The business practice of outsourcing has been around for quite some time. Generally speaking, outsourcing involves subcontracting a job to a third party. But nowadays, the concept of looking for an outsourced partner may extend to a variety of applications. Outsourcing enables organizations to delegate a particular function — such as the recruitment process, customer service, or digital marketing — to another firm to maximize the former’s productivity and minimize time consumption. Many businesses outsource various aspects of their operations to freelancers, contractors, or specialist groups. Technological innovations have enabled many organizations, businesses, institutions, and media outlets to outsource talent from different countries and backgrounds. Outsourcing is an excellent strategy that employs millions of people around the world while also enabling businesses to save funds and continue making profits. Essentials of Onboarding an Outsourced Team Part of any outsourcing journey is the challenge of onboarding an offshore team. Yet this step is vital to making outsourcing projects successful. Whether your organization is embarking on outsourcing for the first time or has successfully done it in the past, it's always a best practice to revisit the onboarding processes to gain a comprehensive understanding of what to expect and how to prepare for it. The following is an overview of what the onboarding process requires. Preparation of training materials or programs In-house and outsourced employees alike, especially new ones, should have access to all relevant tools or resources to help them perform their job roles. You must have robust procedures or systems in place for employees to deliver quality outputs. These mechanisms will ultimately enable your offshore staff to succeed despite their remote location. When conducting training programs, be sure to cover all the fundamental topics about their responsibilities in the team. Warm welcome and company introduction Regardless if you’re hiring 2 or 20 outsourced staff, you want them to positively represent your company. You can achieve this by properly welcoming them on the get-go and genuinely making them feel that they’re a part of your company. By encouraging your outsourced staff to build rapport with their managers and colleagues, your business may profit from improved teamwork and quality output. Strategic orientation and oversight Clarify how the work ofyour outsourcedteam will be managed remotely. Have regular meetings for all projects in progress as part of project management. Every week, keep track of deadlines and deliverables, as well as feedback and guidance. Remember that outsourcing isn't a one-size-fits-allsolution, so you must orient and superviseyour staff in a manner that suits and bolsters your business. Realistic and measurable targets Discuss your key performance indicators (KPIs) with the outsourced team. Your set of KPIs serves as an objective method of assessing the performance of your outsourcing partner. Equally important is planning how to attain these targets. An outsourced team may not perform as well right away, but proper guidance could help familiarize them with your processes and, therefore, make it easier for them to achieve your business goals. Regular feedback Assign someone from your in-house team to regularly provide feedback and review for your outsourced employees. Keep this practice until you’re convinced that the latter fully understand your standards and procedures. It’s also an effective way to determine whether the outsourced team is the correct fit for your business or if you need to find someone else early on. To learn even more about managing remote teams and keeping employees working at home highly engaged, download our ebook now. Download now Best Practices for Onboarding Large Outsourced Teams Even if your company already has an onboarding program in place, there are a few more arrangements toconsider, especially if you'reworking with a larger remote team of a different culture. Here are widely practiced strategies to efficiently onboard larger outsourced teams: Get your existing team on board, too Ensure that your current workforce is on board and understands the processes before you start training and onboarding your new outsourced employees. They most probably have a lot of questions regarding the changes that are taking place. For instance, they may be concerned about what bringing in more outsourced workers would imply for their job security. Organizing training sessions with both your in-house and remote teams is an excellent approach to set things straight and get everyone on board. Build good working relationships The majority of workplace onboarding meetings typically begin with an “Introduce yourself” engagement. They're usually quick, but that's fine because new employees will have moreopportunities to form relationships in the days and weeks ahead. However, such is not the case for remote workers. You'll need to be a little more proactive in encouraging conversations and getting to know your outsourced team to make new employees feel welcome and create the kind of relationship that leads to a positive, productive type of workplace culture. Identifythe ideal means of communication Communication is non-negotiable for any business organization, so make sure your outsourced team has access to the communication channels you use. These channels should easily facilitate work interactions among team members. Video conferencing is one of the primary modes of business communication, while other channels like email and direct messaging platforms can be utilized for employee check-ins and project follow-ups. Set clear expectations for your outsourced team and educate them on their roles Determine and communicate the contributions you expect from your outsourced team. Here, being transparent is necessary. Overlooking this important factor can result in underperformance, which can eventually lead to lower productivity. Your organization should set clear work descriptions for every employee. Ideally, you shouldencourage your outsourced staff to ask questions at every stage of the onboarding process. Get in touch with your outsourcing provider for sound advice You may be building up an offshore team for the first time, but your outsourcing provider has done thisso many times before and knows what works and what doesn't. A reputable provider that’s well-informed about outsourcing trends will be more than willing to share their knowledge and experience to help your business grow. A credible outsourcing company can help you set up your team and hire customer success managers who are industry leaders. They can help you with KPIs, metrics, training initiatives, team structuring, and more. Preparing Your In-house Team to Work with an Outsourced Team Likewise, theremay be a transition process for introducing outsourced personnel to your in-house employees, whether it’s the first time working with outsourced teams or they're alreadyused to collaborating withoffshore workers. During the initial briefings, you must set clear standards and goals for both in-house and outsourced employees. Some of the crucial topics to cover should include task delegation, project ownership, and chain of command. You should also explain your main reasons for outsourcing and provide details on how outsourcing suits your long-term strategies. Consider the following steps in preparing your in-house team to work with outsourced employees. Disclose the reasons Your decision to outsource has to be tied to short and long-term growth objectives for the company. Before incorporating an outsourced team, you must inform your current team about what those motivations are and how outsourcing can benefit the organization as a whole. Strategic use of resources, productivity boost, and cost reduction are some of the advantages usually associated with outsourcing. For example, you could tap the services of outsourcing professionals instead of hiring salaried employees. You could then use the savings to replace outdated equipment with the latest iterations that will make work easier and faster for in-house employees. Outsourcing can thus free up your in-house staff and let them focus on their core responsibilities while delegating non-core tasks to the outsourced team. Draw the line on task ownership and responsibilities When it comes to onboarding outsourced personnel, most companies fall short in the work assignment and project ownership aspects. Your new outsourced team is hired to take on very particular tasks and responsibilities. However, it’s possible someone else from your in-house team may already be handling such tasks—potentially leading to confusion and mismanagement. For example, if you decide to hire a software outsourcing company for a project, make sure everyone is aligned on their role and responsibilities within the scope of the project. To avoid any gray areas and ensure that the outsourced workforce will immediately bring value to your business, you should define what the project ownership shifts will look like to your existing team. Once you’ve made this clear, then your outsourced talents can step up with the tasks or projects assigned to them. Maintain open communication lines Once you’ve decided to outsource, establish an open line of communication policy between your internal and external staff. Let your in-house team stay up to date with your plans for future outsourcing arrangements, if any. It also helps to encourage every employee in your organization to express any issues or concerns. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now Outsourcing Takes Some Getting Used To In a way, incorporating an outsourced team into your organization is comparable to implementing new systems or expansion solutions when you first opened a business. As such, expect your employees to feel more at ease with their outsourced counterparts the more they interact with them. Everyone, including the outsourced team for onboarding, requires adequate time and patience to adjust to new systems and processes, but remind them it's all in the interest of business growth. About Author: Trevor Michael is a Customer Contact Industry Specialist of Select VoiceCom, an inbound call center with telemarketing and IT support services. He has operated successfully within this niche industry for over ten years across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. He enjoys writing, golf, and going to social events.

What makes a workplace a place of work? Is it the location, the office building, the equipment, or the amenities? No, it’s the people that determine both the quality of the workplace and the future of the organization. In a 2017 study by Gallup, it was found that only 15% of the world’s one billion workers are engaged at work. It’s a downward spiral that originates with our lack of understanding of human capital management, or more specifically, employee engagement. The more engaged employees, the better it is for the organization. With effective employee engagement ideas, employees are motivated to give their best, resulting in higher profitability, better customer retention, better talent acquisition and retention, lower employee turnover, and a safer work environment. But remember: An effective employee engagement strategy is not a one-day affair. Only an ongoing process will obtain incredible results. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up What is Employee Engagement? Employee engagement sounds simple but goes deep. A good employee engagement strategy improves the likelihood that the relationship between the employee and the organization will be positive in nature. Engaged employees: Are self-motivated Have a clear understanding of their roles Recognize the significance of their contribution Focus on future training and development Feel that they belong to a community—that is, the organization The Benefits of an Engaged Workforce Effective employee engagement results in more motivation and better job satisfaction, and thus, a lower cost-to-value ratio for your human personnel expenditure. It goes like this: While every employee adds to the bottom line, engaged employees add that much more. This idea, also known as the service-profit chain, was introduced by Harvard researchers in the 1990s that traces business profitability and customer loyalty right back to engaged, motivated employees. Top corporate leaders know that engaged employees can help raise productivity, increase profits, enhance customer experience, foster brand loyalty, and facilitate growth. The Best Employee Engagement Strategies Below, you’ll find an outline of the steps you can take in order to ensure that the employees achieve a positive emotional connection with the organization and the work they’re assigned to do. In essence, there are three main parts: Physical: The level of complexity of work corresponds to the employees’ skill set. Emotional: Employees understand the job’s significance and put their heart into it. Mental: Employees become engrossed with their work. 1. Hire With Engagement in Mind The decisions you make during the hiring process can lead to different results in the engagement of an individual employee as well as workforce engagement across the organization. Every new hire you make has the possibility to impact how employees interact with each other, either strengthening the values of your organization or detracting from the work culture. A successful hire occurs when a new employee aligns with the organization in many different aspects, including job details as well as the company’s overall culture. Salary: Your new employee’s salary expectations should match what the company can unfailingly offer. Values: Your new hire should respect how the organization operates to attain its goals. Competency: The new hire should have the skills to meet the responsibilities of the position. Culture: The new hires should possess personal and emotional skills to be on the same page with their new colleagues and management. This doesn’t just impact current employees; new hires should be adequately prepared for their new positions, too. According to a Jobvite survey, 43% of new hires leave their jobs in the first 90 days as they felt that the role described during the process of hiring wasn’t what they experienced when they began to work. Your newest employees will evaluate their experience more carefully during the initial few weeks with your business. If you are able to provide what you promised during the hiring process, it will deepen that initial good impression and make way for employee engagement. 2. Streamline Onboarding Developing a comprehensive onboarding program can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and support the success of new hires. A good onboarding program should: Introduce new hires to the company's mission, values, and culture: Help new hires understand the company's purpose and how they fit into the organization. Orient new hires to the organization: Provide an overview of the company's structure, processes, and systems. Connect new hires with resources and support: Ensure that new hires have access to the resources and support they need to be successful, such as training materials, a mentor, or a go-to person for questions. Provide opportunities for socialization: Help new hires get to know their coworkers and build relationships within the organization. Set clear expectations: Communicate expectations around performance, attendance, and other aspects of the job. Assess progress and provide feedback: Regularly check in with new hires to assess their progress and provide feedback to help them succeed. Your new hires are only learning to navigate the complexity and will need assistance in specific areas. Thus, your first step should be to understand their viewpoint and work towards offering an onboarding experience that will keep them engaged. According to data from ServiceNow, organizations that offer inadequate onboarding programs have twice the chance of facing employee turnover. The first impression is crucial and will have a significant impact on new employees’ expectations. 3. Clarify the Company's Mission By making the mission a central part of the corporate culture, employees are more likely to feel aligned with the company's goals and motivated to contribute to its success. When employees know the overarching goals and values of the organization, they can see how their individual roles contribute to larger objectives. To effectively communicate the company mission, management should integrate it into all aspects of the workplace, from onboarding sessions and training programs to regular team meetings and company communications. Leaders should consistently emphasize and relate back to the mission in daily interactions and decision-making processes, helping employees connect their tasks to the company's broader goals. