3 ways to get to know your employees better to boost engagement

Employee engagement is not a new concept. Businesses have long understood that a highly engaged workforce can reduce absenteeism, reduce employee turnover, increase productivity and improve customer satisfaction, among a myriad of other benefits.

Why the renewed interest lately?

The answer to this question is largely about what companies face in the job market. It's gotten tighter and tighter these days. In April 2022, there were 11.4 million job vacancies, while the number of unemployed remained at 6 million in May.

Finding and retaining talent in a tight job market is one of the most difficult challenges your organization will face, made even more difficult by the number of people currently considering a job change. A recent survey found that 30% of employees toyed with the idea, with 62% citing toxic company culture as a reason for switching providers.

This should be enough to get your leadership team to reconsider your levels of engagement. After all, employee engagement and culture go hand in hand. Culture is often the direct result of engagement; it shows what people think about various aspects of your business, the main one being their role.

Show renewed interest in your team

Improving engagement starts with employees. You need to recognize that your business is made up of individuals with different needs, aspirations, and motivations. Here's how to adjust your approach to engagement and get to know your team better:

1. Disrupt your traditional patterns.

It's natural to have different relationships with different people on your team. The problem comes when you start to favor some team members over others. On the one hand, it gives the impression that you are playing favorites. Even if it's not your intention, repeatedly relying on a few select people can hurt team morale. In turn, engagement and productivity will suffer. Favoring certain team members, unwittingly or not, can also put your company in a precarious position if one of your key employees quits.

Instead of always deferring to the most vocal people in the room, make a conscious effort to constantly assess who got what assignment and when. "I encourage people to look around and see who's cleaning the office, who's doing the glamorous work, and trying to disrupt those systems," says journalist, editor and author Alan Henry. /p>

You not only want to be fair and equitable with workloads, but also give everyone on the team opportunities to grow and learn. That doesn't mean there won't be exceptions. When certain team members have the skills to achieve the goals of a project, you'd be foolish not to give them the reins. Just strike a balance.

2. Focus on talent matching.

While it goes without saying, you always want the right person in the right role to improve engagement. Dr. Dan Harrison, Founder and CEO of Harrison Assessments, explains that engagement is an individual mindset.

“Being engaged is a psychological phenomenon that is driven by employee expectations and motivations as well as good leadership and management practices,” he said.