Employee engagement has been a hot topic in the corporate world. It is one of the most vital factors to determine the success of an organization. If the company takes care of its employees, the people will also do the same for your business. While this may sound simple, companies have been working hard to find the right strategy that works for their people.
In Singapore, employers encourage fresh graduates to take SkillsFuture certification courses to gain industry-relevant training and explore critical skill areas. This gives them a higher chance of securing a better job and discovering employment opportunities.
One way to foster engagement in the workplace is to focus on employees’ professional growth. In this article, we’ll talk about ways to foster employee engagement and growth in the organization.
Provide performance feedback regularly
Sometimes managers get so occupied with their workload and responsibilities that they neglect to acknowledge their employees, who play an important role in running the business smoothly. This behavior can lead to disengaged and discouraged workers.
According to a study by Leadership IQ, only 29% of employees report they “always” know whether their performance is where it should be. This shows workplace leaders aren’t doing a great job when it comes to providing feedback about employees’ performance.
Withholding feedback is one of the worst things a leader can do. It deprives the person of the chance to address the problem and fix it. Often, small issues can lead to bigger ones if not dealt with immediately. If the manager offers constructive feedback right away, every conversation can be easy to deal with. Otherwise, letting the issues pile up can translate into bigger and uncomfortable conversations with the employee.
If you’re too much cramped with responsibilities that regular feedback is almost impossible, you can do it in bite-sized chunks and avoid making big, tough conversations that cause more stress. Employees want to know if they’re doing a good job, and it is only through receiving sufficient feedback to know if they’re doing things the right way.
Even an occasional “thank you” demonstrates your gratitude for your employees’ efforts. You can make it a part of your annual performance reviews.
Don’t let procedures and policies hinder excellence
Running a business and keeping up with the competition can be tough and stressful. This explains why many companies create new procedures and policies whenever improvements are necessary and performance is dropping. In the face of problems, managers tend to retreat by changing how their employees do things, such as controlling the outcome and implementing new policies, scripts, and procedures.
While this approach works sometimes, it eventually backfires since the manager isn’t providing the required training to tackle the problem or new demands. As a result, things become either robotic, complex, and cumbersome, affecting the business and customer experience as a whole. They’re also taking away employees’ ability to innovate and think outside the box. Many employees leave because managers often tend to control the outcome.
Checks and balances might be required and useful, but you don’t want to affect the entire operation. You can’t expect your employees to utilize their unique skills and give their all when you don’t allow them to shine. Instead, empower your employees by allowing them to use their skills, training, and proper tools to carry out the job.
Encourage professional development
Most top performers in the workplace today believe that development opportunities provided by their employers are important to them. If you want to retain your top talents and attract the best candidates, you can offer professional training and development programs.
Companies willing to invest in their workforce provide assessment materials, regular workshops, and training courses. These initiatives can go a long way by challenging the staff to enhance their skills, expand their capacities, and develop their potential. If you want to facilitate loyalty and engagement, you have to show your employees that their career growth is your priority and to the organization, and this requires providing and investing in resources to boost their growth.
Another way to encourage professional development is to coach or mentor your employees. Coaching helps in increasing employee engagement by making people feel valued and appreciated. When facing issues at work, managers should actively participate in helping their staff, regardless of how heavy their workload is.
There’s no single solution for increasing employee engagement and growth. The key lies in believing that your employees are critical to your company’s success. Ask them what needs to be improved and changed to make their work more meaningful. From there, you can create an environment where people want to grow, engage, and be productive.
