
When employee engagement goes down, so does your company. It’s true – and we wrote an entire post about it. Employee engagement is so much more than a buzzword. Leaders in the industry have been talking about this issue for the past twenty years. When was the last time you tackled your thoughts on employee engagement? Here’s a true or false quiz to see if you’re up-to-date on the latest information.
Q) True or false? Employee engagement is a complicated issue that needs a large-scale program to make a difference.
A) False. Driving up employee engagement can be simpler than you think. A lot of it starts with meeting your employee’s basic needs. Even the smallest changes can make a difference. At the very heart of it, employees want expectations set, they want the necessary tools to complete their jobs, and they want a little praise and feedback. They also want a position that utilizes their talents and strengths.
Q) True or false? When it comes to day-to-day processes and the work environment, employees want to have a say and be heard.
A) True. Always view employee engagement as a two-way conversation. Don’t think your leaders can retreat into a meeting and brainstorm the perfect plan to increase engagement. You can’t tell employees how they will become more engaged. You have to ask the employees themselves. Get feedback. Send out surveys. Listen to their concerns and their priorities.
Q) True or false? Employee engagement is just a fad. Your company doesn’t need to worry about it.
A) False. Employee engagement is not a trend. The first study on employee engagement was completed in 1990. Soon after, Gallop looked into the issue further with their State of the Global Workplace reports. By the 2000s, companies realized the importance of this issue and the affect it can have on their successes. These days, employee engagement is mentioned once per minute on Twitter and the phrase has 47,500,000 search results on Google.
Q) True or false? If you plan a pizza party every now and then, employee engagement will go up instantly.
A) False. While small changes can make a big difference, a half-hearted effort to “rally the troops” will make little difference for your company. Read our post on 10 ways to reward your top employees. Each idea is just one example of how a thought-out gesture can make a big difference in the attitude of your employees – and not just for the short-term.
Q) True or false? Employee engagement should be measured over and over again.
A) True. A once-per-year survey is not going to be a perfect measure of your company’s success. After you have initiated new processes to increase employee engagement, measure the results multiple times throughout the year. Keep track of your successes and your failures. And when you have a failure, ask your employees for more feedback, then make changes and measure the results again. Think of employee engagement as a project that will never be finished – and that’s a good thing.
What are some of the ways your company engages your employees? Comment below.