Three Ways to Foster Employee Engagement That Boost Your Organization’s Performance

Written by Isabella Casale
According to Inc. Magazine, “The purpose of HRM (Human Resource Management) is to maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees.” However, to successfully optimize workers, your HR department must do more than manage surface-level responsibilities such as training, recruiting, and evaluating. Your HR department should assist in cultivating a work environment within your organization that engages your workers to allow for peak performance.

Discover strategies to enhance your organization’s work environment and spark stronger engagement in your office. 

Research by McKinsey & Company revealed that when employees are intrinsically motivated, they show 46% higher levels of job satisfaction and 32% greater levels of commitment to their jobs. Intrinsic motivation is highly beneficial and is cultivated in several ways. 

One way is by encouraging autonomy. While it may be challenging to give your employees free rein on what projects they must accomplish, allow them the freedom to create their timeline. Additionally, consider prioritizing explaining the ‘why” when administering tasks. Doing so illuminates the purpose of the task at hand, making clear the overarching impact of the employee’s role in the project. Finally, never fail to give credit where credit is due. Global studies have proven that proper recognition and appreciation may be a stronger currency for motivation than higher pay, promotion, or training.

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Encouraging creative thinking can do wonders to both an individual employee and their organization by helping to spark engagement and innovation. A common misconception is that being creative is a genetic trait that you are born with or aren't, but this isn't the case. Quoting David Kelley, founder of design consulting company IDEO, “Creative confidence is like a muscle—it can be strengthened and nurtured through effort and experience”
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Try creating a workplace environment that strengthens your employee’s creative muscles. Make your offices brainstorm-friendly by investing in white boards, module furniture, or even building blocks or logos as a tool for prototyping. Furthermore, prioritize highlighting individuality. Recognize that diversity sparks not only engaging conversation but eye-opening ideation. When hiring new employees, assess what their unique identity could untraditionally bring to your organization. Finally, support your employees' ideas. The 20% Project by Google allows employees to allocate twenty percent of their paid work time to pursue personal projects. Consider how your organization could incorporate similar ways for your employees to test their ideas and take risks. 

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A Harvard Business Review survey revealed 58 percent of people say they trust strangers more than their boss. Ensure this isn't the case for your employees by employing initiatives to strengthen office relations. Emphasize an open-door policy to make approaching coworkers less intimidating. Consider organizing lunches, team-building activities, or happy hours. Additionally, provide conversation starters to help facilitate collaboration between colleagues, such as “in the office” update emails highlighting colleague’s successes. Another option is offering one-on-one check-ins with your employees. Carving out time for you to learn about your employees individually will help them feel heard and more than just a department member.

Since 2005, RJ Reliance has been strengthening HR departments. Ready to discover how RJ Reliance can enhance your organization’s human resource management? Contact us today - our experts are ready when you are!

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