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to engage directly with mission-related projects or community initiatives can reinforce their commitment and understanding of the company's purpose. 4. Set SMART Goals and an Action Plan Without any goals, an organization doesn’t have a direction to follow. What does it want to achieve? What does it need to improve? What is the role of the strategy? All these questions need to be answered first. Moreover, the goals that you set need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely—that is, S.M.A.R.T. With tangible outcomes in mind, managers will be able to properly execute the strategy and figure out whether it is following the expected results or not Once the particular goals are in place, prepare an action plan on how to attain them. At this stage, the allocation of resources and definition of key performance indicators (KPIs) are taken care of to facilitate the measurement of progress. The effectiveness of the action plan is the responsibility of the direct supervisors. Employee engagement rates soar when they distribute the results and propose future endeavors. One of the ways to ensure this is to let your employees know how significant their contribution is. There are different ways on how to do staff recognition. Tell them how it is helping in achieving the organization’s business objectives. Simply speaking, organizations need to start making their employees feel that they matter. 5. Be People-Centric Employees are not robots; they are human. Organizations that tend to see employees as a commodity, but your employees are not another factor of production. They are prospective champions of your organization’s values and principles. Companies can become more people-centric by prioritizing employee well-being and development at the core of their business strategies. Actively listen to employee needs and feedback, providing comprehensive support systems like mental health resources, career development opportunities, and flexible working conditions. 6. Create an Office Environment Conducive to Work Giving employees a space that enhances productivity and satisfaction involves ensuring that all employees have the necessary tools, information, and training to perform their jobs effectively. First, the physical workspace should be designed to promote focus and efficiency. This means organizing workstations to minimize noise and distractions, providing ergonomic furniture, and ensuring that the office is well-lit and temperature-controlled. Adequate technology and resources, such as high-speed internet, modern computers, and effective communication tools, should be readily available to all team members. Second, maintain an open line of communication where employees can easily access the information they need and feel comfortable requesting additional support. This can be facilitated through a well-structured intranet, regular team meetings, and clear documentation of workflows and policies. 7. Offer Remote and Flexible Work Offering flexible work hours can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few benefits of offering flexible hours: Improved work-life balance Increased productivity Greater employee retention Improved morale There are a few different ways you can offer flexible work hours, such as allowing employees to choose their own work schedule within certain parameters, offering flexible start and end times, or allowing employees to work remotely. 8. Promote a Strong Company Culture By prioritizing a positive and inclusive company culture, organizations can create a workplace where employees feel valued and inspired to contribute their best work. A strong company culture is built on clear values that are actively practiced and integrated into every aspect of the organization, from hiring practices to day-to-day operations and decision-making processes. Management should lead by example, embodying the company's values in their actions and communications. Regularly celebrating achievements that align with these values, such as teamwork, innovation, or customer service, can reinforce their importance. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to connect with one another, such as team-building activities, social events, and collaborative projects, strengthens interpersonal relationships and fosters a supportive community. Lastly, encouraging open communication and feedback through town hall meetings, suggestion boxes, and regular check-ins can help maintain transparency and ensure that the culture evolves in a way that continues to meet the needs of its employees. 9. Establish a Sense of Community An organization is essentially a community; each member fulfills a specific task and serves the community as a whole. To encourage this community spirit among your employees, any engagement activity can help, from organizing a big annual event to simply taking a team out to lunch. Notwithstanding the hierarchy of the organization, it’s better to maintain a certain level of equality and unbiasedness where everyone feels they are important to the community. This philosophy is typical in the new-age technology startups where they adopt a more casual, no-walls organizational policy. Though sustaining this new business approach might be tricky, it can lead to highly engaged staff. 10. Recognize Employee Contributions Two out of three employees feel they do not get enough recognition for their work, according to Office Team data reported by Forbes. As a result, most employees will not deliver their maximum potential and may engage in unwanted behavior. And highly-trained and qualified talent will always be looking for better job offers. For this reason, it’s wise to create a recognition-rich environment where good work is rewarded with perks and incentives. At the very least, a few good words and a certificate of appreciation can go a long way in letting others feel valued for their work. 11. Invest in Career Development For many, just coming to the office, doing the work assigned, and taking the paycheck back home isn’t enough. They need to know there are sufficient growth prospects for the role they are fulfilling. If your employees feel that you don’t care about their professional development, they may begin to look for work elsewhere. Whether it’s by running a proprietary training program or sponsoring higher education for your employees, you are not only investing in the future of your company but also creating a sense of loyalty among your employees. Remember, every employee loves a company that supports them in their professional career and adds value to their personal lives. Want to retain top-notch talent in your organization? Ensure their professional growth and you will reap the benefits. Providing opportunities for employee development can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Offer training and development programs: Workshops, seminars, or online courses help employees learn new skills or advance their careers. Encourage continuous learning: Learning opportunities outside of formal training programs can include attending conferences, participating in webinars, or taking online courses. Set up mentorship programs: Match employees with experienced mentors who can provide guidance and support as they learn and grow. Provide opportunities for career advancement: Offer opportunities for employees to take on new challenges and responsibilities, such as leading a team or taking on a new role within the organization. Promote self-directed learning: Encourage employees to take ownership of their own development by providing them with resources and support to pursue their own learning goals. 12. Hire Quality People Managers Your secret weapon to spur employee engagement is the managers—they are the middlemen between boardroom members and the employees. In most cases, the employees interact with the top-level executives rarely, if ever, but have daily interactions with their immediate bosses. Whether they are feeling secure, angry, or ignored depends on how you manage employees. Gallup’s chairman, Jim Clifton, once said: “Employees—especially the stars—join a company and then quit their manager. It may not be the manager's fault so much as these managers have not been prepared to coach the new workforce.” While organizations can choose to educate their managers on how to better engage their employees, it’s always better to hire a capable manager first. Check their professional background and try to see if they are suited for the tricky job waiting for them. 13. Introduce Team-Building Activities Team-building activities can be a great way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few ideas for team-building activities that you might consider:Trust-building exercises: Some of the examples include "Human Knot" or the "Trust Fall."Communication challenges: Activities that require team members to communicate effectively can help improve collaboration.Problem-solving activities: Examples might include "Escape the Room" or "Mars Mission."Outdoor activities: Getting team members out of the office can help them bond and have fun together. It can include a team hiking or camping trip, or a group outing to a ropes course or other adventure activity.Creative activities: This can be in the form of painting or art competitions, singing and dancing events, etc.It's important to choose activities that are appropriate for your team and that align with your goals for employee engagement. 14. Provide Incentives for Work Achievement Incentives can be a powerful tool for motivating and engaging employees. Here are a few ideas for incentives that you might consider Monetary rewards: bonuses, pay raises, and other financial incentives Time off: offering additional vacation days or flexible work arrangements Recognition: publicly recognize and praise employees for their hard work or send a hand-written note Professional development opportunities: training programs, mentorship opportunities, or professional certification courses. Special perks: reserved parking spot or a choice of office location Another option: a recognition and employee rewards solution, like Workmates. Our solution is customizable and offers a unique set of advantages, as an ideal recognition solution. Workmates increase employee engagement and boost productivity in the workplace. Workmates Self-Guided Tour We’ll show you how Workmates can engage everyone in your organization, transform your culture, and drive productivity to new heights. Start Now 15. Encourage Collaboration Encouraging collaboration can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Encourage employees from different departments or teams to work together on projects or tasks. This can help break down silos and foster a sense of teamwork. Encourage employees to share ideas and feedback with one another, and create a culture where it's safe to speak up and share perspectives. Host team-building activities or outings that encourage employees to get to know one another and work together in a more relaxed setting. Encourage a culture of collaboration and teamwork by recognizing and rewarding team contributions and successes. Utilize tools like project management software, virtual meeting platforms, and online collaboration spaces to make it easier for employees to work together and share ideas. 16. Facilitate Two-Way Communication Top business leaders generally believe in the open door policy and do not use “top-secret” information to their advantage. If organizations act secretive and only divulge information on a “need-to-know” basis, it will likely cause lower engagement rates among their employees. Transparency begets trust when employees understand how corporate decisions affect the workplace. But simply disseminating information isn’t enough. Communication should go two ways—the employees should be encouraged to share their concerns so they don’t feel ignored or unvalued. Here are a few strategies that can help your organization: Create a culture where it's safe for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. This might involve setting aside dedicated time for open discussions or establishing a suggestion box where employees can anonymously share ideas. Encourage employees to communicate openly and honestly with one another and with management. This might involve creating dedicated channels for communication, such as a team chat platform or a suggestion forum. Be open and transparent with employees about company goals, plans, and challenges. Regularly solicit feedback from employees and actively listen to their ideas and concerns. This might involve hosting team meetings or one-on-one conversations with employees. As a leader, model open and honest communication by being approachable and transparent in your own communication style. 17. Utilize HR Software Implementing HR software can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and streamline HR processes. Here are a few ways that HR software can support employee engagement: HR software can help automate and streamline HR processes, such as payroll, benefits management, and time and attendance tracking. This can help reduce the administrative burden for HR staff and free up more time for engagement and development efforts. Many HR software platforms offer features such as team chat, task management, and document sharing, which can help facilitate communication and collaboration among employees. HR software can provide employees with access to self-service tools, such as a portal for viewing and updating personal information or requesting time off. This can help empower employees and improve their overall experience with HR. Some HR software platforms offer tools for setting and tracking performance goals, which can help employees stay focused and motivated. Many HR software platforms offer features such as learning management systems, which can help employees access training materials and track their progress. 18. Conduct Employee Surveys Circulate questionnaires and surveys that permit your employees to express their opinions and concerns. The more you ask for their opinions, the more they feel esteemed, entitled, respected, and like they belong to the organization. Conduct the survey in such a way that it will yield the most thoughtful, timely responses. The catch here is to keep the surveys short and conduct frequent employee-pulse surveys. This lets employees think properly and reply at a higher rate. Additionally, it’s a great idea to build a habit of transparency and share the results. Sharing all the data collected from surveys will demonstrate transparency and help you to engage employees. 19. Engage Departing Employees Offer appropriate transparency when offboarding an employee. Each will have their own reasons why they depart. The appropriate details provided by the team members when they depart can aid the rest of the employees in processing the change without making cynical guesswork. Apart from that, recognize your employees’ reasons why they are leaving voluntarily. When you understand and categorize the reasons employees leave, it will help your organization to improve. If any engaged employees are leaving voluntarily, stay connected with them. You can consider curating alumni networks to be in contact with past employees. It will give you access to expanded networking and employment opportunities. Plus, it might make some employees come back to your organization with new skills and experiences when new positions open up. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now About the Author This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Good communication with employees can be the key between the success or the failure of a business. Unfortunately, employees do not feel like there is a lot of open communication. Only36% of employeesin the United States are engaged in their work with their current companies. Meanwhile, at least 15% of employees are actively disengaged. So, if you are an owner or manager of a company, what can you do about this? Well, the answer is to come up with an effective employee communication strategy. As a manager or an owner, you may find it to be a daunting task to have a strategy that fits every type of employee. You may be asking yourself, how can I do this while setting business goals? What are the best ways to improve employee communication in the workplace? How will those ways improve the company overall? How will that help you achieve business goals? Here are six ways to improve employee communication. 