Increase Employee Engagement in a Stimulating Work Environment

What do you think some of the most important factors relating to employee engagement are? Most people would say that it is a high salary and traditional benefits. However, 39% of respondents, feel that providing a stimulating work environment is a more effective way to help engage employees.

Stimulating, when used as an adjective, means - inspiring new ideas or enthusiasm. It may seem strange to use that word when referring to your work environment. Take a step back and consider what you are asking of your employees. Their new ideas and enthusiasm are what drive your culture and engage your workforce.

Some additional benefits of building a stimulating work environment include:

• Positive company culture
• Increased employee satisfaction
• Increased productivity
• Employee development

It's not enough to simply say that you want to have a stimulating work environment. It must be created with your organization's objectives and employees in mind.

Here are 4 strategies for increase employee engagement with a stimulating work environment:

Build a Positive Company Culture

The Former CEO of Xerox, Anne M. Mulcahy once said that “Employees are a company's greatest asset - they're your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company's mission. Through this quote, it becomes apparent that it is the organization's responsibility to give their employees a stimulating work environment. Building a positive company culture is one of the best ways to do just that.

The type of company culture you have depends on how your organization's mission and values align with those of your employees. Your employees will help to define your company culture. With that in mind, it's important that your leaders selectively acquire talent to build a positive culture. This will allow you to effectively engage and retain those employees and ultimately improve your organizations position in the marketplace.

Hiring like-minded employees is only the first piece of the puzzle. Collaborative and engaging team-based strategies should also be used when building a positive company culture. These strategies include:

• Communicating expectations for the entire organization
• Setting team goals
• Promoting cohesive communication strategies
• Leveraging team member strengths

Enabling your diverse group of employees to work together will lead to professional and interpersonal relationships. These relationships will benefit your organization.

These relationships lead to higher employee engagement. Engagement opens doorways to innovative ideas and knowledge sharing, and ultimately, a stimulating work environment.

Promote Autonomy for All Employees

Engaging employees through a stimulating work environment isn't just about your company culture. It's also about giving them the freedom to perform their role in a productive and stimulating way. A great way to do this is through promoting autonomy for all employees.

It has been stated that autonomy is one of the essential elements in building true employee engagement. Your employees do not want to be told what to do at every turn. They thrive when they are given independence and a sense of responsibility in their role.

If you are not willing to allow autonomy, you will see the impact in performance, employee engagement and retention rates. A survey conducted by Trinity Solutions determined that 71% of employees said being micromanaged interfered with their job performance. It was also found 69% of employees considered a change in jobs because of micromanaging.

Giving employees more control over their position will not only establish a stimulating work environment but will keep your employees engaged. Some ideas to increase autonomy include:

• Set boundaries for successful autonomy
• Give employees ownership of special projects
• Provide tools and resources to reach goals
• Implement career development programs to promote growth

Once you give your employees the ability to be autonomous, you will open a door to a more stimulating work environment.

Provide Recognition and Feedback

A study done by Human Resources Today found that "the number one reason people leave jobs is limited recognition and praise." Timely appreciation of employees for their accomplishments is key to establishing a stimulating work environment. Providing employee recognition and rewards furthers the employee’s engagement.

Employees who receive regular recognition see the value that they bring to an organization. When an employee feels valued, engagement increases and leads to long term employee satisfaction. This also help increase employee retention rates.

Feedback is equally as important as recognition. Providing feedback to your employees gives the opportunity to discuss any challenges and provides them with areas to improve in. Effective feedback also defines the goals and expectations of the organization to the employee. When an employee motivated by positive feedback, you enable them to perform and strive to help your organization achieve those goals.

Employees who are given recognition and feedback regularly, receive the tools and confidence to grow within your organization. This is exactly what is needed to create a stimulating work environment for your organization.

Implement a Mentoring Program

Another great strategy to create a stimulating work environment is to implement a mentoring program. Mentoring gives your employees and leaders opportunities for…

• Accessing new skills and knowledge
• Defining clear career paths and goals
• Building networks and a fostering community
• Employee Leadership Building

When deciding how to start a mentoring program, create a plan with your organization’s objectives and employees in mind. Having a plan increases the likelihood for mentoring program success. Your plan should include many steps, include marketing your program and matching your mentors and mentees.

Marketing your mentoring program should be done in two ways. First, you need to market before your program begins. This will allow you to recruit the mentors and mentees needed for program success.

Once the participants are recruited, you will need to continue marketing to them, so they remain engaged. This can be done through sharing content that will help them succeed in their mentoring relationship.

In addition to marketing your mentoring program. You must successfully match your mentors and mentees. This is the first step to creating mentoring relationships and is arguably the most important.

If mentoring matching is not done correctly, the relationship will not be a success and your mentoring program could fail. Set specific criteria for matching, taking into consideration the goals of the program and the participants.

By implementing a successful mentoring program, you are opening the door for relationships to be built and knowledge to be shared. This is the type of program that promotes a stimulating work environment and continues to bring growth to your organization.