Good News, Employee engagement is on the rise, 2018 showed the highest increase in employee engagement since 2000. According to a study conducted by Gallup, 34% of employee were engaged with their work. While the upward trend is promising we still have a lot of work to do. Employee engagement is critical to building a winning team. In fact, research shows that a 5-point increase in employee engagement is linked to a 3- growth the subsequent year.
That’s hard evidence that engaging your team positively impacts your bottom line. The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot of money to re-engage your team, start by focusing on employee engagement. Here is a list of 5 things you can do to have immediate impact.
1. Recognition is not just from a manager to employee. Social and peer recognition has the same impactful and positive effects on worker satisfaction and engagement. Make this as easy as possible for your team by employing a social recognition app or tool that has been
specifically designed for this.
2. Use the “Facebook effect” to your advantage. By using a social engagement platform, you can tap into the desire employees have for instant feedback, recognition and to “be seen.” Alternatively, you can run a social campaign to promote or share one of your employee’s story or their hard work.
3. Ask employees. Recognition is not one size fits all. Each employee may prefer to be recognized in different ways. For some, an email blast to the entire dealership may not be their ideal choice of recognition. Keep in mind individual personalities and preferences. The goal is not to overwhelm or embarrass.
4. Don’t confuse recognition with monetary rewards. Most managers underestimate the importance of recognition and overestimate the value of monetary compensation. And while salary and compensation are important, once a decent living wage is achieved, what motivates talent to go above and beyond is more than their paycheck.
5. Frequency is key. But recognition that is done at the same time and for the same thing loses its positive and motivating effect over time. While once in 7 days is the magic number, make sure the recognition does not start to feel routine and impersonal.
We know Managers are busy, but we have to step out in front of employee engagement and work from the inside out. Make employee engagement a daily activity. That is your best bet. It’s worth your time!
Written by Bri Newman, Vice President, HR4 Dealers