1. Encourage Employee Feedback One of the first things that you can do as a manager or employer is to encourage employees to provide feedback to you. This can be anything from recent policies that were implemented to the general work culture that your company has. Openly encouraging this while keeping anonymity can do a lot of good things for you. You can gain insight into what problems employees may have been too afraid to speak up about before. If you notice a pattern with an issue coming up, you now have the information necessary to acknowledge this problem and address it. Another thing that this can do is let employees know that their voices are being heard when it comes to company decisions. An example can be if employees all complained about a problem such as the lack of proper heating in the office building. Then, after the employees gave this feedback, the company went on to fix the heating in the office. This lets employees know that they can go to upper management about issues and provide open feedback. Then, they can have more trust in management toaddress these problemsand come up with a solution for them. Encouraging employee feedback can be a great stepping stone in general open communication and it is one of the best communication tools. Receiving feedback that is honest can also help improve your business. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officer of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. Learn More 2. Recognize Employees Another thing that you can do as an employer is to start to recognize employees openly that do great work for your company. Employees are only human, so they want to know that they are appreciated for the good work done for your business. This can be a game-changer for a business considering that a large percentage of employees really value recognition.About 37% of employeesin this survey said that employee recognition was the most important thing for their quality of work. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense because it lets an employee work so that people see the good work that they are doing and value it. This not only can improve an employee's morale, but make them more likely to stick around. In that same survey above, it was found that teams scoring in the top 20 for employee engagement experienced 59% fewer turnovers. That means thatemployees feeling recognizedgenerally makes them want to stay a part of the team that they are currently on. This can be a major key to building employee chemistry and coming up with a workflow where everyone is on the same page. An example can be giving out a bonus to the person who has the most sales on a sales team in a month. This can be a big employee reward that has a positive impact on workplace cultures. It can also help peer to peer recognition with people giving others respect for excellent work shown. Sometimes, just making people feel appreciated is all it takes for someone to be more open about their communication with you. So, you should put in an employee recognition program to boost morale. 3. Do Your Research Next, you need to make sure that you properly conduct market research for your business. This can be in any field from marketing to finances to management and more. Having the proper research on anything can increase an understanding between people. That means that they are more likely to have a clear idea of what needs to be done and the target market that they are doing it for. To do this research effectively, leaders also need to guide managers and their subordinate employees in the right direction. Make it as clear as possible what you are looking for. An example could be if another company is interested in merging with yours. Doing the proper research on that company can give you an idea of what they are all about, what they do, how they can help you, and if they are good for you. This research could save you from a contract that leads to your company getting swallowed. Or, you could find out that company's reputation for how they treat employees and previous business owners and decide that is not the way that you want to go. Research offers clear insight on certain topics and it can help you increase employee morale while providing a clear understanding of the objective. It can also help you with market segmentation and focus your product or service on a specific niche in your market. There are plenty of different types of market research that can satisfy your goals here. 4. Know Your Audience Along with the steps above, you have to have an idea of what your target audience for your product or service is going to be. This gives employees a better idea of who they are targeting in potential sales and a better idea of who they need to appeal to. What gender are you going after? What is your target age group? Do you think some races and nationalities will respond to your business better than others? These are things that you need to ask yourself as an owner or manager. Then, once you determine that answer, make it clear to employees what their target audience is going to be. Once you have your target audience down, it makes it much easier to target marketing towards them. There is more general marketing research out there already on what men and women like, what certain age groups like, and even what certain races and nationalities may like compared to others. Do not be afraid to use focus groups to get a better idea on how you can have customized services.Figure out what target audience with the data collected from those focus groups that best suits your business goals and attack from there. 5. Review Current Communication Methods If you are going to improve your communication methods, you are going to need to figure out what is wrong with your current communication methods. This means taking a deep dive into your business operation methods and figuring out how things currently get done. Then, you may notice small things that do not get picked up easily by a data sheet. For example, you may notice that your office sends most of its business memos by email. While it is not a terrible way to communicate, you may realize that there is a better and faster way to do so. What if you had an option where people can read a message at the click of a button compared to going into an email account? This research study revealed thatover 90% of peopleread a text message in the first three minutes. Consider using communication platforms that have notification methods similar to texting. If nine out of ten people are reading your important messages in the first three minutes, that means that people are understanding what needs to be done faster and they can address concerns faster. 6. Establishing Goalposts Finally, as an employee or manager, you need to constantly be setting goals to keep your employees motivated. This also helps keep the business flowing and constantly evolving. To do this successfully, you need to clearly lay out what goals you wish to accomplish for your employees. Then, you need to delegate certain tasks to employees and give them a hard deadline to finish those tasks. For example, you can say that you want to increase revenue by 10% by the end of the next quarter. To do this, you may want to do a marketing campaign to boost brand awareness. This requires clear communication to employees on what tasks they have to do and how that will help the company achieve this goal. So, it can be some employees on graphic design, some employees on a press release, some employees on social media interaction, and more. Then, the goal is to finish these tasks by the original deadline that you set. Doing so not only helps the company meet its expectations but also gives employees a morale boost for finishing a challenging task. Implement Your Employee Communication Strategy These are just six tips that you can use to improve your employee communication strategy. Do not be afraid of setting goals and reviewing your current methods to discover some flaws in your company. Also, give employees a voice by providing an open door for feedback and rewarding them when they accomplish a big task. Do you want to make employee communication even easier? Request a free demoto see how our LIKE.TG can help your business communication grow into the future. About the Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly softwareincreases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk

Over the past two years, Covid-19 has brought about a significant amount of change that has impacted every aspect of our lives, whether it be physically, mentally, or financially. As a response, several businesses closed, the unemployment rate rose, and many people began working remotely in order to survive. In 2022, we turned back to normality with the unemployment rate decreasing to 3.6%, which hasn't changed much in the last two months. Currently, there are almost six million unfilled positions for unemployed people in the U.S. Despite a decline in the unemployment rate, at least 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in March 2022 in search of jobs with higher benefits. Could the fact that inflation rates are rising be driving people to look for employment with higher benefits? The current inflation rate in the United States is 8.6%, which is the highest level since December 1981. In one research found that conducted by jobcase,40% of workers say their current wages are not keeping up with inflation. As a result of insufficient pay and the increase of inflation, many are increasingly stretching themselves thin to make ends meet by working multiple jobs are taking on side hustles. There is concern that the U.S. economy may enter a recession as a response to the inflation rates' quick rise. Companies like Tesla, JP Morgan, and Netflix have all announced job losses over the past two weeks as a result. Price stability remains the main factor in companies deciding to let go of their employees. Therefore, more people than ever have been searching for "remote jobs hiring immediately" in 2022, according to Google Trends. If we compare it to the year 2021, the volume of searches has now increased by 262%. At the same time, searches for “work when you want remote jobs” grew by 556%, while searches for “remote positions” increased by 85% and reached an all-time high. To help in terms of employment, Elise Alva, Director of Career Services at the University of the Potomac, has provided some answers to the most googled questions asked, which are listed below: 1. What skills should you include in your resume? (The exact question: what skills to put on resume, Average of searches over the past 12 months: 5K ) The resume is the first thing that comes to mind when you want to apply for a remote job position. This is why you need to start by making it apparent on your Resume that you are looking for remote opportunities. You can include skills that apply to practically all employment jobs, such as marketing, computer, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Nowadays, everyone searches online regarding potential hirings, so it might be best to include your resume on LinkedIn as it connects you with professionals worldwide and aids in your success. While contact information like the city and address are important in traditional resumes, it might not be necessary to add a physical address when applying for a remote job because you will be working from home. It might be good if you can highlight your desire for remote working in your professional summer, which is the most important part as it sets you apart from the other applicants. Hard and soft skills must be covered, whereas as a team member, you must feel at ease using project management software, texting, and zoom meetings. You can even add some software you may be familiar with, such as Asana, Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Slack. Most companies want to hire someone who will build positive relationships with their colleagues remotely, so try adding some interpersonal skills such as emotional intelligence, communication, reliability, leadership, negotiation, openness to feedback, and empathy. 2. How do you list references in your resume? (The exact question: how to list references on resume Average of searches over the past 12 months: 4.3K ) A reference gives authority to your resume; therefore, it's preferable to provide a list of prior employers' contact information. In that way, companies that are more interested in what you have to offer could wish to contact the people on your reference list to learn more about your work performance, professionalism, and work ethic. First, you need to determine how many references you will include, which depends on your career level. If you are first entering the job market, it is suggested to have three reference lists; however, if you are going for a senior position, you might want to consider having a broader list of references. Asking for references from people you have supervised may raise a red flag for those reviewing your application, so it is advisable to ask your supervisors and coworkers instead. What if you don't have any work experience, you could ask? The best thing to do in such a situation would be to include references from academic advisers, mentors, or even someone you met through volunteer work who has experience in the field you are applying for. Choose a person who can speak to your abilities, skills, and qualifications because the employer will find it more credible if they know your close working relationship with you. Additionally, sending a reference list might not be necessary if the employer does not request one at the start of your application. However, if they decide to hire you, they will undoubtedly request a list of references, so be ready for everything to land you the job you desire. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More 3. How to write a cover letter? (The exact question: how to write a cover letterAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 79K ) A prospective employer will want to read your cover letter after reviewing your resume because it impacts whether or not they decide to hire you. A cover letter has a good impact, especially for remote job applicants, since it gives a chance to show your personality and passion for the company. It would be best if you create a memorable opening or attention-getter by sharing stories from your professional life while incorporating instances of relevant work you have completed or challenges you have resolved. Even if you don’t have remote work experiences, you can use your cover letter to differentiate yourself from other candidates by highlighting soft skills which are relevant to remote work. When writing a cover letter, the voice and tone are pretty crucial, and you may do this by first researching the company to help determine the tone you want to employ. The key to a good cover letter is honesty. If you suggest that you have a skill that you don't, it will reflect poorly on your application. The conclusion should be like a call to action where you will want to give them a reason to contact you by suggesting that you are open to offering more information and looking forward to talking with them. 4. How to prepare for an interview? (The exact question: how to prepare for an interviewAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 14K ) Holding the interview online is one of the most challenging parts of a remote job search since you want to give them the best impression possible as if you are in person. Thus, being well-prepared is the key to performing well in an interview. First, you need to make sure that your technology is working, such as the internet connection, webcam, microphone, and the platform where you will hold the meeting. Then you can change the background, reduce the background noise, and any distractions like the TV so that the focus is on the interviewer. Write general questions that almost all employers ask, such as "Tell me a little about yourself and why do you want to work here," as the interviewer wants to know why you think you would be a good fit for their remote position. Next, research the organization, objectives, and value proposition as the interviewer will want to know if you have attempted to learn more about the organization, so be ready. After doing your research, it might be best to write down some questions you can ask about the company's offerings, policies, and services. The secret to succeeding in this section is to practice articulating your qualities, abilities, experiences, and education. Another benefit of online interviews is that you don’t need to commute, so it is best if you join earlier, showing the effort you are willing to put into the company from the beginning. 