ATD Blog

Three Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Engage Employees

Tue Jul 29 2014

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Here’s a stat that should grab your attention: 35 percent of employees say they would forego a significant pay raise in exchange for having their boss fired. If you are a manager, read on.

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Even if employee engagement principles don’t sway you, consider the bottom line implications. Engaged companies grow profits as much as 3X faster than their competitors.

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Improving the culture around you does not need to be complex or expensive. Consider these factors:

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Motivation

Motivation

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Managers need to know what motivates individual team members. Have an open conversation with your employees and find out. It can be as simple as asking: What motivates you? What demotivates you?

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Tell your team members what motivates you, so they know it is a genuine inquiry and an exercise you have gone through yourself. Sharing as a team also benefits, as each team member can learn about the others.

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Recognition

Recognition

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Acknowledge the importance of recognition. Have you ever quit a job because you were given positive recognition for your efforts? Me neither.

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Managers give a number of reasons why they do not do give recognition. Whatever your reasons (and some might be perfectly valid), if you do not recognize an employee’s efforts when they perform well, it is damaging to your company’s culture.

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But don’t confuse recognition with manners (saying “thank you,” for instance). If you are rolling your eyes, think back to the last time you received recognition. It could be a work related project, or maybe a personal accomplishment (completing a road race, losing weight) remember how it felt? If delivered genuinely, it felt good.

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You also want to ask team members how they like to be recognized. Do they prefer public or private? Do they want to hear the “atta boy” behind closed doors, or would an email to the team with a higher level executive CC’d motivate them more?

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After hearing their preferences, create an Outlook reminder to remind yourself to watch for genuine opportunities to recognize- no harm in reminding yourself. If you are old school, use a sticky note.

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Feedback

Feedback

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Managers should be providing feedback to employees. It is an essential component of working with others. Whether it is positive or corrective, your team members should know how they are performing. The old saying: “Praise in public and critique in private,” is still relevant.

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The most effective managers follow that practice. As with recognition, it should be timely. Two important factors to providing feedback include:

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Be timely : Ever been told days, weeks, or even months later that your performance wasn’t up to par? That doesn’t meet the timely criteria, and it is not helpful.
Be timely: Ever been told days, weeks, or even months later that your performance wasn’t up to par? That doesn’t meet the timely criteria, and it is not helpful.
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Be specific : Telling an employee that he isn’t cutting it is not helpful. Start with what they did do well will help to put them at ease. Next, you should outline what needs to be improved, suggestions as how to improve, and scheduling a follow up will leave more of a positive impact and will not disengage your employee.
Be specific: Telling an employee that he isn’t cutting it is not helpful. Start with what they did do well will help to put them at ease. Next, you should outline what needs to be improved, suggestions as how to improve, and scheduling a follow up will leave more of a positive impact and will not disengage your employee.

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There are many actions you can take to engage your employees, but these three suggestions are the easiest and most low-cost ways to make a difference.

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