The task of increasing employee engagement is crucial in ensuring an efficient, productive and profitable business. In approaching it, managers often focus on crucial aspects such as work life balance and flexibility in schedule, variety of work, communication, and workplace culture. Factors such as these are what forms the base of many employee engagement initiatives. However, what many approaches often fail to consider is the idea of demonstrating engagement and enthusiasm in innovation, providing platforms for knowledge building, and implementing new approaches to work.
Employing ideals and attitudes that are focused on self-improvement and skill development of both management and employees and learning to grow personally and professionally will improve employee engagement in various ways.
The Factors That Encourage Employee Engagement
In increasing employee engagement, whether through promoting a culture of learning and development or otherwise, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to increased employee engagement.
Ultimately, employees who are engaged, productive and effective in their work will be so as a result of them feeling valued, empowered, involved and supported. It is also worth noting that focusing on these emotional positions is of greater importance than providing the potential to earn material rewards.
It is also important to understand that employee engagement requires ongoing, systematic effort on a cultural level – in many instances, effective implementations will begin with an experience led approach where management introduces changes amongst management in order to gain a better understanding of how to implement them amongst employees.
The Benefits Of A Learning Approach To Engagement
Approaching the task of increasing employee engagement through learning and development is one that has a multitude of benefits. Every successful company will implement a culture of learning regardless of goals of employee engagement – training and development of employee skills means a more highly skilled workforce that operates more efficiently and provides a better product.
In terms of the employee engagement benefits learning has, there are numerous. Firstly, providing resources, training and upskilling opportunities demonstrates that as a manager, you want to invest in your employees as people. It increases employee confidence regarding their skillset and encourages enthusiasm in implementing new skills and approaches to work. In turn, this keeps the variety of work higher which results in increased job satisfaction. Finally, education will improve workplace culture and professional relationship development as it encourages employee inter-relatability.
Consider the example of this Courses diploma that focuses on advancing the skill set of an employee or manager, with the end result of a recognised qualification. This is an approach to engagement that results in engaged employees working to a higher standard, as a result of a course that is flexible to the schedule of a full time worker.
Conclusion
Education can be implemented in a range of ways in addition to working towards formal qualifications. Whether an attitude of learning is introduced by including time for paid skill development on a self-taught basis, holding seminars and workshops, providing employees with access to training tools, and encouraging skill sharing, there are numerous methods of implementation.
Ultimately, investing in your employees provides a multitude of benefits, on top of the obvious ones that come as a result of upskilling. Many employers will implement training programmes and educational initiatives for the increase in quality of work alone. When managers consider that employee education improves employee confidence, ensures that employees are happy both in their private lives and at the workplace, and increases overall productivity and engagement, it is clear that a knowledge-hungry business culture is invaluable.
Author: Rebecca is the Content Manager at Extras.
Photo Credits: Pexels