5. What questions should you ask in an interview? (The exact question: what questions to ask in an interviewAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 5.2 ) As you expect the potential employer to ask questions about you, the interviewer expects the same from you. By not asking any questions about the company, you show a lack of interest in knowing more about the company. Below is a list of some potential questions you can ask in your first interview if you're unsure of what to ask: Can you tell me about the working culture of your company? This question demonstrates to the interviewer that you are curious to learn more about the activities and policies of the organization. Which team will I be part of? By asking this question, the interviewer will grasp that you are interested in hearing more about your potential coworkers and show a positive attitude towards teamwork. What duties would I have on a daily basis if I were to work for this company? It demonstrates to the interviewer that you are eager and inquisitive about learning the responsibilities of the job for which you have applied. 6. What should you wear for your interview? (The exact question: what to wear to an interview. Average of searches over the past 12 months: 12K ) You need to leave the best possible impression on the interviewer because it's your first and most important interview. So, just because you are at home does not mean you can attend the meeting in your pajamas because your attire can affect the impression you create on the interviewer. That’s why it is recommended to wear the same interview clothes as you would for a face-to-face interview. This would give you the impression that you were attending an in-person interview, boost your confidence, and have a favorable effect on how well you performed. 7. How to follow up after an interview? (The exact question: how to follow up after an interviewAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 6.5K ) How well the interview went relies on the tone, mimics, and length of the conversation. To avoid coming across as impatient, it can be best to wait if the interviewer states that it will take some time to choose the candidates and that they will let you know if you are accepted or not. However, if you don't hear back after some weeks, it might be advisable to send a follow-up email thanking them for their time and effort and asking how the situation is going and what the next steps are. 8. How to get a remote job? (The exact question: how to get a remote jobAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 1K ) One of the many benefits that remote jobs offer is that you are not limited by your local job market. The moment you start searching for remote jobs, doors to a world of possibilities open up for you that you would not otherwise have access to. However, like jobs in the office, remote jobs too come with its own set of unique challenges. What the interview focuses on is if you are the best remote applicant.In order to meet the company’s expectations, you must have a resume that stands out and lists all of your accomplishments as well as skills. To start, you might search in Linkedin to see what remote positions are available. Other websites like FlexJobs, JustRemote, and Remote Woman allow you to further conduct searches on remote jobs. Whether you haven't worked remotely before, try to recall instances when you did so or if you freelanced for a business because failing to specify the experience requirement could crush your application. 9. What jobs can I work from home? (The exact question: jobs where you can work from homeAverage of searches over the past 12 months: 2.5 ) Now you might be thinking what jobs can I work from home, so, there’s a list of some remote jobs which you might want to look at: Baker Animator Blogger Customer Service Representative Data Entry Copywriting Social Media Manager Graphic Designer Online Teacher Programmer As for the most high in demand remote job position in the U.S., there are five which are mentioned below that you may want to consider in terms of better opportunities: Customer Service Representative Recruiter Accountant Executive Assistant Project Manager How to Get Through Recession? Everyone worries and dreads the phrase "recession," particularly in light of the high inflation rate, which has a significant impact on individuals quitting their jobs in pursuit of new ones with better chances. So, how can you prevent a recession from impacting your lifestyle? Ask the manager about the company's stability and whether you can agree on a promotion to ensure your position is secure. In this way, you will prepare yourself for the worst and start a job search as soon as you sense that there’s something wrong with the company’s finances while you are still employed. It is suggested to start a budget fund so if you lose your job, you will have some emergency savings that you can use until you get back in the workforce . Consider looking for another profession that is highly in demand and it pays well. In this case it would be recommended to also look for other degrees which offer better opportunities and in high-demand as well. A change is necessary in these types of situations. Try building your professional network, and look for side gigs you can do while you are not at work such as freelancing. While recession can be a scary event, it is something that we have been through, so, this one should be the same. Train and prepare yourself by getting rid of your credit card debt because with the interest rates increasing at a rapid rate, you might put yourself in bigger trouble than you actually are. About the Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly softwareincreases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk

Hiring the wrong candidate for a job can be a costly mistake. When all you have in front of you is a pile of resumes, it can be hard to make a decision. If you know what to look for in a resume, it is easier to choose the right candidate. Simply looking at the basic information like education, skills and work experience is not enough. You need to find out more about candidates and what benefits they have for your business. Here are some questions to ask that will help you to make a good decision. 1. How readable is the resume? When you’re presented with many resumes to read, the readability of a resume can make a difference. If it is sloppy and poorly structured, you can quickly weed it out. A resume should impress you at first glance, and that has much to do with its format. Candidates could create a cv in a lot if different ways. You shouldn’t waste any energy at all on resumes with grammar issues, spelling errors and incoherent thoughts. You’re not looking for a showy format but simply one that presents all the necessary information in a clear and logical way. It shouldn’t use business-speak or technical jargon in an attempt to distract you from any gaps in experience or skills. 2. Is it concise yet compelling? A resume shouldn’t tell a candidate’s whole life story or use flowery language. It should be straight to the point and offer the most pertinent information. Focus on candidates that use hard numbers rather than irrelevant fluff. For example, knowing that a candidate increased a company’s website hits from 100 to 100,000 is an impressive statistic. You should feel you want to call the candidate in to discuss more details. Unless a candidate is looking for a position high up on the corporate chain, a one-page resume is sufficient. Many candidates today will get help from a CV company with professional writers to make sure their applications are concise and yet present all their key skills and relevant experience in a compelling way. 3. Does it show progressive career growth? You should see growth in the candidate’s career progression. If you see stagnation orregression, this is a red flag. If you want a candidate that will learn and grow with the company, it helps to know that they have done this in the past. The resume should show upward progression as a candidate masters new skills. They may have even moved to another company to avoid stagnating in a specific role. If candidates appear to rise meteorically in their responsibilities, it could be fiction rather than the truth. The advancement should follow a realistic timeline. “Our hiring managers now have a reliable system that is easy to navigate. Our HR team can actively monitor the process, and assist if needed, but Onboard has helped them save so much valuable time and effort while increasing data accuracy. All of this has helped us improve compliance and gives us a powerful tool to achieve even more results in the future.” Kaylee Collins HR Analyst of Osmose Utilities Services, Inc Learn More 4. Are there any gaps in employment ? Before the pandemic, gaps in employment were a quick way to assess job seekers and eliminate unsuitable candidates. Today gaps in employment for the years 2020 and 2021 may be the norm, depending on the industry. You need to consider whether candidates have used any gaps in employment in a productive way.Candidates should always offer explanations upfront for any gaps in employment. Repeated gaps in employment outside of the pandemic years could signal underperformance. It could indicate candidates are trapped in a negative cycle they could repeat. 5. Is the resume tailored to your job posting? If the specifics listed on the resume relate to your company and the job you advertised, this is a good sign. It means the candidate has not just copied and pasted information but has tailored the resume to suit the job posting. You can quickly eliminate generic resumes sent out to all positions within a specific geographical area. Focus on those that show what specific benefits a candidate could offer to your business. 6. What kind of online presence does the candidate have? The online presence of a candidate can be very revealing. A LinkedIn account can help you to understand the value a candidate could add to your business. Candidates who provide links to social accounts like LinkedIn on their resumes can show that they have contacts in the industry and have written posts relating to it. Other links they could include are Quora profiles, GitHub contributions, Twitter handles orwhatever else they choose to list. A candidate’s online presence can also reveal more about their personality and their values. This could help you to find out more about them as a person and see whether they would be a good fit for your company culture. 7. Could the candidate be exaggerating? Many candidates lie about their skills and extend the time they spent in certain positions. When you read through resumes, you have to be alert for possible exaggerations. Being confident about their skills is one thing but being over-confident is another. If a candidate lists all the skills you require on your job posting, even when they don’t fit with their work history, you can be quite sure they are exaggerating. Any inconsistencies in the resume can be a sign of exaggeration. 8. Is there too much personal information? If a candidate includes too much personal information in a resume, it could be an attempt to make up for lack of experience. Any personal information included in the resume must apply to the role or provide character insights. If information becomes too personal or revealing with no relevance to the role, it’s best to move on.It may be very interesting that a candidate is trying to learn how to code in their spare time. On the other hand, knowing a candidate for a company bookkeeper position collects dolls as a hobby is too much information. The fact that a candidate is happily married with three children isn’t relevant to their ability to fulfill a certain role. A summer job caring for animals at an animal shelter is only relevant if a veterinary student is applying to a veterinary clinic. 9. Does the candidate have any company recognitions? Any awards or recognitions candidates earned can help them to stand out. They can often demonstrate soft skills, such as teamwork and problem-solving abilities. The awards should be relevant to mean anything. Candidates should include the official title of the reward, the date and the level of recognition. They should also include what accomplishments the award recognizes. Consistent best performer or employee of the month awards indicate a strong work ethic. Community and civic awards show a candidate’s commitment to making a positive impact. 10. Are references included or not? It used to be common practice to list at least two references on a resume. In the digital age, this is no longer necessary. Candidates can proactively collect references in case you request them. It is currently regarded as more important for candidates to keep contact referee contact details private until you request them. This is because so many candidates apply for jobs, and contact details may not be kept as secure as they should be. When candidates have reached the final stages of selection, this is when you can request contact details. At this stage, you can ask candidates for three to four referees to attest to their professional experience and skills. It’s standard practice now for candidates to create a separate referee list and submit it via email. Conclusion Hiring the right employee is crucial as it can be costly to make a mistake. Ultimately, a resume helps you to find out whether a candidate can do the job. Take the time to look for key indicators of professionalism in the applications you receive. It’s not enough just to check off a list of the skills and experience you require. Applying the above tips will help you to effectively eliminate poor candidates and hire top talent you are able to retain for the long term. About the Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly softwareincreases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk

Remote work is the new norm in the post-COVID world. While only 17% of U.S. employees worked remotely before 2020, their number had reached 44% during the pandemic. The year 2022 is outside, and the team of those willing to work remotely keeps growing.For companies and their HR departments, this state of things brings new challenges: Engaging employees in business processes and encouraging their proactivity for higher revenue growth become even more difficult. Given that only 36% of employees are engaged in the workplace, and 85% are most motivated when internal communications are effective, it's easy to understand how challenging it is to achieve at least the same results with remote talents. How to know your remote employees aren't proactive? What practices to consider for managing and encouraging the remote workforce? Which communication strategies could help you keep them motivated and productive? This post is here to provide you with the answers. How to Know Remote Employees Aren't Engaged Let's face it, remote workers' true intentions and moods are not that obvious for HR specialists to notice. It's more a prerogative of direct managers collaborating with remotees daily. And while you can offer some standard methods to monitor employee activities and productivity (time trackers, video calls, different communication solutions, etc.), you can't see their motivations. How do you know if they are on the same page with the company's goals and plans? Do they follow time management basics to make the most out of their working hours? (This tiny detail can be more critical than some managers believe, given that employee disengagement costs businesses between $450-$550 billion each year.) Is their communication with managers and team members effective enough for them to feel motivated to do a job the best they can? As an HR specialist, you can't track such a state of things alone. Even if you ask a remote employee directly, they'll hardly tell you: Some will ignore your tests or surveys, others will prefer neutral answers to avoid conflicts, and those honest and proactive will appear outnumbered. Here goes a solution: Cooperate with remote teams' direct managers and teach them how to notice a proactivity lack in employees. Tell them about different employee types and ask them to pay attention to the following signals: Remote team members look helpless. The signs are phrases like, "We can't do anything with that," "That strategy will never work," and so on. Employees demonstrate a victim mindset. They start playing a blame game, seeing others guilty for their failures. It's the "Everyone is stupid, not me" mindset and the phrases to pay attention to are something like, "Why do we have to deal with their mistakes?" or "They didn't tell about the updates, so what could I do?" The communication gets worse. Employees keep quiet about their problems, so a manager doesn't know anything and can't help. Or, every team member works alone and doesn't know (or doesn't even ask) what other colleagues do; they complete tasks but don't get interested in the bigger picture.Provide remote team managers with the instruments to measure remote engagement — and monitor and analyze their feedback. Once you see warning results, here's what you can advise managers to change the situation. To learn even more about managing remote teams and keeping employees working at home highly engaged, download our ebook now. Download now Five Steps to Remote Employees' Engagement and Proactivity: 1. Clear goals and expectations given via the proper communication channels As an HR specialist, you know the goals behind employee engagement, and this knowledge helps you work better, agree? The same is true for remote employees' motivation and proactivity: They'll be more efficient when understanding what and why they do. For managers, it's not enough to set tasks and wait for results. Explain they need to provide employees with the purpose of those tasks and their role in the overall business process. Encourage managers to clarify the company goals to employees. It will help them see why they work here, what the company expects, and how their activities correlate with business goals. Also, it's critical to communicate those goals and expectations via the proper channels. When your remote workforce is dispersed or multi-generational, it'll hardly be comfortable for all of them to use only one communication channel for interaction with managers. Some prefer getting the info from company emails, while others wait for team chats or voice calls, and that's OK. A good practice is to duplicate the general messages in different collaboration channels to ensure all employees will see them. More specific information related to a particular team or talent is better to communicate via the channel this team or person prefers. 