10 Ways to Keep Employees Happy and Engaged
Nearly 4 million Americans quit their jobs every month in 2021. A historically unprecedented turnover rate.
The Great Resignation made retaining employees an even higher priority than ever. But what’s the best way to convince employees to stay?
Keeping employees happy and engaged is the answer, and here are the 10 best ways to do so.
1. Train Managers
Managers may have the greatest impact on employee happiness and engagement — Gallup research has found that a stunning 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. Training managers to become active participants in the ongoing work to increase employee engagement is critical.
2. Offer Great Benefits
Employee well-being and happiness go hand in hand. Offering a comprehensive suite of benefits that your employees value, including ways to care for themselves and their loved ones, helps them be their best selves inside and outside of work. And that makes for happier, more motivated employees.
3. Allow Flexibility
Autonomy is also a critical part of flexibility. If your workplace has strict requirements about when your employees must work, and where they do that work, that doesn’t allow for any self-determination about when they do their best work. Harvard Business Review concludes that flexibility and autonomy go together to increase employee happiness and retention.
4. Choose the Right New Hires
Hiring the right people doesn’t mean just finding ones with the right skill sets. You can also search for people who are likely to stay for the long term and be highly engaged with the work they’re doing. Cangrade’s Retention Forecast can help you identify employees who are most likely to stay with your team so you can build a stronger team for the future.
5. Make Job Expectations Clear
Employees are happier and more engaged when the expectations for their roles are clear-cut. If they’re unsure exactly what they’re responsible for, or need to do to get to the next level, that confusion can quickly become disengagement. Making expectations clear from the first day of their job is important, as are ongoing conversations about their progress and performance.
6. Tie Work to Company Goals
Tying an employee’s daily work tasks to the larger goals of the organization also helps fuel employee engagement. People want to feel that the work they do has purpose and meaning beyond simply checking off a to-do list and collecting a paycheck — so be sure to give it to them.
7. Communicate Clearly
Communication is an essential component of engagement. Keeping employees informed and up to date on company events, priorities, and news ensures they feel like they’re an important part of the organization. And communication should go both ways — ask employees what would make them happier and more engaged, and truly listen to the answers.
8. Encourage Autonomy
Employees who have more autonomy at work are more engaged. It’s no surprise — micromanaging and issuing dictates from the top down are not motivators of great work, and certainly don’t encourage employees to go above and beyond. Autonomy in making decisions gives employees greater feelings of responsibility, while choosing their own method of work engages them through increasing cognitive demands, according to recent research.
9. Ensure Employees Take Time Off
The benefits of taking vacation days, mental health days, and sick days can’t be overstated. Your employees need time to rest, recover, and recharge regularly. Simply offering unlimited PTO isn’t enough. You need to make sure employees truly take advantage of the (hopefully generous) time off they deserve and require. Burnout is the enemy of engagement.
10. Give a Path for Growth
Employees are more motivated and engaged when they know there’s a bright potential career path in front of them. A post-hire upskilling program, like Cangrade’s, offers a way to train your employees for the next step in their career journey and keep them learning and growing.
How Cangrade Can Help
Want more ways to ensure you’re hiring the right people and creating career development opportunities that will retain and engage them?
Cangrade can help. Our Hiring and Talent Management Solutions offer a comprehensive way to increase retention.