In the past we’ve shared some quick tips on how to increase employee engagement, but if retention and engagement are top of mind, you may be wondering what else you can do.
As always, a good first place to start is by talking to your employees. Start with those who have been with you the longest and learn why they’ve stayed, what keeps them around, and what you can do to continue that trend. Here’s a good list of questions that can help you. After talking to several employees who fall into this group, you may start to notice a pattern or some trends.
While you’re doing this, leverage existing research and data to see if you can make some changes in the short-term. Here’s what we know in general about what employees find meaningful:
Offer flexibility – Employees want the ability to work remotely or hybrid, where possible. If your work environment doesn’t allow for this, consider flexible hours or schedules. As NPR reported, the four-day workweek is now implemented in both government agencies and health care. At one hospital, a four-day workweek revived burnt our nurse managers.
Create growth – Employees today want to see how they can grow with your organization. Spend time getting to know their goals and dreams, build out a path they can follow with your organization, and offer time or resources for professional development. It not only benefits the employee, but also your company.
Revisit benefits and compensation — You may not always be able to compete with the competition, but you can offer meaningful benefits and fair pay. Look at your 401k plans, consider alternative forms of compensation like instant pay, and make sure your employees are aware of everything that is available to them.
Communicateopenly – On a similar note, keep your lines of communication open with employees. If you have a large staff, multiple locations, and even deskless workers, you may not be aware of the challenges they face every day. But even seemingly small changes can make a big difference. In return, let employees know how their work is impacting the bigger picture or share things you’re working on.
Remove obstacles – Old, outdated, and clunky technology with little-to-no support can be a huge source of tension or frustration for your employees. Consider ways you can eliminate these obstacles for them while also providing more safety and security for your business.
Build community – Younger workers crave community, whether online or in-person. Combine this with research showing that managers who say “thank you” to people who work for them have employees who feel motivated to work harder, and you’re starting to build a community of thanks. Task managers with finding ways to say thank you, whether simple or fun and unique. Do it yourself and encourage everyone, at all levels, to do the same. Have some fun with it!
We hope this helps you get started on a path towards better employee engagement. All of these changes will also help your company in recruitment efforts as not only will your current employees appreciate the efforts, but so to will future talent!
Talk to your CPU rep today about ways to leverage our HR Workforce and IT tools to further drive engagement.