2. A growth mindset built via self-development sessions Remote work provides tons of benefits yet requires tons of self-discipline, energy, and motivation. Employees may feel disconnected, be stressed, or experience a low work-life balance, which hurts proactivity and performance. For a company, it's critical to monitor such things by analyzing employee feedback: Encourage managers to focus on their mentees' personal improvement and performance goals. The way they communicate with teams impacts morale and motivation heavily. Make it part of your company culture to give remote employees a say during team communication sessions. With a focus on their potential, not just their performance, a manager may reveal new opportunities for the company and remote workforce's win-win collaboration. This approach allows building a growth mindset, flourishing the idea that everyone always has room to stretch for more, regardless of their current position. It helps employees overcome the challenges they face at work, and it drives them into action. As an HR specialist, you can also initiate self-development sessions for remote employees, where experts in the field would share tips on problem-solving and decision-making skills. 3. Regular and effective communication Here comes the catch: Regular doesn't equal effective: Overwhelmed with dozens of messages they get every day via different communication channels, remote employees get stressed, lost, and unintentionally ignore critical messages from managers and you. It often happens that not all employees need to receive this or that information. For the team to stay proactive, managers need to ensure they focus on the essential info only. So, let's go back to point #1 for a second: You need to determine the channels they prefer and communicate only the essential information via those channels. Essential goes for what those particular employees need to know, what can influence their work and performance, and what they can't miss for the overall project's success. It’s helpful to segment employees and personalize messages accordingly so they wouldn't get lost in the flood of information or spend time guessing what requires their attention. Tag employees only if your message relates to them. For example, a communication algorithm could be as follows: A manager calls an employee by phone weekly to discuss tasks and ask for feedback. Team video calls could come in handy for every team member to take a word so others understand what's going on and what's in plans to do next. Messaging platforms are perfect for group chats, including small talks for better engagement. And, a manager may also consider one-on-one messaging with employees to discuss individual goals and accomplishments. 4. Remote employees' interaction with non-remote talents As we know, workers tend to be more productive when they feel like they belong to the rest of the team. When not all of them are in the same place, personal connections suffer, and there's no feeling of camaraderie that would motivate and encourage proactivity. Why not connect your remote and in-office talents via virtual communication? Informal conversations also matter for proactivity, so initiate so-called "off-topic" chats where employees could get together and share news, interests, insights, links, memes, and anything like that. Consider communication software, such as a virtual data room, that allows sharing content and commenting on it for better collaboration. 5. Time flexibility and accomplishment recognition According to the statistics, 85% of businesses increase their productivity thanks to flexibility, and 90% of employees admit that flexible schedules boost their morale and work performance. When dealing with remote employees, a work-from-everywhere business model supporting flexible work hours seems the only right one. Some talents may be from different time zones or prefer the lifestyle of digital nomads. So, it would help to organize communication to the schedules of all employees: Encourage them to calendar the time when they are online and available. Periodically check in to ensure the schedule works and aligns with any possible challenges like client needs or time zone differences. Say no to micromanaging seat time: Manage accomplishments, not activity. For motivation and proactivity to flourish, it's vital to encourage achievements through recognizing accomplishments rather than hours spent at the computer. The business thrives when employees meet collective and personal performance goals, and your task is to organize everything for remote employees to have such a mindset and feel recognized, valued, and connected to the rest of the company. Make announcements about achievements and recognition part of your managerial approach. Share kudos via your company's HR platform or create a dedicated channel in your internal chat platform, where managers could share their employees' performance and celebrate milestones. In a Word Managing and motivating remote teams reminds the same basic approach as a traditional office environment yet requires some upgrades to keep up with the challenges of remote business communication. Do your best to learn which collaboration channels work best, provide your employees with the required tools, and help managers build communication so that talents feel recognized and trusted. It's your weapon to prevent demotivation and productivity lack among your remote workforce. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now About Author: This article is written by Lesley Vos, a career specialist for college students from Chicago. Lesley is also a seasoned web writer and blogger behind Bid4Papers, the platform helping students and authors with writing solutions.

People come, and they go—even at work! Some employees experience involuntary turnover, while some resign after a few years. But it would do companies well if those they hired stayed for the long term. Why? Because it costs an organization six to nine months of an employee’s salary to replace them. To illustrate: it will cost you $30,000 to $45,000 to hire and train a replacement for a $60,000 salary employee. Simply put, businesses can't afford not to care about the happiness of their employees. That’s why job satisfaction is the name of the game nowadays! This is true now more than ever as top talents are becoming more and more difficult to find. Wondering how to improve employee happiness to keep a high retention rate? You must first understand the five factors that significantly affect it. Then, if you find any gaps in your processes, it would be better to improve them now than regret inaction later. Below we've also listed actionable strategies to address the factors influencing retention. 1. Onboarding and Training You’ve to realize early on that retaining both your non-exempt and exempt employees starts with recruiting. So, have you reviewed or upgraded your recruitment processes recently? The way you recruit, onboard, and train employees have an impact on employee turnover. Failing to address retention at this stage might result in losing the best employees immediately. Do your employees leave within the first six months? Are they taking on lateral responsibilities at other businesses? If you are having problems with onboarding new hires, then you have short-term retention problems that you need to address ASAP. What You Can Do: Most onboarding concerns come from inaccurate job depictions during the interview stage. Employees are less likely to stick around if you aren't clear! To address this, be honest. Give them the obligations that come with the role they are applying for. Make sure that all candidates are clear on expectations from the start. This will increase the likelihood that they will stay with your organization. 2. People and Culture Us humans are social creatures. Above all things, we want to create an emotional connection with the people around us. That's why there's an increasing average number of employees who want to be in workplaces where they feel like they belong. While it may seem counterintuitive, creating a favorable work environment will work wonders for you and your employees! An enhanced company culture will reduce time spent worrying about productivity, employee engagement, motivation, and retention. What You Can Do: Part of human resource’s responsibilities is to carefully examine the company's values and consider how you can convey them to your staff in a tangible way. If your organization emphasizes creativity and flexibility, engage with your team members to create flexible working arrangements that meet the demands of both the individual and the company. Here are some ways to go about this: If you value transparency, make it easy for employees to access relevant documentation and approach dispute resolution with empathy and honesty If respect is a corporate value, offer diversity and inclusion training programs to tackle unconscious biases You can also demonstrate that you care by acting on employee feedback 3. Recognition No one appreciates feeling unappreciated. Employee turnover can be influenced by a lack of recognition, which can reflect a poor management style. It will inevitably lead to employees seeking the attention they deserve elsewhere. Indeed, a lack of acknowledgment does not cost you your best employees immediately. However, failing to address it will result in low morale and decreased productivity. What You Can Do: Find ways for employees to feel heard and recognized. Everyone loves receiving feedback—whether they are positive or negative. Employee retention is influenced by leadership's active listening and recognition of successes. In practice, this will look something like: implementing a reward system to recognize small and big wins providing yearly performance evaluations training management personnel to provide positive reinforcement and leadership techniques recognizing the importance of one-on-one sessions between employees and their supervisors regularly making sure that they are paid on a salary that is equal to the role they perform 4. Work-Life Balance Nowadays, employees don’t want to be restricted from doing the things they love. They want to have time with their families, hobbies, and other activities outside of work. More and more employees want flexible work schedules that allow them to care for their professional and personal lives. So, make sure that there is no room for employee burnout in your workplace. Burnout happens when individuals feel out of control or under a lot of daily stress. Not only will this decrease their productivity, but it will also affect their mental and physical health. Every now and then, ask yourself the following questions: Do you regularly demand or expect employees to work after hours or on weekends? Is a 50-hour workweek really “normal”? Do you offer employees the tools, resources, and technologies they need to succeed? What You Can Do: Remote jobs are all the rage nowadays! Let your employees have time for themselves and their families. Rather than the traditional 9-to-5 model, consider offering remote working options. You can also start implementing flexible working arrangements. This will allow employees the flexibility to manage their working hours. Plus, they can work from home if they need to! You can also encourage employees to set limits and use vacation time. But, if late nights can’t be avoided, consider compensating them with more time off. 5. Relevant Benefits Employees feel like a company cares about them when they receive competitive benefits. In fact, 44% of professionals care about robust workplace benefits! These include healthcare coverage, parental leave, and paid time off. Offering benefits that grow in value over time or get better with tenure will help prevent employees from leaving for greener pastures. That way, they don't have to start from scratch elsewhere. What You Can Do: Now’s the best time to review and assess the current benefits you offer to your employees. If you currently don’t have benefits designed to improve over time, some examples are: Bonus structures that increase with tenure Granting more paid time off for employees with greater lengths of service Administrative support Stock options with vesting periods 401(k) matching contributions with vesting periods For newer employees, you can look into enhancing your current health benefits. Alternatively, you can even offer unique benefits such as continuing education, discounts on products or services, laundry services, and free food. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitive advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now 6. Career Development Your employees may sense a lack of growth opportunities within the company. Nobody enjoys completing the same monotonous tasks every day, especially when the scope of the work isn't expanding. Employees feel insecure about their jobs when there is little room for advancement. This is when they begin seeking other opportunities. Does your company have an employee retention program yet? If not, your employees are likely to look elsewhere. They’ll search for companies that recognize their contributions more quickly and offer prospects for growth. What You Can Do: It is your responsibility to lay down a clear-cut career path for your employees. For their continuous growth, you can provide top performers with training programs, seminars and conferences, or in-company apprenticeships or mentoring. Alternatively, you can also connect them to online courses. Investing in your people shows that you care about their professional development and potential for advancement to more senior roles within the organization. This creates a good cycle of belonging, motivation, productivity, and retention. Happy Employees Stay Longer People leave when they are unhappy with their current situation. While it's ideal, you won't be able to keep your employees forever. Some of them will walk out that door sooner or later, and while this is the harsh reality, you should never avoid it. What you can do instead is to see what affects your employee retention. Regularly review, reassess, and reinvent your employee retention strategy. Ensure that you meet your employees' needs. Remember, retention will come easy if you boost employee happiness in every process you implement throughout the workplace. For more insightful information and actionable tips on employee engagement strategies, recruiting, and a host of other HR functions, read more on our LIKE.TG blog. