Best Employee Engagement Ideas and Activities: Boost Your Team’s Involvement at Work

Are you looking forward to having an employee who is ready to work and who can commit? As an employer, it’s your responsibility to take good care of your employees; thus, you must establish a healthy working environment that encourages employee engagement and satisfaction.

Employee engagement is an employee’s emotional commitment to the company and its objectives and the level of enthusiasm in the workplace. So it’s important to focus on the things that drive engagement. 

An organization’s productivity depends on employee engagement. But what happens when there is no effective leadership within the company? Employees feel that they do not have to spend a great deal of time with the company. 

Research made in January 2020 indicated that 41% of employees globally are engaged, while 38% of employees are disengaged, and 21% are actively disengaged. 

According to the Labour Statistics Bureau, 4.25 million people left their jobs in January 2022, up from 3.33 million in 2021, due to the engagement issue. Thus it needs to be addressed quickly. 

Managers are busy, employees are disengaged, and the current company culture is at havoc. Employee engagement activities and ideas are not a concern if you are serious about enhancing employee engagement. 

The guide contains all the employee engagement ideas and activities that can boost motivation and enhance employee productivity.    

Three key drivers of employee engagement are:

• Leaders and managers who are trustworthy and committed.
• Work that has meaning in a role and increases customer satisfaction.
• A good working relationship with coworkers.

What is Employee Engagement?

The concept that describes workers’ or employees’ perception in an office towards their respective jobs comes from how much the employee enjoys their work regularly. It includes the enthusiasm and commitment of office personnel towards their job, which can be significantly influenced by an employee engagement solution.

There is a need for office well-being to foster productivity, mental health, and emotional health. A healthy work environment also consists of a beautiful office design with decorations.

Every aspect of the office, including the people, should motivate the employees for a better experience and lifestyle spending accounts.

Importance of Employee Engagement in the Workplace

The engagement of employees is crucial for every organization because it creates a more positive work culture, decreases turnover, boosts productivity, strengthens employee and customer relationships, and impacts revenue.

Check out these 5 reasons below to discover the importance of employee engagement in the workplace.

1. Employee Engagement Boosts Productivity

According to a report, committed employees are more productive than those who are not. 

Motivated employees’ productivity level is higher because they are engaged in their work. In comparison to their disengaged colleagues, they are more focused and motivated.

Their goal is to perform efficiently and to make the organization successful. Employees who are engaged work harder because they are passionate about their work and believe they are worth it.

2. An Increase in Profitability

A company with a high level of engagement generates 20 % more sales than one with a low level of engagement. Productivity, job satisfaction, sales, and revenue increase with increased employee engagement. 

Employee engagement has a profound impact almost everywhere in a business. Based on a kincentric report from 2019, a 5% increase in employee engagement increases company revenue by 3%.

3. Employee Engagement Increases Customer Satisfaction

Researchers have found a direct correlation between engagement and satisfaction among employees.

A highly engaged employee is deeply immersed in their work and enthusiastic about it. As a result of this emotional attachment, employees are inclined to go beyond their duties.

Engaged employees are different from satisfied employees. An engaged employee is satisfied with their job, and employee satisfaction is the state of being happy at work.

Engaged employees are likelier to put in the effort that leads to great productivity, a happy sales force, and better results. Employees who are engaged provide a better customer experience.

Must Read: Looking for ways to enhance employee satisfaction? Follow these tips!

4. Retain the Best Employees

Engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company since they are more involved and invested in their jobs. Sometimes your best people are not engaged, and you risk losing them.

To keep your employees engaged and performing at their best, you need to keep them motivated.

5. Employee Engagement Enhances Company Culture

The culture of a top-performing company directly affects employee engagement, and this is because high-performance company culture clearly outlines behavior that is healthy and supportive.

Employees with a positive, open workplace culture are more inclined to be dedicated to their jobs and to the company, which helps them develop a passion for their work.

Culture plays an important role in employee engagement and productivity, as motivated workers tend to be engaged in their jobs and companies. Your company will be more competitive and profitable if you invest time and money in building a strong culture.

What Are The Consequences of Disengaged Employees at Work?

Employees who are disengaged actively disrupt the workplace and create dissatisfaction. 

Research shows that disengaged employees perform less well, work harder, feel unmotivated, and make 60% more errors.

It is common among disengaged employees not to feel emotionally connected to or proud of the company they work for. They are not passionate or energetic about their work and are dissatisfied with the company or their role.

Some of the negative consequences of disengaged employees at work are given below:

1. Employee Turnover

Employee engagement can have a big negative impact on company performance and revenue. 

If your employee doesn’t feel connected to their work, they are more likely to look elsewhere for the job that fits. Young adults quickly leave a job where they feel disengaged and dissatisfied.

A person without a sense of connection to their work is unlikely to stay with the company, and they will likely take a position elsewhere if it is offered to them. People who leave after being hired are a lot of work for no reward.

