Most people have heard about employee engagement within their companies, but few understand its importance. Employee engagement is a way to improve company culture, resulting in teams that are full of happy employees, increased productivity, and employee passion about the work they are doing. Featured below are nine ways that you can help your organization thrive.

Nine Pillars of Employee Engagement:

1. Values + Purpose: Values and purpose within a company create a deeper understanding of why the company runs the way it does. If this purpose is strong and drives employees, it will create an emotional bond between the organization and its workers, further engaging them in their work.
2. Communication: Inclusion is something that almost all individuals crave. When businesses effectively communicate with their employees, the employees will feel valued by their peers, included and recognized. Employees will be more engaged with the company if they are fully in the loop.
3. Health + Wellness: Research shows a correlation between health and engagement in employees. Health programs within businesses should be voluntary, long-term, physical, and fun. If employees are arriving to work healthy, it will not affect their performance negatively. Group fitness challenges, such as Society’s Summer Wellness Challenge, engage employees by promoting teamwork and bonding, competition, personal wellness, and a good time for all.
4. Environment: Creating an office space designed around the company’s values is very important. Does your company value teamwork? Create an open-concept space where employees can freely discuss ideas with each other. Does your company value fun? Create a space where employees can play an interactive, fun game on their break. By giving your office a balanced atmosphere, employee’s minds will remain engaged throughout their shift.
5. Well-Defined Roles: For an employee to be engaged in their work, they must know the work that they are doing is valued by the company. By defining employee job roles, they will see how their daily duties benefit the company. This will show employees that their role, if done successfully, will positively contribute to their team, other departments, and the company as a whole.
6. Relationship with Peers: A strong component of employee engagement is friendship among coworkers. Different friendships and partnerships within companies’ boost employee satisfaction by 50 percent, creating elevated moods, strengthening bonds between peers, and cultivating trust.
7. Recognition: Money is often a large component of employee motivation, but it has its limits. As much as this physical factor can affect mood, it cannot compare to the personal and emotional factors that employees’ desire. Recognition is extremely important; it engages a workforce. Affirmations allow employees to feel great about themselves and their purpose in the company.
8. Buy-In from Managers: The quality of management within companies makes all the difference. Managers are the backbone of a department and can inspire their subordinates to trust and believe in their work. If employees believe in their managers, they will believe in themselves and the strength of the company.
9. Personal Growth: People are the greatest investment a business can make. By training and developing employees, employees will feel they are advancing within the company and making a difference. High turnover occurs when employees feel that they are stuck with little room to grow or advance. When employees are growing, they are committed, engaged, and dedicated to their job duties and responsibilities.

At Society, our people make the biggest difference. Learn more about working here.