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up About Author: This article is written by our marketing team atLIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Over the years, employee engagement trends have come and gone. The generational shifts that occur every ten years or so ensure that each new wave of workers in the global labor force develops different needs and expectations from those before them. Employee engagement is often confused with job satisfaction. Most definitely, it's not the same. It's about employees finding contentment in the work they do. Employee engagement pertains more to the emotional state and level of happiness that an employee experiences in the workplace. Doug Conant rightly pointed out, "To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” Organizations must pay attention to employee engagement to have successful business outcomes. A highly engaged workforce can uplift company profits by 21%, indicative of a productive, enthusiastic team of individuals whose needs are being respectfully heard, seen, and met. In 2023, employee engagement is more critical than ever. The awareness around it has increased to such a point that employees are more likely to leave a job if it does not meet their personal mental and emotional needs. Successful managers and employers must regularly adapt their employee engagement strategies to keep up with the constantly evolving needs of working adults. With Millennials (age range 24—40) currently making up the vast majority of the global workforce, the qualities and traits defined by their generation are what managers need to focus on accommodating. In doing so, they’ll see a high level of engagement and productivity. Employee managers may even want to start preparing strategies that accommodate Gen Z (the generation which comes after Millennials). This generation will soon lay claim to a large portion of the global workforce too. While strategies are abundant, it's essential to ensure you achieve them. One of the most helpful processes that have been the backbone of success for tech giants like Google, Intel, Twitter, etc., is the OKR process. Identifying a good OKR software to implement your strategy aligned with employee engagement and development will help you achieve your employee engagement strategy. The following guide highlights employee engagement strategies moving from 2023 into 2024 and beyond. Mindful of shifting global economies, hybrid work culture, and employee priorities, these strategies are designed to meet the employee's personal and professional needs. Upskill Your Employees Upskilling is one of the most effective ways to ignite employee engagement. Today's employees seek opportunities for growth and skill development more than anything. And for good reason—we are facing some of our decade's most significant and disruptive years. To Millennials and Gen Z workers, the space to grow, evolve and learn is a top priority. In addition to upskilling being a preference of modern employees, it is also something that can significantly boost employee loyalty, increasing your business’s bottom line. Upskilling can be a solution to work scarcity for employees and employers alike. Providing your employees the option to continuously grow within the company and expand their skill set simultaneously is a win-win for everyone involved. If an employee is provided with the tools and resources to hone new skill sets and continuously improve their value as a team member, the experience is wholly positive. They’ll feel like their needs as an individual are being recognized. They are also assured that the company cares about their future. Recognize and Reward High Performers If you want your employees to consistently perform well, you need to incentivize them. Some people can incentivize themselves via sheer willpower or discipline. But those personality types are few and far between. Most people need a little push—or the prospect of reward to get them going. Setting up a rewards and recognition program is an employee engagement strategy that has been utilized for decades. Yet, it will probably never stop being effective. There’s no shame in admitting that a little reward incentive can stretch a long way. After all, it makes sense—why should employees push themselves to their performance limit if nobody will notice or express gratitude for it? People need positive affirmation and appreciation for their efforts. Two attributes that are evident in the culture of Gen Z in particular. You can facilitate this by setting up a Peer-by-Peer Recognition program or an Employee Service Awards program. Or by putting your managerial hires through an Employee Recognition training program. HR plays a vital role in establishing the culture of the organization by designing a performance management system that values outcome, teamwork, and collaboration. OKRs are a great tool to implement a sound process in any organization. Some helpful OKR example templates can be used as a reference to design the HR departmental OKRs. Promote Inclusion and Diversity In the past, workplace diversity, inclusion and equality were far from being a priority. But for Millennials and Gen Z employees, these things are often integral to their sense of contentment and happiness within the workplace. Your employees want to know that the company they work for is conscientious about including people of all races, genders, religions and sexualities. And that minority groups are not only present but well-protected regarding workplace discrimination. Gender inequality is also a significant cause for concern within places of work. Both women and men are becoming more aware of the prejudices and double standards women are often subject to within the workplace. To ensure an optimal level of employee engagement with your team of workers, you will need to show a genuine desire to create a diverse and equal working environment. Facilitate Mental and Emotional Health Resources As many as 60% of companies offer some form of wellness program for their employees. But only 14% have identified and amplified the culture of health in all its various forms. Poor mental health is becoming a societal norm, costing the US up to 70 million working days yearly. Anxiety, depression, and burnout are amongst the most common, which means that a large percentage of your employees are bound to experience these issues in varying degrees. Employees are now seeking more than just a run-of-the-mill physical wellness program. They want to see that your company understands balancing a busy schedule's mental and emotional pressures. And that you intend to support them in that area too. You can facilitate and support your employee's mental and emotional needs by ensuring they have access to an approachable and trustworthy Human Resources manager. Additionally, you can offer mental health days and accommodate employees who struggle with mental illnesses. Final Thoughts It’s easy to see why a business focusing on employee engagement is on the road to success. Employee engagement surveys help conclude if employee engagement strategies are effective. The workforce is a precious asset; if employees feel valued, they’ll add value. David Zinger points out, “Engagement is all about the work and the benefits for both the individual and the organization.”—An engaged employee equals success. About the Author: Sasi Dharan, Marketing Manager, Profit.co, In his current role, he leads the Digital Marketing Team. He has a decade of experience in Project management, Operation Excellence Consulting, and Digital Marketing. He is passionate about creating new approaches to brand awareness, and demand generation. He is passionate about learning new technologies, and strategies in marketing and deploying them in his organization. He is also an avid traveler and a biker who has traveled almost 7000miles in a year. Linkedin : linkedin.com/in/sasiceo Twitter : https://twitter.com/SasiDha56015764

The employee onboarding process is your company’s opportunity to introduce your new workers to your business and to give them the tools and resources they need to help ensure they smoothly transition to their new roles. By carefully planning onboarding steps, you can provide new employees with the relationships, tools, and information they need to be comfortable and confident at their new place of work. When you onboard new hires, you will need to provide your new workers with all kinds of information during the process, such as the daily tasks they will need to complete, a list of different departments and people who they need to contact in certain situations, and company policies, to name just a few. It could be helpful to use onboarding software and an onboarding checklist to plan the onboarding process better. The checklist should contain things like the start date of each new hire and the information you need to provide them with, such as login codes and the departmental hierarchy of your company. However, it can be challenging for new employees to remember all the important information they are given during the onboarding process, seeing as everything will be new to them and they are likely to feel anxious and excited. So, seeing as you not only need to provide new workers with all the important information they require but also make sure they remember that information, you will want to check out the following advice. Send a Welcome Email to Make Employees Feel Part of the Team and Provide Them with All the Info They Need By sending a welcome email to new workers, you will help employees feel part of the team. But a welcome email is also an excellent way of providing your new workers with all the information, tools, and resources they require. Additionally, consider adding a professionalemail signature. This is a great opportunity to showcase your brand and provide contact information for further inquiries. You should go over the important information contained in the welcome email in person as well, but if an employee forgets something, they will be able to easily look it up if it is contained in the welcome message. Make sure that all important information in the email is very clear. Also, provide the contact number or email address of the person that new workers should get in touch with should they have questions or require information they cannot find. To Maximize the Employee Onboarding Process, Provide Information at a Welcome Meeting You will want to invite all new employees to a welcome meeting where they can get to know the team they will be working alongside. By doing that, you can help them to make immediate connections, get answers to any questions they have, and create better employee engagement. The transition to their new positions will then be much smoother. First days will always be nerve-racking, so a welcome meeting is your chance to put new employees at ease. It is also your opportunity to provide them with important information. By talking to new team members in person about the important stuff, they are much more likely to remember the info and you will create a better employee experience. Furthermore, even though the information will also be included in the welcome email, it is best to provide new starters with print-outs of information and resources. By doing so, you make it easy for them to flick through the pages over coffee breaks or on the train on the way home. By simply having the information in a physical form, your new starters are more likely to keep looking through it. Also, use design methods like using the right fonts, including color and images to make the content more interesting, and using whitespace and bullet points so that every piece of information is clear. That way, your new starters are much more likely to remember the important information you give them. After a week on the job, they should know such information inside out. And by providing clear information from the start, you can better ensure employee retention. Create a Poster Featuring Key Information Following on from the last point, it is a very good idea to create a poster that features all the key information. You can place posters on the walls of the meeting room and in other areas, such as individual employees’ workstations. You can also produce smaller versions of the posters to give out to employees directly. When you have all the key information in one single place, new employees are sure to remember the content. And the more you use the right design techniques to make your poster attractive and engaging, the more you can ensure the content will be remembered. Thankfully, you do not need to be a qualified designer to create eye-catching posters. Instead, you can use online professional templates to create a poster design that will help your employees to remember all the crucial information you need them to know. Show Your New Employees Around the Workplace Some of the important info your employees need to remember will pertain to the workplace and the work environment. For instance, new employees will need to remember things like where human resources and other departments are located, where fire exits are located, and who different people within the organization are. To help them remember such things on a day to day basis, show your new employees around the workplace. Indeed, that should be an integral part of any onboarding session. Not only does it give the new starters a better way of remembering some important information. It also creates a sense of belonging and enables them to become accustomed to their new environment. They can then be confident and ready in their new roles. Introduce New Employees to Coworkers and Supervisors During the welcome meeting on an employee’s first day, new employees should meet members of staff and senior managers that they will be directly in contact with in their new roles, and they can meet other members of staff during the walk around the workplace. But it is also important that your new hires meet members of staff who they will be working with during the training period, such as coaches and section supervisors. Then, the new hire feel can be less daunting. When new workers have the opportunity to speak informally with the people they will be directly working with in the first few weeks, they can get to know the company culture and learn about important information in a less formal way. In turn, the information they need to know will be easier to remember. They will also have contacts who they can ask any questions. Check in on New Employees During Their First Weeks It will take time for new employees to learn everything they need to remember and to become accustomed to working in a new environment with new people. Therefore, do not limit the onboarding process to just the first day or week. You should check in on new hires during the first few weeks to make sure they have everything they need and to answer any questions they may have. The longer the onboarding process lasts and the more time and attention new employees receive, the easier it will be for them to remember important information and feel comfortable in their new roles. So, do not leave employees to their own devices once they have started. It will typically take at least a month for new workers to get to grips with everything and find their comfort zones, so pay attention to your new employees during the initial few weeks. If you do not, it could take as long as 12 months for employees to become familiar with everything! Summing Up As long as you remember to do the right things, from the initial hire process to the first day of onboarding employees, your new workers are more likely to remember the important information they are given during the automated automated onboarding process. So, to recap: Send a welcome email. Provide all important information at a welcome meeting. Create a poster featuring key information. Show your new employees around the workplace. Introduce new employees to coworkers and supervisors. Check in on new employees during the initial weeks. About Author: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

