Employee engagement is more than just saying “good morning” or “have a nice day.” It’s about employers communicating in ways that make employees feel valued and appreciated to create an environment that fosters open communication and accountability. The modern workforce blends together an abundant array of engagement tools in the form of software, apps, surveys, and platforms that automate and promote interaction between management and employees.
In a sea of digital choices for feedback, recognition, and reviews, combined with numerous employment options, it is clear that employee engagement is a top priority for employers. Certainly in the federal space, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) is widely recognized as an engagement barometer for agencies, and there are tools, such as FedViews, that help dissect the data. But beyond FEVS, when it comes to finding the right tools for the right job, it’s best to keep the employee in mind. So while employee engagement encompasses a wide range of activities and initiatives, from a tool standpoint, these concepts may help to promote and ignite employee engagement:
1. Create a Central Data Hub
Applications that provide a centralized workspace allow team members to share documents, follow task lists, and monitor timelines. Cloud-based software streamlines communication and eliminates bulky setup and database maintenance.
2. Monitor the Process
When the project workflow is outlined, it allows managers to create tasks for every step. Developing these processes gives employees the autonomy to move tasks from one stage to the next.
3. Test the Temperature
To help employees develop and to improve workforce performance, employee feedback is absolutely necessary. Tailor questions or use templates, either way, administer surveys to gauge the employee experience at every level.
4. Communicate Effectively
Check the pulse of your workforce with polls and regular surveys. Utilize applications with a two-way communication feature to enable leadership the ability to communicate directly with employees in a private channel.
5. Recognize a Job Well Done
Leaders aren’t always around to see all the positive behaviors in the workforce. Promoting peer-to-peer recognition and team-building reinforces core values and company culture. Tools exist today that let employees provide that recognition, even in real time.
6. Track Performance Goals
Find a platform that allows employees to set goals that managers can track, rate, and review anytime during the year. HR professionals can utilize helpful templates for review reminders, status updates, and learning milestones.
7. Use a Real-time Chat
In today’s workplace, look for a tool that offers an organization-wide instant messaging. Employees can eliminate unnecessary emails and receive answers and responses instantly.
8. Provide Visual Connections
Sometimes it’s better to have a face-to-face conversation, even as a remote employee. Video conferencing lets users easily connect with employees or job candidates across the office or across the country.
9. Stay Informed
Internal marketing is a great way to share organizational updates across the board. A quarterly newsletter, weekly team status updates, or internal company-wide memos can be shared via an intranet.
10. Explore the Employee Experience
With the help of dashboards, find a system to measure and monitor the health and productivity of the organization and the employees. Reports and feedback on the employee life-cycle can help address areas of concern before they become issues.
While strong employee engagement is increasingly recognized as critical to strong workforce performance, it’s important to understand that many tools exist to help engagement. At GovStrive, we help you find the best resources, strategies, and platforms to improve employee engagement and boost workforce performance. Learn more about the power of Govstrive.
