Attracting and retaining dedicated employees is a challenge for many organizations. The Human Resource Department plays a key role in fostering employee engagement and job satisfaction, which then leads to improved employee retention, productivity and a more positive workplace culture.
Below, members of Forbes Human Resources Council share actionable ideas for HR representatives to create meaningful opportunities for employees to connect with each other and their workplace. These strategies will contribute to employees who feel valued, secure and motivated to contribute their best to the organization.
1. Utilize Surveys To Gather Employee Feedback
Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys provide a meaningful way to communicate with employees, hear their feedback and take action. Surveys allow employees to voice concerns, share ideas and ask questions. By giving employees a voice, satisfaction is increased, resulting in a happier workforce with a better sense of belonging. This positive attitude can boost morale and increase retention. – Antoine Andrews, SurveyMonkey
2. Center Employee Wellbeing For Increased Engagement
At our company, we’re creating a people-first culture that values employee input through open conversations, surveys and feedback, putting the wellbeing and success of employees at the forefront. This provides opportunities for growth and development that are beneficial for everyone involved. When employees feel valued and cared for, they will be more engaged and more productive, which benefits the company as well. – Jagdish Chugani, Appfire
3. Engage With Both Metrics And People
Authentic employee engagement isn’t just about increasing metrics like productivity or job satisfaction. It’s about focusing on whole-person wellbeing and fostering a genuine culture of belonging and connection to help both employees and employers thrive. – Neepa Patel, WellRight
4. Find Opportunities To Meet With Employees
HR teams can foster genuine relationships by meeting with people in focus groups, round tables and training classes. They can also make a point of meeting one-on-one with key employees, high performers and new team members. Programs that keep HR informed about what people need and want at work are critical. At the same time, getting to know people on a human level increases trust and communication. – Mikaela Kiner, Reverb
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
5. Schedule A Retreat To Build Connections
Company retreats tend to be the best way to increase employee engagement and job satisfaction. These are organic ways for employees to be themselves, talk about life and have fun together. – Matt Strauss, RiseKit
6. Ensure Workers Are Appropriately Challenged
Focus on each employee’s learning curve to make sure it’s at a steep enough angle based on where they are in their career journey. Most employees crave learning and new challenges, but organizations often don’t realize when a specific employee’s learning curve has flattened because they’ve been in a role too long or just gotten overburdened. – Tonushree Mondal, Tonushree Mondal Consulting LLC
7. Provide Mission-Driven Work Opportunities
HR drives engagement and job satisfaction in three ways. First: fostering a culture that emphasizes people’s sense of belonging and shared values. Next: cultivating emotionally intelligent leaders with decision-making authority. Finally: connecting work to the mission, helping employees understand their impact on organizational strategy while supporting careers for market competitiveness. – Katerina Goros, Euna Solutions
8. Adopt A Data-Driven Approach To Employee Satisfaction
Leverage data to understand the employee journey. Look at survey data, exit interviews, performance management reviews and turnover to identify where there are opportunities to either create initiatives or training to improve engagement and satisfaction. Measure results to assess your approach and keep doing it every year. – Yvette Kennedy, Kennedy Talent Strategies
9. Embrace Diversity For Employee Wellbeing
Create a people-first, inclusive culture prioritizing holistic well-being, workplace equity and the employee experience. Embrace differences (of color, orientation, experience, ability, thinking and more) to ensure the voice of every employee is invited, erasing the marginalization of underrepresented groups. Communicate transparently and design leadership accountability for human-centric behavior. – Laci Loew, XpertHR (a division of LexisNexis Risk Solutions)
10. Build Trust With Communication
Communication is key because lack of communication often makes people feel excluded and frustrated. Find ways to consistently share news and updates on DEI initiatives, new policies and programs with employees. Prioritizing this puts your organization on a path toward transparency, which is a huge step toward trust and making employees feel they’re involved. – Ursula Mead, InHerSight
11. Create Opportunities To Build Relationships
To help build strong relationships, provide time and space for employees to get together for coffee or a shared activity to talk about their interests, goals and challenges. Make sure employees have consistent one-on-one meetings with their managers so that issues that arise are addressed promptly and do not linger. – Leigh Yanocha, Knopman Marks Financial Training
12. Encourage Employees To Give Feedback
HR departments should be proactive about soliciting employee feedback and making employees feel heard. Quarterly, anonymous surveys can offer valuable insights into whether employee engagement and satisfaction are strong. It is equally important to develop trusting relationships with employees so they feel comfortable speaking candidly about their experiences in the workplace. – Niki Jorgensen, Insperity
13. Create Paths For Employees To Grow
HR departments can foster employee engagement and increase job satisfaction through regular communication, promoting a positive work culture, recognizing and rewarding employee achievements, providing opportunities for growth and development and implementing work-life balance initiatives. – Domonique Revere, Ph.D., Adjaye Associates
14. Cultivate An Inclusive Culture
Create an inclusive, diverse and positive work environment. This includes fostering a culture of respect, collaboration, authenticity, transparency and fairness. Employees need to feel psychologically safe to be fully engaged. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal
15. Offer Individualized Benefits
HR departments can foster employee engagement and increase job satisfaction by implementing clear communication channels, offering regular feedback and recognition, providing opportunities for professional growth and development and ensuring a healthy work-life balance. Tailoring benefits to individual needs and promoting a positive company culture are vital in enhancing employee satisfaction. – Joseph Soares, IBPROM Corp.
16. Improve Workplace Communication With Training
Provide EQ and CQ training for all employees. When employees are emotionally and culturally intelligent, they are better equipped to navigate diverse work environments, communicate effectively with colleagues from different backgrounds and appreciate the value of different perspectives. This enhances teamwork, inclusivity and productivity leading to a high-performing and engaged workforce. – Kimika Banfield, Arootah
17. Ask Questions To Build Personal Connections
Increasing job satisfaction and employee engagement happens best by connecting on a more personal level with your team members. HR departments should regularly request feedback from employees regarding all aspects of their jobs, including the work environment, compensation level, morale and learning opportunities. It’s important to always include open-ended questions on what would make experiences even better. – Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.
18. Take Action On Employee Feedback
HR can bolster engagement by implementing regular feedback loops, personalized development plans and wellness initiatives. But most importantly, it is necessary to listen and deliver on things employees want. – Adithyan RK, Hyring.com
19. Use Surveys To Learn Employee Needs
There are more ways than I can count for HR departments to foster engagement and satisfaction, but first, they need to understand what employees are looking for or what they feel is missing. Pulse surveys done with a regular cadence are a great way to keep pace with employee needs. – Lisa Shuster, iHire
20. Offer Multiple Avenues For Communication
Communicate, communicate and communicate more. There is no such thing as too much communication in today’s digital world. Your employees are smart enough to know how to filter the noise effectively. Make it two-way where they can engage with you anywhere, anytime from any device. Make HR a one-stop shop with a digital ecosystem for self-service and full-service. This will improve engagement and productivity. – Dinesh Sheth, Green Circle Life
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