10 Employee Engagement Triggers That Can Increase Productivity

When morale and performance are low, pay raises can help. But while merit and performance-based raises are essential, business leaders may need to do much more to build the kind of employee engagement that creates lasting workforce productivity.

Here are 10 employee engagement triggers that human resource professionals, business managers, and consultants have found can lead to improved office productivity:

1. Explain Expectations
Start by clearly communicating your expectations for employees’ performance. That may sound basic, but Gallup says worldwide, only half of employees surveyed said they understood their job descriptions and responsibilities.¹

2. Offer Recognition
There are countless ways to recognize employees. If you’re stumped for ideas, ask the experts—poll your staff. Whatever you do, make sure it’s sincere and meaningful. “Research shows managers … systematically overestimate how much appreciation they’re conveying to their employees. The upshot is that whatever praise you think you’re sharing, do a lot more of it,” authors Dorie Clark and Alexis Redding write in the Harvard Business Review.²

3. Provide the Right Tools
Equipping your staff with the right tools can foster employee engagement and workforce productivity. Most people have worked with outdated or buggy technology and experienced the slowed workflow and increased frustration. Budgets aren’t endless, but investing in the equipment employees need should be a priority.

4. Empower People
Layers of middle management are out, and giving your employees more autonomy is in. “People are 12% more likely to report being happy with their job when they have freedom and autonomy in their work environment,” according to an article for the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR).³

5. Keep a Work-From-Home Option 
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that remote work was feasible, effective, and popular with employees. In surveys, 98% of people said they would prefer to work remotely, at least occasionally; 65% wanted fully remote work; and 57% said they would find other employment if they could not work remotely.⁴ It’s no surprise that satisfied work-from-home employees are also engaged and productive. A two-year study found that the majority of 800,000 people surveyed were more or as productive as they were when working in the office.⁵

6. Invest in Career Growth
The best business managers offer employees continuous learning opportunities. When “someone at work encourages their development,” employee engagement grows, Gallup says. “Development is a process of understanding each person’s unique talents and strengths and finding roles, positions, and projects that allow employees to apply them.”¹

7. Offer Mentorships
Mentorships are just as meaningful for mentors as they are for mentees. Through the mentorship process, both parties can grow their leadership skills. Companies that offer employees mentor opportunities are also demonstrating they value their staffs and recognize their potential.

8. Promote From Within
Another important engagement strategy is to offer opportunities for advancement to your own employees first. AIHR reports that people who work for organizations that promote internally stay 41% longer than people working at companies that promote fewer internal candidates.³

9. Build a Diverse Workforce
Diversity in the workplace is essential and, not surprisingly, it is another strong driver of employee engagement.⁶ All employees can feel valued and heard in an organization with a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. A workforce that embraces all people and encourages diverse points of view may be the most engaged of all.

10. Conduct Exit Surveys
Losing good employees hurts. Exit surveys can help. Using an exit interview or survey can help you identify workplace problems and trends to better understand why employees leave. That’s important intel you and your leadership team can use to figure out how to improve job engagement.

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Walden University is an accredited institution offering an online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

¹Source: www.gallup.com/workplace/356045/q12-question-summary.aspx
²Source: https://hbr.org/2023/11/4-fundamental-ways-to-boost-employee-engagement
³Source: www.aihr.com/blog/employee-engagement-strategies
⁴Source: www.weforum.org/stories/2021/04/survey-65-of-remote-workers-do-not-want-to-return-to-the-office/
⁵Source: www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/remote-work-productivity-study-finds-surprising-reality-2-year-study
⁶Source: www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/consulting/perspectives/role-diversity-practices-inclusion-trust-employee-engagement.html

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.

Walden’s BS in Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), and PhD in Management programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).