The office is overflowing with holiday cheer, Christmas lights, ornaments, and even tinsel has managed to make its way all over the office. With all the hustle and bustle around how do you keep your employees focused?
There are a long list of employee engagement activities that are perfect for the holiday season. We recently wrote a blog with just that — 8 Employee Engagement Activities for December — centered around fun food holidays.
Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day, and what if your team isn’t motivated by food (doubtful), but possible. What if you could do 5 exercises that cost nothing but still get your employees engaged? We have you covered: 5 employee engagement activities that won't cost the company a penny, and won’t take extra time from your employees already busy schedule.
Trust
Trust is probably one of the most important activities you can do to increase employee engagement. Your employees are more likely to stand beside you during the low times, if they know they can trust you. It can be hard to build a trusting bond with an employee, especially if they are working remotely, but is is definitely doable. In 2015 make sure to prove to your employees that you can be trusted, and soon they will do the same for you.
Transparency
One way to show your employees that they can trust you is by being transparent. It may be challenging to start to reveal the ups and downs in your company, but the reward is worth it. When you are transparent with your employees, your employees are more productive. Transparency just builds on the bond of trust. In 2015 plan out quarterly meetings to keep your team in the loop.
Work from home
For some of companies, allowing team members to work from home is not realistic. However, for many companies this is a strong option, and once you have gained the trust — mentioned above — working from home will be stress free for everyone.
This exercise may be used as an employee incentive or reward. What better way to say “good job and thank you” to a productive team member than to arrange for a working from home day. It is a win win! According to a study revealed in the Harvard Business Review, employees who work from home are not only happier than those working in the office, but they are more productive.
Remember, It is important to have a core group at your main office. Use working from home as a reward when someone goes above and beyond. They will be more productive and your employees will work harder — when they are in the office — to get another at home day.
Provide coaching
Feedback can be so crucial to a teams success. Providing constructive feedback is step one. Coupling feedback with strategies for improvement is the next step. This will help employees from making the same mistakes again. Suggest specific reading material and training sessions for employees when they need help, do the same for those who succeed so they may continue to improve. Another way to help your team grow is, establish a mentoring program: pair team members together with whom they may learn from one another.
Recognize achievement
Thanking someone for doing a good job or giving them an at home day is a great way to recognize achievement, but there is one more critical action that will only cost your time. According to Mindjet, 82% of employees say recognition motivates them. Rewarding your employees in front of their peers acknowledges and encourages your entire team. It is important to say thank you publicly in the coming year.
Remember in 2015 it is not about spending millions on your employees to get them engaged. It is about building trust and helping your employees grow. Use these employee engagement activities to save your company money and increase productivity in 2015. From the Ving team to yours, we wish you a happy holiday and much success in the new year!
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