In today’s uncertain landscape, a unified team is essential for success within any company. A team that is unified tends to be more productive and brings better results while generally having more fun doing it. The best way to ensure your team is one that supports and empowers one another, look no further than employee engagement and retention. Check out how you can improve employee retention and bolster engagement below:
1. Build Trust with Your Team
We spend more time during the week with our co-workers than we do with our families. With this in mind, trust is imperative to being able to work together and perform cohesively. Trust comes with familiarity and understanding, so getting to know your coworkers beyond their job responsibilities is the first step towards building trust with your team. Consider integrating team-building activities into regularly scheduled meetings: these can serve as an icebreaker or as a more casual way to check in with remote employees who may have limited interactions with the rest of the team. A fun activity we have done here at Zimmer Communications is a guessing game over different topics. We had themes such as “What’s On Your Summer Playlist?” and “How Would You Spend $1 million?” and then collectively guessed based on anonymous submissions. This was a unique way to learn more about one another while also diversifying our morning meetings. Chances are that even your most seasoned employees will learn some fun facts about one another when given the opportunity to think outside the box about different topics.
2. Find New Ways to Engage 
As the professional world becomes more plugged in, our interactions become more text-based and less personalized. While this may cut down on time spent commuting or scheduling in-person meetings, it also increases the chances that your team is unengaged in the workplace. A recent survey found that 51% of employees surveyed said they were not engaged at work and had not felt engaged for some time. To combat this, we encourage leaders to develop new ways to engage with their employees on a regular basis. This can be both in small group settings or one-on-one time with a manager or team leader. Employee engagement can be as broad or specific as needed, but we like to diversify engagement opportunities by giving employees a variety of ways to be involved: virtual happy hours were a welcome change of pace during March and April this year, while regularly scheduled presentation role-plays between members of our sales team have sparked new ideas and strengthened team morale. However you decide to engage with your team, keep in mind that the more variety you have in terms of events the more likely you are to get everyone on your team involved!
3. Define (And Recognize) Success
What does success look like for your team? Whether it’s a matter of completing a big project or hitting revenue goals, it’s important to define success in order to give your employees a clear idea of how to continue growing and achieving their best in their roles. By also recognizing success when it happens, you can build team morale while providing concrete examples for new team members or those who haven’t hit their success metrics yet. There are a variety of ways to outline and display successes depending on your industry or work environment: if you have a whiteboard or bulletin board somewhere in your office, this can be the perfect space to outline metrics of success and even highlight recent success stories from your team. In a more formal environment? Send out success stories via email. However you decide to recognize success, it’s important to remember that it’s essential to employee engagement: with 82% of employees saying they don’t believe their bosses recognize them enough for their contributions, transparent communication is essential to keeping your team engaged!
Investing in your team's longevity and productivity begins with building trust, fostering engagement, and recognizing success. By focusing on these essential elements, you're not only creating a positive work environment but also fortifying the foundation of your organization. As leaders, it's our responsibility to nurture an atmosphere where employees feel valued and appreciated, where their efforts are acknowledged, and their potential is cultivated. By embracing these strategies, you're not just improving employee retention; you're cultivating a workforce that is resilient, motivated, and committed to the shared success of your organization. Together, let's foster a workplace where trust is the bedrock, engagement is the norm, and success is celebrated, ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for both your team and your company.
