How Startups Can Increase Employee Engagement

by Startacus Admin

An overview of some of the key actions you can take to help you increase employee engagement in your startup

There's no lack of evidence suggesting the importance of employee engagement for the success of an organization. Whether you run a small family business or a multinational corporation, you're sure to find that boosting engagement can only help you achieve your goals.

On the whole, businesses with engaged employees can expect to witness increased productivity. Engagement also lowers staff turnover, causes higher customer retention rates, and boosts profits.

With this in mind, startups should take the necessary steps to increase employee engagement. The good news is that it's a relatively straightforward process. Plus, workplace commitment is already a component of positive company culture.

Build Better Relationships

The communication within your team is going to be one of the key contributors to increased employee engagement.

According to a study published in 2014, positive peer relations combined with shared values and organizational social impact all add to a healthy work environment. In such a setting, people invest themselves in their everyday tasks.

Considering this knowledge, startup owners should look for ways to help healthy communication among employees – both virtual and face-to-face.

For example, managers who hold regular one-on-one meetings with team members will have immediate and unfiltered insight into each employee's experience. Thanks to this, they can work to prevent any possible communication problems. Furthermore, they can identify common issues and try and find innovative solutions.

It's also not a bad idea to expand team communication to areas outside of the professional environment. Team building events are a popular way to help employees develop better relationships. However, entertainment systems or even a simulator for golfing can also be a great way to promote interaction in a laid-back, stress-free setting.

Encourage Collaboration

Another great way to make employees feel like they belong is to inspire and reward collaboration. After all, scientists have long believed that what makes us successful as a species is our readiness to cooperate to achieve a common goal.

Leaders can use this intrinsic human behavior to help each individual find their place within an organization. Moreover, collaboration can help teams reach innovative solutions to almost any presented problem.

To guarantee that your employees are comfortable working together, make sure to always define your goals clearly. Encourage teams to reach out and ask for help. Last but not least, ensure that the company culture rests on the pillars of transparency and support.

Improve Work Environment

People tend to do their best work in spaces that feel safe and welcoming. In fact, the environment can have such a profound impact on productivity and motivation that there is a ton of research on how office settings help or hinder employee performance.

For example, we know the ideal amount of light for office work depending on the time of day. We have access to information about how auditory distractions can deter productivity. Some professionals have even studied the way office layouts promote or hinder collaboration.

With all this in mind, startup owners should aim to provide their employees with well-designed, comfortable workspaces. Additionally, there is a strong case for giving workers control over their micro-environment. Allowing them to use and decorate their personal workspaces in whichever way feels best for them can be a small change that contributes to increased engagement.

Nurture Wellbeing

There is strong scientific evidence supporting the claim that employee engagement depends on physical and mental health. In fact, deadline-related stress combined with poor communication has been found to erode both motivation and wellbeing.

With this in mind, startup owners should find ways to ensure the good health of their teams.

One way to do so would be to provide each worker with health insurance and similar benefits. The second would be to encourage time off as well as personal passion projects. By giving each employee sufficient time to rest, companies can witness huge bumps in productivity, engagement, and, consequently, profits.

Adopt a Growth Company Philosophy

Last but not least, startup owners looking to help their employees remain motivated and productive at work should consider the most basic intrinsic motivators for people's career choices.

For example, we know that 91% of millennials want career progression opportunities. So, startup owners can adopt a continuous education philosophy and provide training for their workers. Alternatively, they can conduct employee surveys to find out what their teams are most motivated by.

Of course, it's always a good idea to present team challenges and adopt a workplace accountability setting. Accountability allows people to take ownership of the fruits of their labor. It rewards great results, all the while helping improve those that didn't turn out as well as hoped for.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there's a lot that startups can do to increase employee engagement.

The bottom line is that motivation, commitment, and work input always depend on the core values of the organization. These include interpersonal relationships, rewards systems, goal-setting, and investments in wellbeing.

So, if your goal is to boost company morale, try to start by nurturing the elemental contributors to healthy company culture. You'll quickly see which actions procure the best results for you. 

 

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Published on: 21st December 2020