5 Brilliant Ways to Engage Employees That You’ve Overlooked

That last office meeting was a disaster, wasn’t it? No interaction, blank, expressionless faces and absolutely no hint of a reaction to the big news you were delivering.

Why aren’t your employees engaged?

You’ve tried everything; incentives, nights out and even significant promotions for certain high-achieving individuals, but they all seem to remain completely disinterested.

A lack of engagement among the ranks will spread like wildfire. Tackling it is a tricky task for any business, and if you’ve already tried the tactics I’ve listed but to no avail, you may be wondering if there’s any hope at all.

Well, good news – there is. I’ve compiled five ways you can re-engage your staff, and I don’t think you’ll have considered any of them:

1. Jump in front of the camera

It’s time to drop your inhibitions and make use of a form of content that continues to take the web by storm. Video works spectacularly when it comes to keeping website visitors engaged; people devour it, and that includes your staff.

Video is inherently interesting and benefits from a number of properties that make it the ideal tool for increasing employee engagement. If you’ve got something important to announce, try filming yourself doing so (put on a smile and talk passionately), and share it internally. I guarantee people will watch and comment positively on it.

2. Ask them why they’re not engaged

Sometimes, we get so wrapped-up in the fact that our staff are seemingly disinterested in the company, we fail to ask them why.

They’re human beings with feelings, opinions and legitimate reasons for acting a particular way. Drop your guard and ask what it is that’s at the heart of the matter.

3. Ask yourself if you’re engaging

Time for a tricky one. Few of us are blessed with the presentation skills of the late Steve Jobs, but in order to elicit an air of excitement in company meetings, it’s vital that the person standing in front of the crowd is engaging.

You may not be.

Are you talking passionately? Do you wander off on long, rambling diatribes? Are you covering points that really are – let’s be honest – incredibly dull?

Be honest with yourself and make changes.

4. Invite customers to visit

Regardless of the type of business you run, it’s vitally important that you occasionally let the outside world in.

A common reason employees feel disengaged from the company is because they undertake the same tasks, day-in, day-out and never get to see the fruits of their labour (happy customers).

Once in a while, arrange for a bunch of happy customers to visit and meet the team. There’s nothing quite like receiving a pat on the back from someone you only ever encounter via email, and, for most staff members, such a meeting will prove that it really is worth their time of the day entering the office.

5. Let them in on the plan

Do you keep strategic discussions purely within the board room? Are they allowed to escape and make their way into the ears of the wider staff base?

If not, you’re missing a trick. To foster an emotional connection between workers and the business, you need to let them in on the plan. Why does the company do what it does? What’s planned for the next five years?

Give everyone a chance to view the grand picture. They’ll thank you with increased engagement.

Wrap up

Just one of the tips above could help raise the engagement levels of your employees considerably, but you’ll need to work at them constantly – there are no one-off magic answers when it comes to this area of running a business.

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