It’s easy to spot an employee with pride and purpose. They’re happy to be at work; excited about new challenges; checking in with teammates; and steadily progressing on an important project or task.
When employees are engaged, they have a strong commitment to the company, to their boss, to other employees, and to themselves. In an article for Business Leadership Today, entrepreneur and author Matt Tenney said that engaged employees are fully dedicated to performing well. “[They have] an open and collaborative attitude; excellent communication with co-workers and leaders; and the ability to give and receive feedback positively.”
Tenney says that companies should develop engagement strategies to “inspire all employees to approach their job the way engaged employees do.” Once this happens, the impact will trickle down to the entire company. And when the whole company is united, it’s reflected to the outside world. Customer satisfaction will be higher, turnover lower, the business brand will be more reputable, and all of this will lead to increased profits.
There must be an environment where employees feel supported though. Even an employee who starts off completely engaged cannot sustain their enthusiasm if they’re constantly met with walls, criticism, micromanagement, and unorganized and unaccountable teams. They too will lose interest and become inefficient and stagnant performers. Eventually, they will leave and seek a company that caters to their needs.
Employee success platform Jostle says that engaged employees are aware, helpful, and curious. The most interesting point the company makes is that “for an employee to be truly engaged and demonstrating these behaviours, they need to have psychological safety at work… It’s about being comfortably vulnerable.”
First and foremost, every employee – from the frontline to the executive seat – wants to feel like they have a safe space to share ideas, thoughts, and concerns – even to make mistakes. Everyone reports to someone. Therefore, it is crucial to build a level of respect and understanding across the board.
We recently wrote about the importance of psychological safety, how to build trust within your organization, and why vulnerability needs to be embraced. Explore more of the topic, here.
