Employee Engagement Ideas

A company needs to have a comfortable atmosphere with closeness between employees and the company. It is important to create an employee engagement program that can act as a form of gratitude and motivate employees.

Activities or activities that can increase closeness between employees are not easy because they may not be in accordance with each person's preferences. The following are various employee engagement ideas so that the office atmosphere can be more 'lively' and employees feel comfortable.

What is an employee engagement program?

An employee engagement program is a series of activities created by the HR team to increase employee engagement and motivation.

Every office or organization definitely has some employees who tend to be quiet and passive, even though they work well. To increase employee involvement and get to know each individual, employee engagement activities are needed.

Employee engagement also plays a role in making employees feel connected and valued by the company. Unfortunately, most employees don't feel that way.

Research from Gallup revealed that only 32 percent of employees feel involved at work. At the same time, Gallup also reported that 18 percent of employees felt they were not actively involved.

With low levels of engagement, companies need to try to find ways to keep employees feeling connected, engaged, and valued.

According to Katie Brennan, HR knowledge advisor at the Society for Human Resource Management, when employees feel connected to the company, they will be more productive, loyal and committed to their work.

Employee engagement can reduce the possibility of employees leaving (resigning) because the involved team feels more connected to their work and work environment.

Fun employee engagement ideas

Don't rush to increase employee activity and comfort. The reason is, making employees feel connected to the company takes time and must be done naturally, not forced. Here are ideas to help employees feel closer to the company.

1. Create a light, fun event

Don't let employees just work without getting something refreshing in the office. If this condition is allowed to drag on, employees will get tired more quickly and feel less close to other people.

You can create small, fun activities for employees to relieve stress and be more relaxed, some activity ideas include.

• Do sports together after work such as badminton, bowling or jogging
• Order lunch or afternoon snacks (pizza, martabak, or cold drinks)
• If your office is hybrid, you can play online games such as guessing the picture so that employees who are working at home can contribute.
• Have lunch with the manager to narrow the distance between employees and the management team so that communication is more open.

2. Give special discounts to employees

Providing special discounts for employees can also be an interesting idea. These discounts can be various things, for example shopping vouchers, concert tickets, or travel tickets.

You can give it in a joint games session as a prize for the winner. If you want it to be fairer, you can mix it up in the lottery so that the atmosphere of excitement is more pronounced.

3. Keep communication open

Peter Schoeman, founder and CEO of The Dog Adventure, says the most effective way to keep your employees focused and motivated is to communicate with them.

"Effective communication in the workplace is an important element for business progress," he said. This not only increases employee engagement and overall team effectiveness, but also improves connections with each other.

Communication ensures that team members understand what they are trying to do and why. To improve communication, you can send employee engagement surveys regularly to collect feedback from them.

When employees feel valued and supported, they will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns with you and other managers. Open communication is essential to being able to resolve issues to  keep the business running smoothly.

4. Understand the employee's character

Even though it is not a direct activity, this method can be said to be the simplest, but it is also challenging because it is not easy to understand other people's characters. You need to do this so that you can adapt to the employee's character.

You need to know their real names and nicknames, their likes, where they live, their pets, or their habits. This humanist approach will feel more comfortable for employees. However, still pay attention to your gestures and responses to whether you really feel comfortable and don't respect their privacy.

5. Create space for collaboration between teams

Employees who have strong and positive relationships with coworkers will be more engaged with their workplace. The workplace is the main source of interpersonal relationships, many of which are formed from collaboration.

Therefore, you can create collaboration between teams to increase employee comfort and engagement. Creative teams with sales need to work together to create opportunities for your employees to work together and get to know each other.

Basically, when your team is engaged, they become more productive, creative, and motivated. This involvement also reduces employee turnover, which becomes a problem if not addressed.

To encourage employees to become closer and more engaged, create a positive culture full of career development opportunities that supports employees in both achieving their professional and personal goals.