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If you're looking for more information, see our post on Employee Engagement Activities and team building activities.
What are the Top 10 Drivers of Team Engagement?
1. Share a win
To start a team meeting on a positive note, you must begin with a win. Suppose you start the meeting with an upbeat story. In that case, people will immediately feel more optimistic about the meeting itself and be more motivated to participate. The win itself can be big or small. Was a project a success? Did a staff member perform exceptionally well over the past few weeks? Was there something memorable that happened? Participants should share their victories with the team. Alternatively, you may want to ask everyone in the meeting to share their victories. Either way, it will help make the meeting a success.
2. Score your team meeting
While the impact of external rewards is undeniable, many employees are equally motivated to improve their own performance within the organization. Work with your team to grade each team meeting to ensure that you are continually improving. One way to do this is to have each staff member grade the meeting after it is over and calculate the median score. It is helpful to record whether the meeting ended on time, whether follow-up items were carried out, whether there were tangible outcomes to the meeting, and whether participants were engaged in the meeting.
3. Use an egg clock to make members who talk too long
In any organization, prolonged team meetings are a problem. By implementing an egg clock, you can reduce the amount of time wasted in meetings, keep meetings focused, and keep employees on track. With an egg clock, you can make meetings less time-consuming. When the egg clock rings, the time is up, and the meeting must end. It gives the meeting a much-needed sense of urgency and allows things to proceed at their intended pace without wasting time. The time limit depends on the size of the team and the regularity of the meetings. If team meetings are held weekly, 15-30 minutes may be sufficient. If it is bi-weekly, 30 to 45 minutes is appropriate. Regardless of how you adjust the allotted meeting time, the general rule is that the less time you have available, the better.
4. Give everyone time to speak
Keeping all employees focused in many team meetings is challenging, with some participants talking too much and others falling silent. To solve this problem, give every participant in the meeting a few minutes to speak. By default, all participants must speak. Tell the meeting participants to come prepared with insights that will help the meeting to ensure that the meeting is aligned with your productivity goals. To do this, share the agenda in advance so that participants can prepare relevant information to help keep the meeting on track and effective.
5. Conduct an employee survey
Survey your team to get their feedback and input on their experience at work. Then follow up and involve your managers in the process. According to one survey, 60% of employees believe that managers are most responsible for instituting and implementing employee engagement strategies. Empower your managers to gather employee feedback and act on it.
6. Evaluate results and efforts carefully
People want to feel that their efforts are being noticed and appreciated. Employees value recognition from their immediate supervisors (even more so than their co-workers). Train your managers to praise and reward employees when they do a good job.
7. Regular check-ins with employees
When working remotely, regular check-ins with employees are a must. Regular check-ins ensure that the remote team has the same view of the work being done. However, these meetings have the added value of creating a sense of unity. Team leaders should also conduct one-on-one meetings regularly. For check-in meetings with remote employees, use messenger, chat, video call, or any other method that suits the team. However, some check-in meetings should be conducted using a video conferencing tool with the camera turned on. Even if it is a video conference, the human connection from looking someone in the eye is significant.
8. Virtual coffee breaks and happy hours
Coffee breaks are often spontaneous in the office. Meeting with colleagues during work breaks has been proven to be effective in increasing employee engagement and productivity. So, for employees who work remotely, try introducing "virtual coffee breaks." A virtual coffee break is a short (usually 15-30 minutes) video call where employees can get together for a cup of coffee and chit-chat. Or set up a regular happy hour to give employees a chance to talk about non-work-related topics. It will measure the communication between employees.
9. Online team building
Online team building is essential. Just like on-site team building, the online version of team building can be very effective. Some people may find the online version more convenient, unifying, and fun. A variety of online activities and games can be used to help remote employees get to know each other and build stronger connections. The type of team building that should be planned should be dictated by the corporate culture and the employees' wishes. Consider suggesting several options and letting your remote employees choose the one they like. You can find more team-building information on Teamland.
