Teambuilding tactics leaders can implement to change the stagnant employee engagement numbers
Employee engagement remains steady at 31.9 percent, according to a June Gallup Poll. While employee engagement is higher than it was from 2011 to 2013, it has mostly remained between 31.5 and 31.9 percent for most of 2015. Gallup gathered the numbers through Gallup Daily tracking interviews of 6,637 participants, and employees were considered engaged if they were committed to and enthusiastic about their work. Employee engagement is important because employees drive growth, revenue and innovation throughout the organization, which leads to improved performance and success of the organization and all employees.
Leaders can gain additional helpful teambuilding tips through the following articles:
- How to Manage and Improve Inconsistent Employee Performance
- Why leadership capacity is not the goal
- 5 Ways to Build Team Trust
- Employee Engagement: What Do Employees Want? Q&A With Bestselling Author And Journalist, George Anders
- 3 Tips On Employee Engagement For Seasonal Industries
Leaders who implement the following teambuilding tactics can improve employee engagement within their organizations.
Manage individuals. Blanket management is not the most effective method for employee engagement. Leaders should watch individual workers to determine when they are most productive and engaged with their tasks and work meetings and other flexible tasks around this time. While this tactic may be impractical for all employees at all times, managers should understand how and when their team members work best and thoughtfully schedule meetings and other events.
Keep high standards. Many employees may only meet the minimum expectations and requirements because they are unclear about how to get ahead within the organization. Leaders should combat this by keeping high expectations for all employees, and they should take the time to work with each individual team member to push them to higher performances.
Align values. Goals cannot be met if all team members are not on the same page. To keep employees engaged and working as a team, ensure individual values align with one another. Remain clear about all goals and expectations, and ensure everyone understands what elements are the most important and why.
Care. Effective leaders genuinely care about their team members and both their personal and professional lives. Leaders need to take the time to get to know their team members on a personal level, which will lead to happier employees, higher engagement levels and better performances. This is a win-win-win for all players involved.
Build trust. Focus on building a culture of trust. Leaders can create this culture by starting from the beginning with team member training. Set expectations, lead by example, follow through on promises, keep the lines of communication open and focus on the company’s values first and profits second.
Change the way you hire. Resumes are only one way that leaders can assess talent. Paper credentials can be impressive and important, but they do not tell the whole picture. People are three dimensional, and their skills may not effectively translate to a resume. Some important aspects can include adaptability, resilience, motivation, energy, drive or their ability to work in a team that may not show well on paper but are essential for team member success.
Provide referrals. Employees may or may not remain with an organization long-term, and it is important for employees to feel support when they move on. This is especially important for seasonal employees, who go into their positions not expecting long-term employment. Leaders can improve their employee engagement levels by offering positive referrals for deserving employees.
Focus on the company culture. In order to build a winning culture and improve engagement levels, leaders must understand where their team currently sits and what areas need improvement. The TIGERS Success Series Online Team Survey is one such resource that allows leaders to identify where their employees stand with the six principles of trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. After the first survey, leaders are offered a baseline of where their team members sit, as well as strategies to improve in those areas. Leaders are then able to perform two more surveys to track their team members’ progress.
The June Gallup Poll is an important indicator of employee engagement levels. While 31.9 percent is an improvement from 2011 to 2013 levels, there is still a lot of room for improvement. It may not be realistic that all employees are fully engaged at all times, leaders can work toward higher engagement levels by implementing teambuilding tactics that promote productivity within the workplace. Some areas that leaders can work toward include focusing on individuals, keeping high standards, aligning values, caring, building trust, changing hiring practices, providing referrals and focusing on the company culture.
Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc. by Dianne Crampton
About Dianne Crampton
Dianne Crampton achieved her advanced degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University. She is published by Wiley and BK. TIGERS Among Us – Winning Business Team Cultures and Why They Thrive is Crampton’s 4th book. Nominated by Merrill Lynch for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Crampton has served leaders for over two decades. As President of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. — a team culture consultancy that licenses strategic HR executives in TIGERS facilitation methods — Crampton received national attention for applying TIGERS to Native enterprise and has been recognized for leadership excellence by HR.com.
About TIGERS(R) Success Series, Inc.
TIGERS(R) is a Bend, Oregon team development consultant that has a two decade track record helping leaders build work cultures where cooperation among employees and collaboration between departments drive improved business revenue. TIGERS 360 team behavior survey helps leaders focus on what matters most to their team’s development. TIGERS Success Series, Inc. also licenses and certifies Strategic HR Executives and Project Managers in the use of TIGERS award winning group development and facilitation methods. TIGERS is a proprietary program that stands for workforce behavior anchored by trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk resolution and success.