“Feedback” isn’t a term that many employees want to hear from their boss at work. It sparks not-so-happy memories — uncomfortable conversations, unapproachable managers, and focusing on mistakes — not to mention sweaty palms, clenched stomachs, and rapid heartbeats. Many employees fear it rather than welcome it. Sometimes, the same is true among company communication. Knowing how most employees perceive employee feedback, leaders feel uneasy about giving it. However, any business or organization needs to provide employee feedback to make positive changes in the work environment and business as a whole. So, what kind of employee feedback should you use? In this post, we’ll look at some examples of employee feedback and how you can use them to build a culture of welcome feedback and positive listening. But first… What Is Employee Feedback? Employee feedback is communicating or giving information, whether formally or informally, to employees about their skills, behavior, and performance over a certain period. It clarifies expectations and gives employees an overview of how they are doing and how to improve. Feedback is either reinforcing (positive employee feedback) or redirecting (constructive). It’s reinforcing when you want the person to continue with a certain positive behavior. You acknowledge the efforts, appreciate the performance, and encourage employees to keep it up. You reinforce the positive impact of their actions. On the other hand, it’s redirecting when you need to ask someone to stop doing a particular thing and start doing another. It’s a way of addressing issues by pointing out areas for improvement. As a manager or business owner, you can provide feedback in three formats: appreciation, evaluation, and coaching. Appreciation, the easiest type to give, encourages employees and motivates them to do even better. It also helps build psychological safety for employees, enabling them to become more vulnerable, creative, and productive at work. An evaluation assesses an employee against a set of standards. Coaching could be a mix of appreciation and evaluation. When you coach people, you assist them so they can expand their knowledge, enhance their skills, and level up their capabilities. What Is the Importance of Employee Feedback? Employee feedback can be an excellent collaboration tool to create great employee experiences. Employee feedback can boost morale and enhance performances, making employees more engaged. According to the Harvard Business Review, when employees are happy, productivity increases by 31%, accuracy on tasks goes up by 19%, and sales rise by 37%. While you can provide verbal feedback, action or change in the process or system may also serve as feedback to let employees know that you care for them. This creates a strong workplace culture and solid foundation for good employee mental health. This is especially true when you position feedback as learning, and deliver it with respect. To draw an analogy, there’s a company called Mos that teaches young people about banking and budgeting their money. Although teens have been around money, they usually are not as good at handling it. So, it would be wrong to start out by scolding them if they make a mistake with money. Instead, Mos helps set up special bank accounts for teenagers, teaches teens how it works, and shares several best practices to avoid and fix early financial mistakes. Similarly, managers should assume that if an employee makes a mistake, it is usually because of missing knowledge or a misunderstanding. Then review the basics of the correct process in a respectful way, clear up any misunderstandings, and help the employee change their approach so they can try again. Overall, when you have a culture of respectful instead of simply negative feedback, you’ll gain the following: Engaged workers Strong work culture Increased employee retention. 5 Employee Feedback Examples 1. Appreciation for employee performance If you want to appreciate employees, you can take note of their great qualities, that is, what they are particularly good at or how they have improved. You can also let them know that they are setting a good example among their peers. Similarly, you can recognize the whole group for their effective team collaboration or their support during a challenging time. For example: I want to thank you for the fantastic job you all have been doing as we prepare for our X project. It’s wonderful to see so much progress as you work as a team. I want you to know that I’ve seen such a remarkable change in your performance since the last time I checked on you. I appreciate how committed you are to your growth and to helping this company grow. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More Thank you for leading your team well. It has been a challenging time for all of us, with the rebranding and changes in the leadership team. I want to thank you for doing your best to stay on top of all of your work while accommodating extra requests. I’m proud of the way you handled the situation. You did a good job! X is one of your greatest strengths. I’m always confident in giving you this kind of work because I know I can count on you. Keep up the good work! I love the “getting to know you” activities that you planned for the group last time. They were really engaging, and you certainly thought about everyone’s preferences in the arrangements you made. 2. Guidance to help employees find a better approach Guidance, or redirecting feedback, can be done in a coaching manner. You can use this style of feedback to help an employee make changes in their work if you see them struggling. Do you have a moment to catch up? I’d like to give feedback regarding how project X is going. Congratulations on finishing that task! It went well, but it can still be improved. What do you think we can do to make it better? Is now a good time for us to debrief on X? I’d like to talk about how you reacted to X at our meeting. I understand you feel strongly about the new system, but it’s essential for our growth as a team. We should collaborate as a team and help one another. Could you share some ideas on what we could do to avoid this happening again? 3. Highlighting things that need improvement As a manager, you want a certain situation or someone’s performance to improve. Giving feedback on things that need improvement, such as communication, skill, or quality of work, certainly helps. Always be clear on your expectations for the employee roles and responsibilities. I appreciate your commitment to the X project, but it might be good to check in with your team members to know whether they need help with their tasks or if we should extend their deadlines. Do you have a moment to talk about your team? You’ve been doing a great job about X, but the rest of your team is falling behind. I’d like you to step up your leadership, starting with developing an effective training program to improve the skill level of everyone on your team when it comes to doing X.? Earlier this year, you agreed to outline a process for better internal company communication, but it has been months now with no results. I think this project has overwhelmed you because you don’t have as much project management experience as we thought. So, I would like to partner you with Josh who can coach you through managing a project like this. I found some great courses that might help you with XYZ — I’ll send you the details. Would you take a look and let me know if you’d be interested in any of them? I think this would be helpful and keep you meeting company expectations. This is not easy for me to say, but I think it would help if you work on XYZ. Polishing this skill could take you to the next level of your career. This is a difficult topic, but I’ve noticed that you’ve been losing focus on your work lately. I know you can do excellent work, so this tells me something isn’t right. Is there anything that you need help with? How can I be of assistance to you? 4. Addressing failure to meet goals, priorities, and deadlines I’d like to discuss your priorities. I have noticed that while you’re doing great on project X, Y is lagging. Is there a particular issue you're facing? While I appreciate how hard you work on project X, we need to prioritize project Y this month. Do you need help with it? I’d like to talk to you about our team performance last quarter. We’ve set a goal, but we’ve only reached X%, and the reason is you’ve fallen behind. It’s important for you as well as the team to improve. What support do you need to reach our goal moving forward? I’ve noticed that you didn’t meet your deadlines last week. I understand that it can be challenging to work on multiple tasks, but it’s important that you let me know in advance. That way, I can adjust priorities, shift some of the work, and manage expectations. If I had known about your timing last week, I could have arranged for X to be done another way, and we wouldn’t be in this stressful situation now. “Our hiring managers now have a reliable system that is easy to navigate. Our HR team can actively monitor the process, and assist if needed, but Onboard has helped them save so much valuable time and effort while increasing data accuracy. All of this has helped us improve compliance and gives us a powerful tool to achieve even more results in the future.” Kaylee Collins HR Analyst of Osmose Utilities Services, Inc Learn More 5. Calling out unprofessional attitude or problematic behavior I believe that we’re all free to express our opinion, but it’s important to be careful how we say it. Next time, it would be great to consider having a more collaborative tone and not sounding so angry at your co-workers. Yelling like that is never acceptable in the office. Should we discuss what happened earlier? I understand that you may be frustrated with X, but it’s also important to maintain a safe, professional environment all the time. This is a difficult conversation, but we really need to talk about how your recent behavior impacted the team. Your impatience, the way you take everything personally even when it has nothing to do with you, and the way you stomped out of the room and slammed the door, are very upsetting to the others, who want to work without all that drama. Summing Up A culture of feedback is crucial to creating a positive work experience. It builds trust between the management and the employees. When done properly, effective employee feedback offers many benefits to the business. As a manager or business owner, you’re in the best position to know your employees and see what feedback they need. We have just provided you with a list of employee feedback examples you can use in your performance reviews or one-on-one feedback time with employees. You can adjust the language of these examples to something that feels natural for you and the employees, but the point is to be specific, clear, and direct. The key is to receive feedback and implement it to make your employees better and more satisfied in their jobs. And once they improve, share positive feedback with them to show your appreciation for their extra effort. If you have any other effective feedback examples you would like to share, let us know. We’ll be more than happy to update our list. About Author: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

Social media is a powerful tool in the hands of any boss. You can use it to market your company, promote your products, or bring about some form of change for the better. However, that's only half the job- finding ways to use it to help increase employee engagement has always been tricky. This article dives deeper into 7 possibilities for how you can integrate social media into daily work life and give employees a reason to love their jobs even more! Social Media and Employee Engagement Social media is a great way to keep employees engaged and connected. By using social media platforms, companies can reach their employees no matter where they are. Companies can use social media to connect with their employees on a personal level. This allows employees to feel like they are part of the company and increases the level of engagement. Companies can also use social media to provide information about company policies and events. This helps employees stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the company. Finally, companies can use social media as a way to communicate with their employees about their performance. This helps to improve employee morale and reduce absenteeism. Why Use Social Media? Many businesses use social media marketing to connect with their customers and employees. This helps to build a relationship with the customer and keeps them informed about the company’s activities. Social media can be used to distribute information about company events, new products, and other important information. It’s important to make sure that social media is used positively. Employee engagement through social media is important for companies that want to improve their image and brand awareness. 7 Tips for Engaging Employees on Social Media Social media is an increasingly popular way to engage employees. By using social media, you can improve communication between your company and its employees.And if you want to improve not only communication between your company and its employees but also skills you could take a social media marketing courses. Here are seven tips for engaging employees on social media: Use social media to connect with your employees. Make sure to post regular updates about your company and its progress. This will help to build trust and confidence between you and your employees. Create fun and engaging content for your social media platforms. Instead of just posting corporate news, make sure to post interesting social media videos and stories from within the company as well. This will ensure that your employees feel like they are part of the community that you have created for yourself and them, but if you don’t know exactly how to do it, then speak with a social media consultant. Use social media to keep your employees updated on changes that may affect their work or their job duties. This way, they will always be aware of what is happening in the company and what they need to do to maintain their position or secure a new one. Connect with your employees on a personal level as well. Share pictures of your family, pictures of your favorite activities, or anything else that you think will make them feel connected to you and the company. Give feedback regularly using social media. Encourage employees to post pictures of their accomplishments, updates on their personal or professional lives, or anything that they think others might need to know. You may also ask for their input on certain issues and concerns. Make time for parties and other special events with your employees. This will maintain your team's morale and support you in the long run because it will make them feel valued and appreciated. Allow employees to participate in social media campaigns; this will allow them to share information about themselves as well as have an outlet for expressing any concerns they may have regarding the company's policies or practices. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now How to Create a Social Media Policy One way to improve employee engagement is to have a social media policy. This policy will outline what is and is not allowed on social media accounts and how employees can use social media responsibly. Some tips for creating a social media policy include setting guidelines for what can be posted; making sure all employees are aware of the policy; and training employees on how to use social media responsibly. Employers can also create social media profiles for their companies, which will allow employees to connect with the company directly through social media. Having a social media policy is also an incredibly important step in promoting the company culture. Promote employee success through social media. Creating a social media account is one thing, but it’s another to use it properly. Make sure that employees are aware of how to use each of their accounts and what will be posted on each one so they can create proper content without getting in trouble with the company. Another way to promote employee success is by creating a staff page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. This page should detail what makes the company special and highlight specific accomplishments throughout the year while also sharing information about upcoming events or promotions within the company. To ensure that employees are using these companies' accounts appropriately, have managers or supervisors contact their employees and see if their accounts are being used appropriately. Building Your Company Culture Through Social Media One way to build a strong company culture is through Incrementors social media services affordable at a cheap price. You can use social media to create a sense of community among your employees. You can do this by creating an employee blog or social media page. This will give your employees a place to share their thoughts and ideas. You can also use these pages to communicate with your employees. In addition, you can use social media to promote employee events and contests. This will create a sense of community and loyalty among your employees. By building strong company culture through social media, you will be able to attract and retain the best employees. Conclusion Employee engagement is key to a successful business. By using social media platforms to connect with your employees, you can keep them updated on important company news and events, as well as get feedback on their work. Social media also provides an avenue for employers to monitor employee morale and engage with them on a personal level. By taking the time to consider how social media can be used to engage your employees, you are sure to create a positive environment in which they feel proud of working and motivated to give their best effort. About Author: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