10. Online recognition rituals
Recognition has been shown to increase individual employee engagement and increase productivity, company loyalty, and retention. Gallup data shows that the most effective praise is sincere, genuine, and tailored to the individual employee. For this reason, it is imperative to implement an online recognition system for employees in remote locations. There are many ways to do this, but I recommend starting with something simple and free: create a kudos channel on Slack or another messaging chat. Start using it to lead by example, celebrate wins, and recognize good work.
How do you build team engagement?
If you want to improve employee engagement, you need to find ways to make your employees feel like they are part of a team. These methods found must be tailored to the unique needs and motivations of each individual employee. To help you engage employees, we decided to share a couple of our secrets on how to engage employees at the workplace.
If you're an employer, you would need to find ways to improve employee engagement. These methods found must be tailored to the unique needs and motivations of each individual employee. Because increasing your employees' engagement will improve their performance, it's important to share some secrets on how to increase employee engagement.
1. Encourage flexibility
The secret how to make your employees more engaged is by giving them flexibility. This gives you the possibility to adjust your employees' schedules and locations as it suits you. Not many employers trust their employees in getting the work done without their managers’ watchful eyes but you would be surprised. When you provide people with flexibility, they're more likely to be productive, happier, and more engaged at the workplace.
2. Proactive breaks
A good way to combat this is by getting your employees out of their chairs at least once every hour. Our brains are always in work mode, but taking a break helps us process information properly. It prevents mental fatigue and allows us to produce better results. There are a few software applications you can install on your computers, which remind you to take breaks and rest your eyes from the computer. If employees see that you care more about their well-being than the company, they will work harder for you or the company.
3. Clarification of Goals
Every employee has goals and responsibilities that they need to focus on. However, it is common for employees to be confused about their role in the organization. In order to increase employee engagement, it is important to clarify goals and responsibilities.
In addition, employees may become mentally exhausted as they try to achieve the goals assigned to them. This may be due to a lack of leadership or support, or simply because they feel they are not competent enough or are not confident in the work they have completed.
A good leader is one who helps employees set goals and supports them when problems arise. I agree that management cannot always be there to guide employees in their work and the problems they are facing. However, if you want to increase the level of engagement within your organization, you need to show your employees that you are there to help.
In today's world where the sky is the limit, there are many people who are making tremendous efforts to advance their careers in any way they can through education and workshops, and other enrichment courses. Encourage your employees to attend workshops and conferences, or invite guest speakers relevant to your industry to speak to your team. This will not only increase the productivity of your employees but also boost the morale of your team.
4. Mentoring Your Employees
One of the secrets to increasing employee engagement in the workplace is to become a mentor to your employees. Some managers are too busy with their own work to help their subordinates, or they find it too much trouble to help themselves.
The best way to increase employee engagement is to be a role model for employees who are facing problems, no matter how busy they are. If you happen to see an employee struggling, or if you know they need extra help with a given task, offer to help.
5. Show your appreciation on a regular basis
Finally, the secret to increasing employee engagement in the workplace is to say "thank you" to your employees. It's time to thank your employees for their efforts in making the company profitable. This is a very simple thing to do, but one that is often overlooked, especially in large organizations.
Another factor that needs to be taken care of to increase employee engagement is to thank employees. Management should take the time to show appreciation to their employees in the office. This is not just because it is a good thing to do, but because it makes everyone happy and increases the productivity of the company.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated and finds value in a simple thank you. However, in many workplaces, this is not done enough. Showing simple appreciation can go a long way in motivating employees to work harder and be more productive.
Acknowledgment by management and co-workers is the surest way to build trust, repair strained relationships, and motivate employees in the workplace. For more great ways to show appreciation to your employees, see this article as well.
6. Build authentic relationships
Another way to increase employee engagement is to build genuine, caring relationships with co-workers. No two people are exactly the same in all aspects of their work, customer service, and how they treat their co-workers. As a manager, you have to understand what motivates your employees and figure out how to reflect that in what you say and do. Some managers say, "When it comes to getting employees to work, it's not the manager's problem.
But if you can build a positive relationship with your employees, they will generally be more productive because they will know that management cares about them as individuals.
If you're looking for more information, see our post on Employee Engagement Activities and team building activities.