2. Decreased Productivity

Your company can’t move forward without a productive workforce. Employees’ productivity is often a key indicator used by managers to evaluate their performance. 

In the workplace, productivity suffers if there is no effective employee engagement strategy. Engaging employees is difficult when they are not engaged.

Disengaged employees perform less well at work, are less motivated, and cause 60% more errors and defects. 

3. Collaboration Will Suffer

Employee collaboration is the most important thing and is responsible for great ideas and solutions. For this reason, the collaboration will never go out of focus. 

The successful collaboration aims to increase productivity, align goals, and continue to grow. Without collaboration, employees become disengaged, lose trust, and become unmotivated.

Employee disengagement negatively affects collaboration, leading to employees withdrawing and avoiding collaboration. 

4. Poor Employee Health

Employees who feel disengaged are more likely to feel burnt out or depressed at work than motivated. 

Employees actively disengaged in their jobs have more unhealthy days than their peers, and they waste more time and money. 

Related: You can check out the effects of working in an unhealthy work environment

How Can Engaging Employees Benefit Your Business?

Engaged employees are engaged in your business and happy at work, which leads to higher productivity and retention. Dedicated employees work actively to achieve company goals and are invested in the company’s success.

1. Dedicated Customer Service

When employees are enthusiastic about their job, it comes through in how they treat customers and their willingness to go the extra mile. Engaged employee provides top-notch customer service and aims to create an amazing experience for customers. 

2. Achieve Team Objectives

A team’s success and achievements depend heavily on employee engagement. As a manager, focusing your attention on your team’s goals is natural. 

However, increasing employee engagement will have a direct, positive impact on your goals. You need team members who believe in the vision to reach your goals.

3. More Teamwork and Innovation

In the workplace, employee engagement fosters healthy competition. Engaged teams and individuals are also excellent innovators who constantly strive to become more creative because of their drive to improve. 

A team with a high level of engagement is more likely to look for ways to improve customer experience and increase profitability.

4. The Quality of the Work is Better

Engaged employees always strive to do their best at all times. In contrast to other employees, these individuals are highly motivated and do their jobs with dedication and precision.  

Best Employee Engagement Ideas and Activities

Maintaining employee happiness and engagement cannot be overstated. In contrast to less engaged workers, engaged workers are more creative and have better problem-solving skills.

Employers need brighter ideas and ways to satisfy employees when they decide to get employees engaged. 

Below are a few ideas and activities for engaging employees that are fun and productive.

Productive Engagement Ideas and Activities For Office Employees 

Employee engagement has quickly become one of the most commonly used workplace terminologies to describe employee satisfaction and productivity. The employer’s responsibility is to ensure employees are satisfied and happy at work. 

1. Establish open office hours

Research shows that 74.3% of employees want their employers to offer flexible hours, whereas only 45.8% do. Establishing open office hours increases productivity and the time an employee spends working. 

2. Keep Communication Open

Communication is one of the most important elements of any organization. 

To lead a successful business, you must create an environment with open communication and trust. Open communication lets your employees understand how their efforts impact the company’s success.

Open and honest communication impacts engagement. A culture of open communication promotes inclusion within the team and makes employees feel a part of it.

3. Identify and Create Opportunities for Collaboration

Employees with positive, strong relationships with coworkers automatically have a higher level of engagement at work. Collaborating is important to improve transparency, productivity, and happiness at work.

In the workplace, collaboration leads to stronger connections, improved communication, and better learning. 

By collaborating, employees have the opportunity to share ideas and see the world from different perspectives, which leads to better communication. More communication doors open with psychological safety because employees feel valued and engaged.

4. Recognition Program

Recognition is a wonderful way to get employees to engage with each other. Employees can see how much their company values them and how important their contributions are to their team and the company’s success.

Recognizing employees motivates them to give more impact: 90% say that being appreciated encourages them to provide more effective work. Creating a joyful and healthy environment is achieved through it. 

The appreciation of employees enhances the sense of inclusiveness and humanity in the workplace.

5. Training and Seminars

Training helps in skill-building and sharpening minds for better outputs and development opportunities.

But training may be boring at times, so to make it interesting for employees and attendees, it is important to make such events interactive so that employees participate inquisitively and learn something new.

Training and seminars allow employees to interact with third parties and give insights into where they stand professionally.

When workers attend training, it is beneficial for the company to boost employee confidence and increase employee engagement.

Fun Engagement Ideas and Activities For Office Employees

Team members can be inspired and engaged in many ways. Make sure your idea matches your company culture and your teammates’ interests, and you’ll succeed.

1. Have Fun on a Regular Basis

The human body is not designed to be a machine for work. Allow your employees to relax and have fun by incorporating fun bonding activities.

