23 rules to improve employee engagement

Learning how to improve employee engagement is essential to a thriving work environment, boosting productivity and increasing chances of success. Although working with an engaged workforce can transform your organization’s dynamics, it requires a well-thought-out employee engagement strategy to ensure your team is not just meeting expectations but eagerly going the extra mile.

So, what are the most significant factors that influence commitment? What successful strategies can you implement to increase employee engagement measurably? How can technology and digital tools be leveraged to enhance this aspect effectively?

From providing memorable onboarding to focusing on creating a sense of belonging and offering growing opportunities, the following article covers 23 meaningful practices to boost your team members’ involvement and motivation. So, are you ready to boost your employee engagement score and make your workforce thrive? 

1. Measure your current employee engagement score

Before starting or changing anything, it’s crucial to establish a baseline. Measuring your employee engagement score serves as this initial step. It provides critical insights into the workforce’s current satisfaction, commitment, and overall morale. With this data, you can precisely identify areas needing attention and tailor an action plan. You ensure that your efforts to boost engagement are data-driven, targeted, and likely to generate meaningful improvements.

2. Create a thriving onboarding experience

Every moment of your workforce’s journey is important to ensure a highly engaged team of talent. After a well-designed recruitment process, a memorable onboarding experience is crucial for fostering employee engagement from the start. It helps your new team members embody the company culture, understand their roles clearly, and build connections with their colleagues. This positive initial experience sets the tone for their adventure within the organization, significantly boosting their morale, job satisfaction, and loyalty. This increases your chances for long-term engagement and retention.

3. Have and share a strong corporate vision and values

Strong corporate vision and values can also significantly boost employee engagement. When these principles are shared, team members feel connected through a common goal, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose. This alignment enhances their commitment and enthusiasm for their work. Transparently communicating this corporate ethos ensures everyone understands how their role contributes to the larger picture. There is no doubt about how this is vital for promoting an engaged and collaborative workforce.

4. Give a voice to your employees and listen to their feedback

Collecting employee feedback is essential, as it gives your workforce a voice and lets them share their insights and concerns. By actively listening, you can address issues, adapt strategies, and improve the workplace. Feedback can be gathered through diverse channels like in-person discussions, online surveys, or physical and virtual suggestion boxes. It enables everyone to communicate openly, reinforce their values within the company, and drive a more engaged and responsive organizational culture.

5. Promote transparency at all levels of your organization

Promoting transparency in the workplace is vital for fostering trust, connection, and clarity among team members. When management communicates openly about company operations, decisions, and challenges, it empowers workers, making them feel considered, respected, and valued. This transparency cultivates a culture of honesty, encourages open dialogue, and can lead to higher levels of employee engagement. Why? People gain motivation from being part of a workplace that values integrity and inclusivity in its approach to information sharing.

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6. Share clear expectations

Workers often mention the lack of clarity as a factor influencing employee disengagement and dissatisfaction. Transparency in objectives and role responsibilities eliminates ambiguity, enabling team members to confidently focus on achieving their goals. Knowing what is expected of them allows your staff to align their efforts with the company’s vision. Not only does this increase productivity but also job satisfaction and engagement. Such transparency about expectations sets the stage for mutual trust and a committed, engaged workforce.

7. Understand and answer your employees’ expectations

The previous rule also goes the other way around. While communicating expectations sets clear requirements, a two-way dialogue to understand your employees' professional needs and aspirations establishes a reciprocal relationship. Asking your staff about their expectations isn’t enough. You then have to act genuinely to fulfill them. Doing so demonstrates commitment and respect, which is paramount in cultivating a supportive environment and improving overall employee engagement.

8. Consider and support each person’s uniqueness

Managers who know and care for their team members individually can tailor their work environment to foster maximal engagement. It enables them to recognize and consider each person’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses. This individual awareness helps them provide targeted support and development opportunities, encouraging employees to leverage their unique talents and address growth areas. Such a nurturing atmosphere not only boosts involvement but also motivates workers to exceed expectations, as they feel genuinely valued and understood within their roles.

