Consider these statistics:

• According to the Harvard Business Review, those employees who feel engaged at work demonstrated 16% better overall performance as reported by their managers.

• In addition, engaged employees are 32% more committed to the organization and 46% more satisfied in their jobs.

• Moreover, they reported fewer doctor’s visits and missed work less often, resulting in health care savings.

So what exactly constitutes an employee feeling “engaged”?

Harvard Business Review identified two components:

1. Vitality – Feeling alive and passionate. Employers can create vitality by making workers feel like what they do makes a difference.

2. Learning – Learning new skills and knowledge. This in turn can result in employees becoming “experts” in certain areas and gaining more confidence through that status.

With that said, here are some keys to help your employees become more engaged at work:

Encourage employee ownership:

Encourage employees to offer feedback. Allow employees to take ownership over their jobs, rather than micro-managing their every movement. Give them control over their work environment and work decisions. Create a program that rewards employees who develop ideas that help your company to better meet customer needs, streamline production, or reduce operating expenses.

Reward loyalty:

Nothing against paperweights or gold pens, but those kinds of gifts for employee loyalty are extremely impersonal. Instead, consider going the extra mile; write a letter to a loyal employee thanking them for their hard work. Give them a gift certificate to the best restaurant in town or tickets to see their favorite band play. When rewarding loyalty, take into account the actual employee; don’t just offer boilerplate items.

Develop policies employees can be proud of:

For instance, adopt a local non-profit organization and commit to holding various fundraisers (like dress down days where employees donate money to dress down) throughout the year to benefit your adopted non-profit.

Set the tone:

Employees won’t stay engaged for very long if you’re saying one thing, and doing another. So if you espouse certain values and policies, then you must also live those values and policies through your actions. Otherwise, you’ll lose credibility among your employees.

The bottom line is that truly engaged employees can have a significantly positive impact on your business. But first you need to invest some time and energy to get there.

And if you need some help adding to your team of engaged employees, let us know. As Houston’s leading executive recruiters, Murray Resources is committed to helping Houston employers connect with talented individuals who are capable of making an immediate impact. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more.