• Organize an office sports teams
• Share jokes with your coworkers
• Gather after work hours
• Make Friday lunch for the entire company by ordering pizza and momos

2. Celebrate Birthdays 

Employees are honored at every workplace in their way. It is a good idea to make birthdays a fun event or a gift occasion. Giving employees special attention on their birthday makes them feel valued and recognized. 

A celebration shows your employees that you value and care for them, which goes a long way in creating a sense of appreciation. Such initiative can boost employee morale and motivation while also increasing productivity. 

3. Parties at the Workplace

Organizing parties at the workplace makes employees happy and refreshes them from monotonous work, at least for a while. 

The parties help employees feel special, and you can invite the family members of colleagues for more inclusion.

4. Games and Competition For Employee

Competitions among teams help the organization achieve its goals and engage employees and make them feel satisfied with their work. Games and competitions raise the competitive environment and fun and increase participant bonding. 

Simple games for remote teams are fun, or you can include ping pongs and football games with sports events for revitalization, and it is a great engagement idea.

5. Lunches as Learning Time

Learning lunches are great activities to increase employee engagement. A lunch break allows you to relax and prepare your mind and body for the entire day. Organizing lunch breaks as learning time once a week is a good idea for better interaction.

Free lunches with other incentives encourage the engaged employees to participate in the discussion, find solutions to problems, and develop good relations for employee engagement.

Ways to Keep Your Employees Engaged

Engagement among employees is important for several reasons. It is important to remember that employee engagement and satisfaction are closely related. Unhappiness will show in your team members’ work since they won’t feel motivated to perform well.

In the absence of motivation, employees don’t perform well, resulting in low productivity.

The following are some ways to keep employees engaged: 

1. Use Time Tracking Software – timeTracko

With employee productivity tracking software, you can easily track how quickly employees do things, how much they procrastinate throughout the day, and their overall productivity.

The automatic time tracking feature of timeTracko lets your employee feel more connected to your business and become more engaged. 

Features of timeTracko That Encourage Employee Engagement

The following are some features of timeTracko that make employees feel more engaged:

• With time and attendance management features, employees are more likely to be punctual and regular at work.

• The productivity tracking feature prevents employees from spending time on unproductive apps and websites while working. This makes employees more focused on work. 

• Custom/random Screenshot feature improves engagement, collaboration, and performance. 

• timeTracko records every keystroke made on a computer in a readable file. This strategy aims to keep employees focused on their jobs.

2. Encourage their Personal Development

Personal development involves continuously exploring your life values and goals, as well as developing your skills and qualities so that you can achieve your goals.

When companies offer employees training and skills development, employees feel valued for their contribution. In this way, they will understand that the organization supports them in reaching their full potential. 

Thus, taking part in a personal development program motivates and engages employees.

How To Improve Personal Development Skills

Your employees’ development skills and qualities can be improved in a few ways.

• Seek Opportunities to Learn From Other Employees in Your Company
• Encouraging managers to coach and mentor employees.
• Incorporate a culture of continuous knowledge and skills.
• Encourage employees to have growth plans that can steer them towards career development. 
• Reward employees who work on developing themselves. 
• Build trust by encouraging good workplace relationships and being honest with your employees. 

3.  Provide employees with success-oriented tools and resources

To encourage employee engagement, ensure that your team members have access to all resources to help them be more productive and successful. 

Related: Check out remote work tools in 2022! 💻💻

4. Schedule Regular One-on-one Meetings

Without regular one-on-one meetings, employees may lack direction in their roles. You can achieve many benefits from one-on-one meetings – employees can overcome challenges, minimize skills gaps, and understand growth opportunities.

Also, one-on-ones strengthen an employee’s connection to their work.

How One to One Meeting is Important for Employee Engagement

A one-on-one meeting can significantly impact employee engagement for the following reasons:

1. Ensure that employees feel cared for by the organization.
2. Enhance the organization’s trust among employees.
3. Employees should be encouraged to communicate more openly and vocally.
4. Improve workplace accountability by promoting transparency in interactions.
5. Managers can guide their employees to improved performance by identifying challenges and finding solutions.

Conclusion

To improve employee engagement, you must work on motivating employees, improving employee productivity, improving employee satisfaction, and simply making them feel like a team member. 

If you need fresh ideas to boost employee engagement, you can refer to the above ideas and ways!

FAQ

1. How to improve employee engagement?

Some of the best ways to improve employee engagement are listed below:

• Train employees to succeed in their roles and beyond.
• Recognize and reward your employees
• Promote a healthy working environment
• Improve efficiency in the workplace
• Make the work itself less stressful and more enjoyable

2. How to measure the involvement of an employee?

You can use tracking software like timeTracko to measure employee engagement. It is possible to measure how productive your employees are while at work and how long they work throughout the day. This way, you can measure the involvement of an employee. 

 3. What are the elements of employee engagement?

Below are a few elements of employee engagement:

• Leadership
• Communication
• Professional and personal growth
• Vision and values
• Accountability and performance