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👉 Learn more about the correlation between employee happiness and productivity.

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9. Offer flexible work arrangements

Flexible work arrangements are a catalyst for improving workforce engagement. By accommodating individual lifestyle needs and work preferences, employers show trust and respect for their employees’ autonomy. This flexibility supports a better work-life balance, reducing stress and enhancing job satisfaction. When workers feel their personal needs are valued, their morale is naturally boosted. This often results in greater productivity, loyalty, and a stronger commitment to the company’s success.

10. Train managers to enhance employee engagement

Managers have one of the most important roles and influence many aspects of the workplace, including the level of engagement among your workforce. Training leaders is a pivotal step when looking into solutions to improve engagement. Through such programs, they can discover creative ways to boost employee morale and practical methods for fostering a positive work environment. They learn how to inspire, motivate, and connect with their teams effectively. Equipping managers with these skills ensures that they can lead by example, implement strategies that resonate with staff, and play a crucial part in building more dynamic and involved teams.

11. Provide employees with the resources they need

Frustration and engagement can never be in the same room. This is why you need to create a work environment that enables your staff to do their job in optimal conditions without them being upset by lacking the resources needed to perform at their best. Providing employees with the right material, including digital tools and ergonomic furniture, for example, can significantly heighten engagement. Such investments demonstrate your commitment to their well-being and efficiency. Access to these resources reduces frustration arising from inadequate equipment and empowers people to deliver their best work, fostering a proactive, involved, and happy workforce.

12. Prioritize employee well-being and mental health 

Employee well-being and mental health are not only essential for your company’s success but also for a happy and engaged workforce. By putting in place support systems and initiatives to enhance well-being, you can reduce burnout, boost morale, and increase loyalty, as workers feel cared for on a personal level. Moreover, keep in mind that the workplace itself can trigger poor mental health. For example, be attentive to practices like micromanagement that definitely affect your workforce’s mental health and well-being.

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🧐 Watch out for these 17 signs of micromanagement!

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13. Focus on employee recognition

Employee recognition plays a huge role in promoting a positive and healthy work environment where people feel valued and connected to their workplace. It is also a powerful tool for maintaining high engagement levels within a team. Acknowledging individual and group achievements reinforces constructive behaviors, boosts morale, and validates their efforts. It fosters a culture of appreciation, leading to increased motivation, loyalty, and a sense of belonging. Ultimately, if your coworkers feel recognized for their input, they are more likely to be invested in their work and your organization’s success.

14. Support employee empowerment and autonomy

People feel more responsible and invested in the outcomes when they are free to make decisions and have control over their work. This empowerment boosts your team members’ confidence in themselves and their skills. It enhances innovation as they are encouraged to take initiative and contribute more meaningfully. Moreover, autonomy not only fulfills job satisfaction but also nurtures trust and respect. As we’ve already highlighted, these are all key ingredients for a deeply engaged and productive workforce.

15. Facilitate constant learning and career growth

People who see a path for advancement and are provided with learning opportunities feel encouraged and valued, which can lead to a greater investment in their roles and the company. This commitment to professional development fosters a culture of ambition and aspiration. Workers are not only equipped to tackle current challenges but are also prepared to evolve with future demands. For these reasons, promoting constant learning and offering career growth opportunities are key rules when searching for ways to improve employee engagement.

16. Promote meaningful tasks and job positions

Performing rewarding tasks and feeling a sense of purpose are pivotal aspects of boosting engagement, especially when roles have significance and are aligned with personal values. An efficient way to help your staff reach this goal is to support them in eliminating low-value tasks and concentrating more on meaningful ones. AI and automation tools can, for example, play a critical part here. They take over monotonous and low-skill operations to give your team members more time to focus on work that they enjoy and where they can make the most of their abilities.

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🤖 Read our article about the rising role of AI in the workplace!

