What is employee engagement? It goes well beyond what each team member does on the job daily or the benefits they receive. Engagement is a way of life and something every organization should consider deeply before, during, and after the hiring process. Studies have shown that today’s employees want to be challenged, motivated and acknowledged. Determining how to do those things will help your company and your team succeed. One way to tap into this is by turning to the art of marketing to remind employees why your company is a great place to work.

Reducing Boredom, Stress, or Frustration

When your employees are bored, burned out, or frustrated, it won’t take long for that to reflect in their work. Looking for signs of burnout is imperative, as is determining the solution before it’s a problem. Signs to watch for include:

  • Difficulty with concentration
  • Short temper
  • Excessive absences
  • Cynicism
  • Disconnection

If you see these signs with your employees, it’s time to intervene. And not in a way that’s confrontational or blames them. It’s essential to look at the root causes, not just the symptoms.

Before you can improve engagement, you need to ensure that your employees still feel connected to the work. Once stress sets in, it can be challenging to recover. Starting now, find ways to reduce boredom, stress, or daily frustrations that can allow your employees to remember why they liked doing their work when they started.

Create a Workday Structure That Fits with Your Culture

The backbone of productivity is structure. That’s even true in the most innovative and creative workplaces. For example, Google has a reputation for its fun and exciting work environment, but the employees still have rituals and routines that fit the corporate culture.

This may involve creating a way to start the day with the most exciting and engaging tasks. You can also limit interruptions, so your team has a chance to get into a groove and find enjoyment in their productivity.

Transition times need to be taken into account as well. There is a fallacy in many workplaces around multitasking. Companies consider it an essential part of how they hire, but the science behind multitasking and the expectations are two different things. The human brain is not designed to focus on more than one task at a time. People who are good at multitasking are actually good at prioritizing. But the more transitions an employee makes, the more energy they’ve used to focus on any given individual task. This can result in lower productivity and inconsistent results instead of the intended perception of better efficiency.

Provide Recognition and Rewards

Everyone who works for you wants to feel appreciated and valued. Providing recognition and rewards is an excellent start to improving employee engagement. It can begin with a simple culture of gratitude. Gratitude is contagious, so saying thank you to a team member encourages them to thank someone else, and so on. Don’t wait for a special occasion to say thank you. Say it regularly and often, and you’ll notice a wave of positive influence across the organization.

However, saying thank you is just a start. Employees also want to be recognized when they contribute to the success of a company. This is where you can take a page out of marketing. When you design communications to target customers, you think carefully about the way the message lands. Developing recognition in the workplace is like creating an internal marketing campaign that allows everyone to feel seen.

Create Excitement with Memorable Events

Company events go hand in hand with gratitude. They also have an impact on employee relationships and the need to be socially engaged. But events should always spark a sense of excitement among employees.

They should also be memorable. Positive memories create a feeling of belonging and remind you why your company is a good place to work. When you have exciting events in the workplace, people are thrilled to work with you in anticipation of the next one. It’s a cycle that doesn’t just impact engagement but affects retention and can be a selling point for your employer brand when hiring new team members.

Demonstrate Your Commitment to the Community

Deloitte recently reported that climate change is the number one concern among Generation Z job seekers. Concern for the environment or social justice causes are not exclusive to GenZ employees, and companies need to showcase their commitment to the community to attract and retain top candidates.

Staffing Industry Analysts shared that 42% of job seekers wouldn’t consider a job offer if they did not see that a company had a clear vision for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Social issues are no longer things that can be left on the doorstep of the office. Employees want community engagement. They want companies to take a stand.

Taking a page out of marketing, you can demonstrate your commitment to the community based on your corporate brand, values, and workplace policies. But you also need to make sure this is clear and recognizable from both within and outside your organization.

Ask Your Employees What They Want

The most important thing you can do to find out what your employees want to be more engaged and excited about their work is to ask them directly. Think about how marketing firms will evaluate test markets or focus groups. They conduct research studies to determine if the product or service is viable and, if any, changes need to be implemented before launching.

Talk to your current employees to get an idea of what they want to see moving forward will help you create a roadmap to future success.

Remember that your employees, not your customers, are the most valuable asset in your corporate ecosystem. Without engaged and excited employees, the end-user won’t have the opportunity for a positive experience. By discussing what your employees want, you make it easier than simply trying to guess.

  • Start out considering asking these or similar questions as a part of an employee satisfaction survey.
  • On a scale of one to ten, rate your engagement level.
  • What one thing would you change to make your job better
  • Would you refer someone to work here?
  • What are your future goals, and are you on track for them in our company?
  • On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your work/life balance?
  • Are you satisfied with your benefits, vacation time, or other perks?
  • How often do you get positive feedback from your manager?
  • Do you feel valued?
  • Do you feel comfortable giving feedback to your manager?
  • How would you describe our company culture?
  • Do you feel we live up to our corporate values?
  • Do you have fun at work?
  • What would make you feel less frustrated on the job?

When surveying to determine satisfaction, it’s critical to allow anonymous answers. You want everyone to be honest.

If they fear retaliation for their answers, they won’t be.

Once you’ve gathered the data, it’s time to evaluate and make positive changes to impact employee engagement.

In the end, marketing isn’t all flash and no substance. While you can create content and messaging that promotes the positive reasons someone wants to work with your company, you also need to focus on making your company a place where people are excited to work.