Only 15% of employees are really engaged in companies. At the same time, 71% of employers admit that engagement is one of the priorities for business success. If you love statistics and love English, more can be found here.

In this article, we outline 5 tips for higher employee engagement and ask whether a truly satisfied employee is the same as an engaged one.

Difference between a happy and engaged employee

They say that if you have happy employees, efficiency and engagement increase. I dare to disagree. A happy employee can be one who enjoys all the benefits, is happy that s/he has someone to go out for a drink with on Friday after work, or that the company basically doesn't demand much from him/her.

An engaged person, on the other hand, is a person who actively looks for opportunities to innovate, change things, wants to know feedback on work and is constantly looking for opportunities to do things better or easier.

Of course, these two states can overlap, that is the ideal situation. However, sometimes an engaged employee can be dissatisfied and vice versa. You need to be able to work with it. So how to ensure having engaged and satisfied employees?

5 tips on a higher employee engagement

1. Clear vision, mission and company values

The Vision and Mission of the company are something what drives the company forward. But it should mainly be a matter for the CEO, who should clearly communicate the direction the company is taking. Once the vision and mission are set, it is up to top and middle management to clearly set goals for individual departments to achieve this vision. Then it should also be clear to everyone how exactly they fit into this puzzle in order to be useful to society. If people don't know where the company is headed, they will be confused, unable to prioritize, and therefore less engaged.

On the contrary, values should be shared. Especially for younger generations, values ​​are an essential part of why they choose to work for your company. It is important for them that their personal values ​​merge with their professional values. Don't be afraid to adjust or change values ​​as your culture evolves. It's possible that 15 years ago it was completely different than it is today and that's okay.

TIP: Perceive how people behave, what is important to them. Don't be afraid to hold a meeting where you will talk about values ​​together. It is then, of course, up to the top management to give these values ​​a final shape, but it is certainly good to talk to people about it and get their opinion. Once the values ​​are set, communicate them to the company, "live" by them at work and don't shy away from them even in a crisis. Only then can they be considered more than empty phrases.

2. Set up an intranet for better internal communication

Communication is key here, too. If you don't already have a platform where you share news, team photos, events, birthdays, etc., it's definitely a good idea to at least think about it. Try platforms like Sharepoint (from MS Office 365) or try the great Notion.

If you already have an intranet and are not sure what to put there, here are some tips:

  • HR documents and guidelines, code of ethics, work rules, employee handbook
  • company news like:who is your new client, team photos, calendar of events, birthdays, work anniversaries
  • give each other public feedback - just create a page where everyone can publicly comment on what and why they want to praise a colleague or a manager
  • create a survey (e.g. every week) with employees rating how they felt that week - from 1 to 10 - people will then not be afraid to give natural feedback and thereby build psychological safety, which increases not only engagement, but also retention and well-being
  • interviews with employees (can also be in the form of a podcast), or add a column "About ..." or "5 things you didn't know about..." every week and describe what the person in question likes to do in their free time or interesting things from their personal life of life

3. Revise company benefits

Have you set up benefits in your company because you have an idea of ​​what people might want? Sometimes this may not be a good way, and such an intuitive approach can also cost you too much money.

Create a questionnaire and ask people what benefits they value in your company and what benefits they would prefer. Do the questionnaire according to age, you will get valuable information. In general, flexible working hours, a home office, an insurance contribution, a sports pass, or a tailored benefits package are based on these questionnaires.

TIP: Then continue working with the data. No one likes empty questions with no follow-up action. You will also ensure greater loyalty to the company. In short, people are happy when their voice is heard and respected in the company.

What´s in the picture?

Summary of 5 tips: 1. Clear values, mission and vision 2. Intranet implementation 3. Benefits and rewards revision 4. Engagement questionnaire 5. Development planning

How to measure engagement? Via questionnaires!

Engagement questionnaires should tell us, for example, why the employee stays with you, what the company can do to make his/her work environment better (e.g. what technical or other tools does s/he need to do his/her job well) or if the employee is satisfied with how his/her development is discussed with him (if at all).

Do not do this questionnaire once a year, do it more often - for example, 2-3 times a year, so that you can compare the data. Again, we appeal to you to work with the questionnaires even after you have sent them out. Otherwise, there is a risk that your company will spoil its name and engagement will decrease accordingly.

5. Build development plans based on the previous points

After you have clarified your vision and mission, you have jointly established values, you are building a feedback culture and engagement using the intranet, you have reviewed your benefits and you know what drives your people forward, it is time to look at the development plan and how to work with this information.

Each person has their internal drive engines set up differently and is engaged through various activities. Ask employees which path is right for them.

You can offer:

  • Buddy programme: propose a more senior employee to become a buddy for a newcomer to your company - we are talking about this system in our next article (point 2)
  • promotion/transfer: set priorities that the person should achieve to move to another job position (horizontally x vertically), if certain skills are lacking, provide training and track the progress
  • internal trainer: if the person feels good about it and is really good at something, let him/her train other employees, see our previous article-point 3

If you implement at least some of the points mentioned above, you will ensure a much higher level of engagement, which also increases satisfaction, well-being and retention. That's why it's worth investing in employee engagement - whether it's time or money. You will then have to deal with the departure of employees even less. If one of your people is in danger of leaving, don't let your emotions get carried away. How to say goodbye to people correctly and respectfully is described in our previous article.

If you would like a consultation where we show you how to increase engagement in your company, don't hesitate to contact us. We can also help with the implementation of the points mentioned above.