6 Employee Engagement Ideas That Actually Work

Engaged employees have higher productivity levels, lower absenteeism rates, and greater job satisfaction.

In addition, companies with high employee engagement tend to financially outperform those with low engagement scores.

Although the positive outcomes from engaged employees speak for themselves, many businesses still need help to proactively engage their frontline workers.

Far too often, a frontline worker will start a new job full of enthusiasm only to have that enthusiasm fade to apathy in a few short months. Apathy leads to active disengagement, and the once-passionate employee eventually leaves to find work elsewhere.

employee engagement ideas

Currently, only 35% of the U.S. workforce is considered engaged. This means you aren’t alone in your quest to find strategic ways to improve employee engagement at your organization.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a term used by HR managers, CEOs, managers, and entrepreneurs to gauge work satisfaction and productivity of employees.

An engaged employee is typically measured as someone who is enthusiastic about their work. They show up with a positive attitude and are invested in helping the company they work for achieve their business goals.

When frontline employees are engaged, they are more committed to the company they work for, improving employee retention and productivity.

In fact, organizations with engaged employees experience:

24% less employee turnover
21% more profits thanks to productivity levels
41% lower absenteeism

The first step towards improving employee engagement is understanding what causes disengagement.

According to Gallup research, the top reasons people give for not being engaged at work are:

Lack of clarity on their current role and career opportunities
Feeling disconnected from the larger company
Don’t feel valued by their managers and HQ

Once you know what causes employees to disengage, you can create solutions to address these issues.

Here are some examples of employee engagement ideas that actually work.

1 - Provide Employees With the Information They Need

There is nothing worse than trying to perform your job well when you’re missing key information.

A last-minute menu change can leave restaurant workers flustered and resentful. Or handling customer queries about a recall on a product can leave retail employees feeling helpless and angry.

And how about new employees wasting time searching for the dusty employee manual with missing pages? It’s frustrating for employees and a huge waste of time and resources.

Ensuring your frontline workers have the right tools and quick access to reliable information can help to boost employee productivity. More importantly, it can increase job satisfaction.

Utilizing a texting tool like goHappy can help ensure your frontline employees receive the information they need when they need it. You can send text blasts to your entire team, a group of employees, or a single worker. Never leave your employees hanging again!

2 - Communicate Effectively and Regularly

Poor communication from managers and executives is one of the top reasons frontline workers give for feeling disengaged at work.

A top-down style of communication is outdated. Frontline workers no longer view themselves as fringe employees and won’t remain at a job that treats them as such.

Adopting a style of communication that is open and transparent will cultivate an engaged workforce. Be honest with your entire team about everything from business performance to goals to grow trust and improve employee engagement.

It’s easy to accomplish better frontline internal communications with a texting tool like goHappy.

If your company hits a significant milestone, celebrate with your team by sending out a text blast. Let them join the celebration and feel included.

3 - Create a Culture Where Employees Feel Valued

Frontline workers were once considered expendable. But things have changed since the pandemic. And rightly so. Frontline employees are the ones who kept the world turning while most people were safely locked up at home.

Frontline employees now want to work for organizations that value them and appreciate their contributions to the company.

Creating a company culture where employees feel valued is good for both your bottom line and the well-being of your workers.

People who feel valued at work tend to be happier, healthier, and more productive. They also perform better than those who don’t feel valued.

So, how do you make sure that your employees feel valued?

Sending out regular frontline feedback surveys is an excellent way to communicate to your frontline employees that you value their ideas and want to hear from them. Frontline workers are the ones out there interacting with customers, using warehouse equipment, and stocking shelves.

They have good ideas for improving efficiencies and knowing what customers want. Use them!

4 - Offer More Flexible Schedules

Offering a flexible schedule is crucial in today’s labor market. It’s a job-seekers paradise right now. According to Gallup, employers who don’t consider their employees’ well-being will struggle to compete.

While frontline employees typically work hourly, hands-on jobs, they still want to know their employer has a people-first culture.

Accommodating working hours for childcare, schooling, and family emergencies will help build a positive work environment and boost employee engagement.

5 - Recognize Good Employee Performance

Employees appreciate recognition for a job well done. Acknowledging workers through positive feedback will motivate them to deliver more of the same.

Celebrating an employee for a job well done? Take the recognition public with goHappy. Use it as a team-building exercise and send out a heartfelt text to your entire workforce.

Recognizing employees reinforces your organization’s values as one that cares about its frontline workers. This will improve morale and drive employee engagement.

6 - Use an Inclusive Communication Tool

Employee engagement ideas are all well and good, but if they don’t meet your workers where they’re at, they’re useless.

Most frontline workers are deskless, therefore, don’t have access to email. Then there’s the influx of app-based communication tools that have flooded the market.

While the availability of app-based tools recognizes the importance of communication to engage employees, they need to be more inclusive. And since the entire purpose is to utilize employee engagement ideas that actually work, it’s critical to use a communication tool accessible to everyone.

Email often goes unopened, and only some have a smartphone with the option to download an app. Choosing a tool that meets your workers where they’re at is critical to increasing engagement.

Improve Employee Engagement with goHappy

GoHappy is a texting tool that can be fully inclusive with your frontline communication strategy.

Send regular text messages welcoming new employees to the team, recognizing a team for a job well, or letting your warehouse workers know a machine has broken down.

With goHappy you can