Lose the ping pong tables in favour of meaningful, multiple ways to engage your staff.
With reports that only 11 per cent of Canadian workers feel fully engaged at work, what can you do to increase employee engagement in your own office? We share some tips for what works for us below.
- Treat your employees like the grown-ups they are.
Former head of Netflix HR Patty McCord says that micromanaging your employees makes them feel like children. Managers need to pivot their thinking to supporting their staff towards owning their mistakes and victories alike, instead of ordering them around. Make sure your staff know when they’re leading on something, and that you’re there as a backup.
- On the agenda: nothing at all.
Seinfeld was a successful TV show about nothing, and we maintain that your next meeting about nothing could be the same. At MediaFace, we take a leaf from Sweden’s playbook and hold a weekly, all-staff fika – an hour-long, hot-drink-and-snack break – no matter what. Our fika takes place at 2 p.m., the time Daniel H. Pink identifies in his book When as when most people are at their least productive.
Our only fika rule is that it has no agenda. Even if the talk does pivot to work, this unstructured meeting lets our team get to know each other better, and return to their tasks revitalized and rested.
- Set multiple, meaningful review meetings.
One performance review a year is not enough – can you remember what you did two months ago, let alone your employee? Build frequent, informal opportunities to discuss how they’re progressing on their goals and difficulties they are encountering. These chats will help you build your performance review once it’s time, sure, but their real value is showing your staff that you’re invested in their success at your organization.
- Your employees are part of your audience.
How would you feel if your manager bent over backwards for a client project but couldn’t ever find time to meet with you? Employees need to know that you’re thinking about them, just like customers do. Create ongoing internal marketing initiatives that establish regular, genuine communication with your staff. An employee newsletter or monthly town hall that keeps employees in the know is a great place to start. Likewise, build in opportunities that regularly celebrate them, like team building events.
- Show your gratitude.
The modern workplace is busy, and with limited hours in a day, it’s hard to devote time and energy to let people know when they’re doing something right. It might surprise you that an oft-heard phrase in our office is “thank you.” It’s our meeting closer and daily farewell, and it lets our team know that they’re appreciated – especially when you tie it to a specific example they did that you’re really grateful for.
How do you engage your employees? Let us know on our social channels @mediaface.