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17. Create a sense of belonging

The feeling of belonging, resulting from a strong organizational culture and DEI practices, can profoundly influence employee performance and engagement. When people feel accepted and valued within their teams, it positively impacts their motivation and dedication. A sense of belonging leads to more collaboration, creativity, and a willingness to go the extra mile for the company. For a more in-depth understanding of how it shapes workplace dynamics, we invite you to explore our detailed article on belonging in the workplace.

18. Enhance team bonding and social interactions

Strongly correlated to the feeling of belonging, team bonding and social interactions at work are key to bolstering employee engagement. When colleagues connect and form relationships, it creates a more cohesive and enjoyable workplace. Such interactions enhance better teamwork, greater support among team members, and a sense of shared purpose. In turn, this sense of belonging and community is likely to result in higher levels of commitment, as people feel valued and integral to the team’s success.

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💃 Read our articles about team bonding activities and our cool ideas for social events!

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19. Boost collaboration between team members and different teams

Team collaboration and cross-functional interaction enhance employee engagement by breaking down silos, encouraging learning, and sparking innovation. As team members are exposed to diverse perspectives and skill sets, they feel more connected to the larger mission and become actively involved and motivated in collective problem-solving. This collaborative approach not only promotes a shared culture but also empowers workers to value each other's competencies, leading to higher engagement and a healthier work environment.

20. Create a culture of trust in the workplace

Promoting a culture of trust is paramount for improving employee engagement, as it forms the foundation of a strong employer-employee relationship. It enables open communication, reduces uncertainty, and empowers team members to perform confidently and autonomously. When people not only feel trusted but also trust the company, their managers, and their colleagues, they’re more likely to take initiative, be involved, and commit to the business’s goals. Although it takes time to build trust in the workplace, the ripple effects are worth it as they benefit your staff as much as your organization.

21. Check for technology that helps improve employee engagement

With the expansion of remote work practices, many aspects essential to employee engagement are becoming more challenging to fulfill. Digital tools and hybrid workplace technology can enhance them by adding flexibility and personalization to the work experience. Our desk booking solution, for example, empowers your staff to schedule when and where they work within the office to meet their preferences and work styles. It also enables them to come to the workplace when their colleagues plan to go on-site, allowing shared moments of collaboration and teamwork. This builds trust and autonomy, leading to a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

22. Stay aware of your employees’ evolving expectations and the trends of the future of work

What workers want today might not be what they want tomorrow. Adapting to staff’s evolving expectations and the emerging trends of the future of work is vital if you aim to maintain high employee engagement. For instance, the rising demand for work-life balance has led to the adoption of hybrid work schedules, allowing people to split their time between home and office. This approach answers the modern desire for work flexibility and autonomy, meeting team members’ needs and thus securing their engagement and satisfaction in an ever-changing work landscape.

23. Reassess your employee engagement score regularly

The final rule for continuously enhancing employee engagement is to measure it regularly. By tracking engagement levels, you can identify any dips or advancements in your initial or previous engagement score and respond proactively. This enables you to set up a dynamic and efficient engagement strategy finely adapted to current conditions. Frequent assessment allows you to ensure that their engagement efforts are effective and make informed adjustments. Again, you can check out our article about employee engagement score how to measure and make the most out of it.

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As you might have realized, learning how to improve employee engagement goes hand in hand with boosting your workers’ satisfaction and experience with the workplace. It is a multifaceted initiative that requires a concerted, people-centric, tactical approach. These 23 key rules go from fostering a culture of trust, empowerment, and recognition to adapting to the evolving expectations tied to the future of work. Implementing feedback systems, enhancing well-being, and leveraging digital tools are also critical. Above all, measuring engagement levels regularly ensures strategies remain relevant. By following these guidelines, you can develop a committed workforce and maintain a competitive edge in today’s dynamic business landscape.

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If you’re curious about how deskbird helps you boost your employee experience, request a free demo of the deskbird app to discover our hybrid workplace management software and its user-friendly features!