How to encourage employee engagement through recognition at work?

In today's competitive environment, the success of a business depends on employee engagement and commitment. In other words, when employees fulfill their assigned roles, the business can achieve its goals and generate sufficient revenue.

However, sometimes employees are not motivated enough to complete their tasks. This may be because they do not have the right tools or their efforts are not recognized within the company. This situation should concern you as an employer, because it could lead to the loss of your best workers.

To prevent this from happening, you need to find ways to engage and recognize employees in your business. In this article, we’ll share our best tips on how to engage your employees by showing them recognition at work. So read on to make sure you don’t miss anything.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a strategy aimed at boosting employee commitment through various initiatives and practices. When we talk about engagement, we refer to employees’ investment in performing their tasks. It also concerns their involvement in achieving the company’s objectives.

Why is employee engagement important?

According to several studies, engaged employees tend to be more productive and produce higher quality work. Employee engagement is helpful in reducing staff turnover, meeting deadlines, and controlling absenteeism. When engagement is present, it creates a bond between employees and the company, both in terms of shared values ​​and culture.

Moreover, it is an important factor in attracting new talent. A company with happy and satisfied employees attracts the interest of other professionals. Implementing practices to increase employee engagement and loyalty is therefore of crucial importance for any company, regardless of its size.

How to increase employee engagement?

For employees to be engaged, they need to feel that the company listens to them and involves them. Seeing that management cares about their development, appreciates them, and encourages them can also motivate them to be engaged. Here’s how to achieve this through intangible engagement methods.

Improve communication within the organization

Communication is essential to increasing employee engagement in the company. It is an integral part of an organization's success and determines how employees interact to accomplish their tasks.

However, many companies still face communication problems between employees. This is probably due to the fact that they use inefficient means to exchange information. Such a situation can hamper the efficiency of employees, who then have difficulty getting the support they need to carry out their tasks.

Ultimately, they may feel disengaged from their team. To increase employee engagement, you need to improve the way you communicate with your staff.

Recognizing employees

Recognizing your employees makes them feel valued, which increases their productivity. Rewards and recognition increase employee motivation and make them want to do their jobs. If you haven’t already, make employee recognition a part of your management strategy to boost engagement. Here are some effective ways to do this:

• Recognize your employees for their workplace accomplishments. Notice when an employee does something commendable and give them a personalized gift.
• Highlight your employees' years of service to thank them for their loyalty to your organization.
• Celebrate special occasions in your employees' personal lives (birthdays, weddings, births of children, etc.). A simple personalized gift with a message from the employer can make the person feel special.

It is important to emphasize here that recognition is the best way to encourage employee engagement. Not only is it less expensive than most other solutions, but it also allows you to strengthen your employer brand.

Investing in your employees

Another measure to increase employee engagement is to provide them with appropriate coaching and training. Employees are looking for support to do their jobs effectively. As an employer or HR manager, you can help them by providing relevant training or resources. Job-specific training can be costly, but in return, you will have qualified people with the skills needed to do their jobs effectively.

Productivity will increase and your company will achieve its goals, which will result in better performance. Employees are also likely to stay with companies that invest in them. To this end, prepare employee training programs and provide them with growth opportunities. This will help you retain your best employees, as they will have no reason to look for work elsewhere.

Integrate your employees smoothly

Onboarding is a crucial time to ensure employees feel engaged from day one. It sets the direction for their time with your company and lays the foundation for them to excel at their job. A new hire may have the skills required for the job, but they still need to understand how your organization works. They need to know who to contact if they need certain tools for a specific task.

Employees need to learn how to structure their activity reports, and so on. These things may seem insignificant, but they are important for new employees to settle into an organization. A smooth onboarding experience is crucial if you want to increase employee engagement. You can do this by taking the time to show a new employee how everything works in your organization.

Accolad, the solution for employee mobilization through recognition at work

Are you facing employee engagement challenges? Are you seeing a drop in productivity due to a lack of engagement from your employees? Don’t worry, we have the solution for you. As we have just seen, recognition is one of the best ways to mobilize and increase employee engagement as quickly as possible.

With this in mind, Accolad allows you to recognize your employees in just a few clicks, at any time. You can opt for its turnkey recognition services or its self-service recognition platform. In all cases, you can personalize your recognition gifts so that your employees feel more valued. In this way, you increase your employees' attachment to their work within your company.

With Accolad’s automation system, rewarding and thanking your employees is a breeze. Having already helped many companies recognize their employees in Canada, Accolad is committed to ensuring the security of your data. It provides you with a range of essential tools and experts who are with you from start to finish.