must seek opportunities to overcome them, including:
1. Employee turnover and talent finding
Losing employees to the friendly job market can be a considerable issue for business owners and managers. Lack of engagement and company culture can have a negative impact on employee turnover, it's about meeting individual needs and giving your employees a reason to stay. Companies face the risk of losing trained and experienced employees with vital skills and experience. Attention must be paid to employee workforce culture and creating a happy and supportive environment for individuals. This can be achieved through regular appraisals, social engagement and teambuilding activities.
2. Team-bonding
Team bonding is essential to making friends in the workplace and key to increasing productivity. It can be the most rewarding, long term investments you'll ever make and helps improve business communication, boost employee morale and provide measurable improvement. It also allows the office to easily solve everyday workplace issues. The long term benefits of team building means a comfortable and prosperous working culture for many employees. At Off Limits Events we have a vast range of fun and inspiring team building activities and events that suit a whole host of needs to motivate and educate employees.
3. Work-life balance
Bryan Dyson, former CEO of Coca Cola addressed his employees regarding a work life balance, stating “Work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. Give the required time to your family, friends and have proper rest. Value only has a value if its value is valued†Increasing workloads and mounting pressure means that employees are becoming very stressed in their roles. A few organisational leaders expect employees to put their lives on hold and pressurise employees to work as many hours as possible. The greatest fear for an employee is becoming the next victim of redundancies and this places increased pressure. Plus with Brexit looming employees feel obligated to work as many hours as possible to appear productive. It's important to remember hours and time doesn't equal productivity. Plus the reduced amount of social time means employees aren't getting the adequate rest needed for a productive outlook. Off Limits Events have hosted a number of fascinating and illuminating Mindfulness events for clients to help boost engagement and manage stress in the workplace. The Health in Mind sessions help with relaxation, concentration, meditating, listening and learning to balance the workplace pressures with your personal needs.
4. Cynicism
If management are cynical about engagement it can also become an internal barrier. Cynical views are generally negative, selfishly motivated and laced with self-interest. True cynics will not see engagement as a genuine effort but instead as the latest management trick to getting employees working longer and harder. Break the cycle of cynicism by actively encouraging team members to speak up and address individual concerns in a safe environment.
5. Communication and transparency
Clear communication is key to seeing employees potential and what makes them tick. Google is very intentional about creating a culture that focuses on transparency. This means breaking down barriers, encouraging collaboration and focusing on creativity in the workplace. Also, employees want to be part of the culture where there are no hidden agendas. Informed employees will feel more valued and engagement will follow.
What are the other barriers to engagement? How did you overcome this? We'd love to hear from you on Twitter or Linkedin?
