How to Prevent Employee Engagement Drop-Off

It goes without saying that employees are the heartbeat of every organization. A business is only as good as the team that’s working behind the scenes to get the job done. When people are happy with their jobs, it’s directly reflected in their performance. Happy employees are motivated to work harder (and smarter) for their employers. And strong employee engagement leads to a whole host of benefits, from increased profitability and reduced turnover to establishing a more positive company culture.

For many organizations, employee engagement is a critical area of focus. However, employee engagement statistics are surprisingly low. According to Gallup, only 34 percent of employees are engaged at work. It’s common for employees to be engaged when they first begin working for an organization, only to find engagement waning and dropping off over time—and as job satisfaction declines, so does productivity.

Disengaged employees are not only less productive, but they’re also more likely to jump ship for a role with a new organization. Employee turnover is not only bad for talent management, but it’s also costly. The Work Institute reported that employee turnover cost employers over $325 billion in 2017. With numbers like this hurting their bottom lines, it’s no surprise that employers are looking for ways to improve employee engagement and retain company talent—but that’s a lot easier said than done.

Although business leaders know that employee engagement should be a priority, many of them struggle to prevent it from waning over time. Here are some of the ways that employers can improve the employee experience and prevent engagement from slowly dropping off during an employee’s tenure with the organization.

Embracing Good Habits in the Workplace

Humans are creatures of habit—both inside and outside of the office. Just like encouraging healthy habits can be extremely beneficial for individuals in their personal lives, encouraging employees to cultivate good habits in the workplace can help motivate team members and boost employee engagement. We’ll break down a few of the habits that can help prevent engagement from dropping off.

Improving Skills

Professional development is extremely important to employees—especially of the millennial variety. In a Gallup survey, a whopping 87 percent of millennials rated opportunities for career growth and development as important to them in a job. Although millennials are thought to value career development more than other generations, almost all employees want to continue to learn and grow with an organization over time.

In order to drive increased employee engagement—and avoid the dreaded engagement drop-off—encourage employees to take part in ongoing training opportunities. This provides employees with an opportunity to improve on their existing skills, especially their weaker ones, and to learn brand new skills in their trade. By offering opportunities for learning and development, employers can boost engagement while also expanding internal knowledge and capabilities.

Embracing Feedback

Along with opportunities to improve and expand on their skill sets, encourage employees to embrace feedback—both offering and accepting it. A study revealed that 65 percent of employees want more feedback at work and are twice as likely to be disengaged when they receive little to no feedback.

Not to mention, companies that implement regular employee feedback have 15 percent lower turnover rates than those that do not share feedback regularly.

Feedback should be a two-way street. Companies should provide employees with opportunities to provide feedback and be heard by executives. This allows both employees and leadership the opportunity to grow and improve.

65 percent of employees want more feedback at work and are twice as likely to be disengaged when they receive little to no feedback.

Building Relationships

At the end of the day, business is all about people. Networking plays an important part in every employee’s career growth; it can open doors and present new opportunities. Employers should express the importance of building professional connections and attending networking events in the industry.

Additionally, leadership should organize team-building activities to encourage team members to build relationships with one another. In the 2017 State of the American Workplace survey, 70 percent of people reported that having friends at work is the most important element of a happy working life. Workplace friendships foster teamwork and are directly linked to increased job satisfaction, enhanced job performance, and even reduced turnover rates.

70 percent of people reported that having friends at work is the most important element of a happy working life.

Modern technology presents several other opportunities for networking. Employers can leverage org chart software to help employees learn who’s who in the organization. Interactive profiles help employees put faces to names and learn important details, such as an employee’s job title, contact information, and even fun facts like favorite foods and pet names.

Setting Goals

Employees should be incentivized to do good work. Managers should work with their direct reports to identify professional goals that employees can work toward. This is good for morale and helps boost employee engagement. It’s also a good idea to set larger company goals and then share them at all-employee meetings. This can help employees feel more connected to the organization’s overall mission and goals.

In addition to encouraging goal setting, leadership should recognize and reward employees when they meet one of their professional goals. In a recent study, 86 percent of managers say that recognition increases employee happiness. By rewarding employees for a job well done, companies can improve engagement and motivate employees to work harder for the organization.

Solving Problems

Employers should encourage employees to take a strategic approach to solving problems. Rather than getting discouraged, employees should aim to come up with proactive solutions. This helps employees feel more involved and establishes a culture that rewards continuous improvement. By encouraging employees to solve problems, companies can also identify ways to address the day-to-day gripes, issues, and annoyances that contribute to employee engagement drop-off.

Increasing Efficiencies

By encouraging employees to find new ways to increase efficiencies, company leaders can identify opportunities for process improvement, while also helping the employee feel involved and empowered to drive change within the organization. This can also help eliminate some of the cumbersome, time-consuming tasks that slow employees down and prevent them from focusing on more meaningful work.

Collaborating Internally

When it comes to working as a team and achieving company goals, internal collaboration is key. By keeping the lines of communication open and fostering a company culture that celebrates employee collaboration, organizations can increase engagement, as well as help employees build relationships with their coworkers.

Modern org chart software is highly interactive and helps encourage internal collaboration. With access to this type of collaboration tool, employees can learn who’s who and who does what within the organization, as well as the contact information to reach fellow employees. This makes the process of collaborating with team members easier than ever before.

In order to prevent engagement drop-off, retain talent, and improve both productivity and performance, it’s essential that companies make employee engagement a top priority. By encouraging employees to cultivate good habits, employers can increase motivation, boost morale, and improve employee engagement across the board.

Struggling with employee engagement drop-off? These are just a few suggestions to help companies boost engagement and decrease turnover within the organization. Live org chart software is also an excellent resource to help increase engagement—along with many other built-in benefits. Sign up for a free Pingboard account to learn more about the role that organizational charts play in improving employee engagement.