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Steps to Winning Employee Engagement

small engaged teamHow hard your employees work and how motivated they are to perform their work depends on how engaged they feel towards their job and the company. Employee engagement is influenced greatly by the immediate supervisor, the working environment, the fit of the individual with the job, the level of the employee's involvement in how the job gets done, and the employee's own disposition towards work and authority.

To make sure your employees become and stay engaged, as a manager you need to do three things:

  1. Communicate clearly what needs to be accomplished and when. By creating a direction for your group and sharing it with employees, you will give your staff much of what they need to know to do their job. They need to know where the company or your group is headed and how they can contribute.


  2. Create a work force matched to the jobs in your firm through careful selection and hiring. The job match must be in terms of mental abilities, thinking style, behavioral traits, interests, and work experience. Develop a specific set of requirements and results expected from the job. Then, in addition to behaviorally-based interviewing and reference and background checking, use assessment tools to screen out the people who are not right for the job.


  3. Facilitate a work climate that promotes a high level of teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and involvement for everyone. This is where your role as a coach and leader is really demonstrated. You can foster a positive work environment through leadership by example and with sincere care and concern for each employee’s needs. Think of leadership as a relationship, not a title.
Whatever your leadership style, it is contagious to the people who report to you. A domineering boss creates fear and loss of creativity. On the other hand, according to research conducted at Case Western University, a boss who demonstrates a positive interest in the success of his or her employees and shows that he or she is willing to help them succeed sends a message of hope and affirmation that actually stimulates creativity.

The manager as coach also gives employees an appropriate level of power to make choices in how they do their job. This practice demonstrates respect for the individual and affirms value. Finally, always keep your promises, or trust will wither and die. What this all boils down to is building relationships with employees by building them up and encouraging them to grow. Carl Rogers, writing in the book Perceiving, Behaving and Becoming, says, “The degree to which I can create relationships which facilitate the growth of others as separate persons is a measure of the growth I have achieved in myself.”

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"Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it is amazing what they can accomplish." -- Sam Walton



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