Wow! Your employees are so engaged. I mean, their commitment is just inspiring – and don’t even get me started on their productivity levels!

Ok. That’s probably not something you hear from your customers on a daily basis. Firstly, how many people are that positive? And secondly, you’re reading a guide on employee engagement. So we’re guessing you need some help (doesn’t everyone?)

Well, you’ve absolutely come to the right place.

Why engagement?

First things first, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of why employee engagement actually matters. Aside from the general fulfilment of your people, engaged employees are happy employees. Happy employees are productive employees. And productive employees are worth their weight in gold.

Now for the important stuff: how do you actually engage your employees?

Be the leader we know you are.

Okay, you’re in a position of leadership for a reason. Because you’re pretty brilliant, we’d wager. So you have to use that pizzazz to inspire. You probably know that making your people feel valued is a great way to gain their loyalty, but do you know what ‘being valued’ actually looks like? Think about what matters to you: career progression is a biggie, so work with your team to help them visualise a clear career path within your company; recognition is just as important, so put measures in place to recognise and reward the success of your team and the people within it.

Got a plan? Communicate it!

It’s a lot easier to engage people when they know where you’re headed. In other words, if your people understand your company’s ‘big plan’ and how they fit into that plan (both in the long and the short term), they’ll feel confident about your (and their) future. Having a common goal to work towards makes a huge difference on the engagement front – because it creates a sense of purpose. And a sense of purpose (knowing what the company stands for) gives people the desire to contribute. People want to make a difference. Let them.

Support your people.

Okay, we can’t stress this one enough. If you want to get the best out of someone, you have to create an environment that allows them to flourish. The best way to do this is by offering more support and encouragement that you can shake a stick at. Performance management strikes fear into the hearts of many, but it shouldn’t be used as a tool to weed out under-performers (that’ll scare off your best performers, too). Instead, see it as one big support session: praise great work and offer help in those areas your people may be struggling in. They’ll thank you for it. Trust us.

Micromanage at your peril.

Look, no one responds well to someone breathing over their shoulder when they’ve got a job to do. Sure, you have to step in if you think your people are taking advantage (20 minute coffee breaks every hour? Hell no!) but most people are capable of governing themselves and striking the right balance. And when you do that – when you really empower your people to succeed – you’ll see all that autonomy start to pay off. Because building independence, self-reliance, and most importantly, self-belief, is the foundation of engagement. It’s where it all starts. So instead of detailing the minutia of how a job should be done, focus on the results and let your protégés go. You’ll be amazed at the results.

So, there it is. The employee engagement 101.