The concept of employee engagement is a hot topic.In fact, it's become so popular that many companies have started implementing employee engagement programs to improve productivity, boost morale, earn employee referrals, and increase overall performance.It seems to be working. A study by Gallup showed that a company with higher employee engagement could boost profitability by 21% and productivity by 17%.But one thing that many people don't realize is that employee engagement isn't just about happy employees — it's also about how much they care about their jobs and how invested they are in their company's success.In this article, we'll define employee engagement and discuss ways your company can harness the power of employee engagement for long-term business success. What is employee engagement? Before you can start harnessing the power of employee engagement, you need to understand what it is. Employee engagement measures how committed an employee is to an organization. The activity of employee engagement can make it easier with the help of an employee handbook in which you can find the do’s and don'ts of an employee. Studies show that high levels of employee engagement are positively correlated with organizational and departmental performance because employees who are engaged tend to be more productive and satisfied in their work environment. So what does this mean for your company? If you want your employees to become more engaged in their jobs, it's essential to understand, measure, and make improvements in areas of employee engagement where you fall short. How do you measure employee engagement? Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as counting the number of employees who show up to work with a smile on their faces. Some of your highest-performing employees may not be smiling at all and take their work very seriously. So you need to get creative and consider the larger picture of what's going on in your company. Here are a few effective ways to measure employee engagement. Ask your employees what they think about the company: You can do this by using anonymous pulse surveys or simply asking them directly. Review employee survey results: Identify areas that are impacting engagement levels and then determine ways that you can address those issues. (i.e., if employees say they're frustrated with their workloads, consider hiring more staff). Check retention and turnover rates: These metrics will give insight into whether there are problems within a specific department. Consistently gather feedback: After a meeting or an event in your company, check in with your team to gather employee feedback or thoughts. Understand your Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): eNPS is a straightforward metric that asks employees to answer the question, "How likely are you to recommend your company to a friend or colleague?" on a scale of 0 to 10. If every employee rates your company highly, then your company must be doing something right. (Image source) 5 ways to harness the power of employee engagement Next, let's explore five practical ways to harness employee engagement, improve employee well-being, and drive long-term business success. 1. Empower your employees to do their best work Employees who feel empowered are likely more engaged and motivated, leading to increased productivity. However, according to The State of High Performing Teams, 20% of managers agree empowering the team is their number one challenge. Empowerment is the ability of an employee to make decisions and control their work by having the right access to the tools, support, and resources they need to succeed. Remember that empowerment is a two-way street. As a manager, it's equally important to seek out opportunities for empowerment yourself — even if it means taking on extra responsibilities or projects outside your job description. Employees will notice this kind of initiative from you — even if it may seem like too much, it sends a message that encourages others around you. As the saying goes, "monkey see, monkey do." 2. Leverage the power of recognition The power of recognition is undeniable: A study by Deloitte found that companies who implemented recognition programs saw a 14% increase in engagement compared with those who didn't. Recognition is a powerful motivator. We're all looking for validation from others, and when someone recognizes our hard work and accomplishments, it can be incredibly motivating. It's also one of the easiest ways to show your employees you care about them and their work. But providing recognition is more than just a quick pat on the back — it's a way to tell your employees that they've done something significant and that their work matters. The most effective recognition is honest, authentic, and tailored to each employee. It can be as simple as saying "thank you" in person or a small gift or bonus. Whatever form it takes, the point is to show your employees that they have a positive impact on the team and the company overall. Employees don't want to feel like a cog in the machine. (Image source) 3. Don't forget about remote workers The key to boosting employee engagement and productivity is happy employees. Many factors influence how happy employees are, and one of them is flexibility at work. In the past couple of years, companies have offered employees more flexible working conditions like remote or hybrid work environments. Considering that relocating for work is one of the main reasons people move, providing flexibility in working locations can remove a lot of stress and reduce costs. Not only that, but it can increase productivity by 43%. (Image source) Remote workers are just as much a part of your team as those who sit in an office with you, and they should feel that way from day one. At times this might be easier said than done. Without face-to-face interaction, you may find it harder to get to know each other and build relationships with people who work remotely. But there are ways you can make engagement less challenging for both parties involved. For example, consider holding regular video conferences so that everyone can interact on an equal footing. Other methods include virtual happy hours, where everyone grabs their beverage of choice from the fridge and hops on a Zoom call for thirty minutes after work. 4. Provide ongoing training and career development 49% of employees would like to develop their skills but are unsure how to find the right opportunities. Providing ongoing training and career development is a great way to improve employee engagement and keep them motivated. More than 90% of employees agree that they'll stick around for longer if a company invests in their careers. Training can take place in-person, online, or a combination of both, and can be on-demand or scheduled as needed by your organization. In addition to providing employees with the skills they need to perform their jobs effectively, ongoing training is essential for keeping them up-to-date on industry trends and best practices. Making sure all your employees have the correct training and tools will allow them to thrive within their assignments. As a manager it's fundamental you find the best sales software for your sales team or the best social media tool and resources for your marketing team. Choose the type of employee training that fits your organization's needs. You can have internal staff provide some sessions or use an external vendor specializing in specific types of training, like leadership programs. (Image source) 5. Offer mentorship opportunities Mentorship programs are a great way to help your employees grow and develop their skills. Mentors can be invaluable in supporting people in building confidence and advancing in their careers. They can also provide helpful insights into how things work at your company and offer tips for success. In fact, research has shown that mentorship programs have positively impacted employee engagement because they help employees feel less isolated and more connected with the organization. Mentors are often more senior than mentees, and they're usually able to share their experiences with their protégés. Having someone willing to guide you through your career can help you feel like you belong at work — and this feeling of belonging is essential for high levels of employee engagement. Something to be mindful of is that mentors can experience burnout too. After all, they’re taking on a lot of responsibilities. There are many educational resources to help with the teaching process. (Image source) Mentorship programs don't have to be formal. Some companies assign experienced employees as informal mentors for newer staff members. However, it's worth considering whether there could be value in creating formal opportunities for your team's professional development if it hasn't been done so already. Wrapping up While developing your employee engagement strategy with an employee app, it can be easy to improve the little things like free coffee or to encourage weekly employee happy hours. But you need to remember that harnessing the power of employee engagement isn't just about fun and games — it's about improving overall company performance through increased productivity and job satisfaction. Of course, all those small things still compound and will help improve your eNPS. But if you want to build a better business, it's time to start thinking about engaging your staff and empowering them with opportunities to do their best work. Employee engagement is a powerful force that can drive your company to long-term business success. Invest in the appropriate employee engagement software to help guide and track employee engagement along the way. About Author:Amal is the Content Marketing Manager at Hopper HQ, a leading social media management tool helping thousands of the world’s biggest brands, agencies and influencers easily plan and manage their social media in no time. The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

It can be tough to onboard new employees, particularly if they’re remote. They can't just pop into the office for a meeting, and you can't always quickly bring them up to speed on all the company's goings-on. But with a little effort, you can make the process smooth for both the employee and your team. Several tools and technologies can help make the onboarding process easier for you and your new employee. For example, video conferencing software like Skype or Zoom can be used for virtual training and tours. And there are many online tools, such as Google Drive, that can be used for collaboration and sharing documents. In addition to taking advantage of these tools, you can make the onboarding process smoother and more efficient with the following guide, designed to help you get started. 1. Have a remote work policy If you're going to be onboarding remote employees regularly, it's important to have a remote work policy in place. This should outline your expectations for how employees will conduct themselves while working remotely and what you expect from them regarding communication and collaboration. Having a clear policy will help make the onboarding process smoother and ensure everyone is on the same page from the start. And it starts in the hiring process: In your application, ask candidates what aspects of remote work appeal to them. Ask them to describe their preferred working style, communication style, and technical skills. If a candidate responds that they do not enjoy the isolation of remote work, you may want to move on. 2. Send equipment and a welcome package beforehand Few things will frustrate both you and your new employee more than having them spend the first few working days ironing out technical difficulties. So, ahead of time, order all necessary hardware they’ll need and have it delivered to their home. Here are some items to consider, depending on the requirements of the position: Laptop or desktop computer Monitor Keyboard and mouse Headset or earphones Webcam Printer/scanner External hard drive or USB drives Phone or VOIP equipment Charging accessories and power strips When it comes to software, if what employees need isn’t cloud-based, ensure it's pre-installed on their device. Include passwords, usernames, and any other security information needed so remote hires can easily get up and running. Suppose you are working on many different online marketing tools. In that case, putting together a list of recommended tools for your new employee may be helpful. Or if you’re working with a project management tool, ensure that their accounts are already set up in advance, and they’ll have access from day one. Additionally, making remote employees feel welcome can help embed them into your organization and feel like they’re part of the team. One idea is to send a welcome package with things like: Welcome letter from the CEO or team leader Company swag such as T-shirts, mugs, notebooks, or pens Employee handbook Snack box with an assortment of treats and snacks to enjoy while working Tech accessories like USB flash drive, ergonomic mouse pads, or laptop stands Gift cards for coffee or online retailers Virtual event pass to an upcoming online workshop or team-building event Desk plant to brighten up their home office space 3. Be prepared with virtual onboarding materials Gather all your onboarding materials and make digital copies as part of your remote onboarding program. You may also want to mail them a physical copy along with their welcome package. Here’s a list of things you’ll want to include: For all employees: Mission, vision, and values Organizational charts Employee directories Communication procedures (how and when to use email, video calls, and chat) Tutorials for commonly used tools Security standards Templates for standard documents (presentations, email invitations, sales follow-up emails, etc.) For marketing: Lead qualification criteria Content style guide Blog and SEO best practices For sales: CRM contact information standards How to order business cards Travel and expense procedures For software developers: How to set up a development environment Codebase Development processes Architecture standards You can help employees track their progress by making videos of everything that they need to learn in modules. Or you can set up a video call so that they’re able to ask questions on anything they don’t understand and managers can easily answer them on the spot. Creating these learning modules might be a bit difficult, but you can contract a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to create learning modules for any job position. 4. Leverage existing technology and tools Use video conferencing or online team meetings to ensure a smooth transition. Companies onboarding remote employees can greatly benefit from leveraging technology and platforms such as Zoom for virtual meetings, Slack for communication, Asana for project management, LIKE.TG for HR software, and Microsoft Teams for collaboration and document sharing. For example, you can use Microsoft Teams to welcome your new team member, outline their responsibilities, and offer support. And some apps, such as Donut, allow employees to chat with a company representative through the internet. Onboarded employees can also receive useful information about company resources, such as knowledge bases, training software portals, and cheat sheets 5. Let new hires know what to expect Working from home can be a brand new experience to most. Ensure everyone understands what's expected of them during the remote onboarding process. What information do they need? Whom will they be meeting with? What tools do they need to be successful? You can avoid confusion and frustration later on by getting everyone on the same page from the start. This is also a good time to set expectations for communication. Will you use email, Slack, video conferencing, or a combination of all three? Let your new employee know how you prefer to communicate and the best way to reach you. 6. Set up a dedicated onboarding space If possible, set up a dedicated space for their remote onboarding process. This gives them a place to go where they can find all the information they need in one spot. It can be as simple as a folder in your company's shared drive or an intranet page with links to all the relevant documents. Having a dedicated space also makes it easy for you to keep track of your new employee's progress. You can quickly see what they've read and what still needs to be covered. As your business grows, it might be a good idea to consider tools to help during this process. LIKE.TG’s employee Onboard platform can help to automate a lot of the repetitive tasks that build up as you get the hang of remote onboarding. Download Our Free New Employee Orientation Checklist! Download Now 7. Use self-onboarding checklists Self-onboarding checklists are an effective tool for streamlining the onboarding process of remote employees, ensuring they complete all necessary steps. These checklists should include tasks like setting up company email accounts, completing required paperwork, reviewing company policies and procedures, and accessing necessary software and tools. Additionally, the checklist can guide new hires through introductory training modules, schedule their first team meetings, and prompt them to set up virtual meet-and-greets with key team members. 8. Introduce them to the team members One of the challenges of remote work is feeling like you're part of the team. So take some time to introduce your new employee to everyone on the team, even if it's just through a quick email or video call. If possible, set up regular virtual coffee chats or happy hours so they can get to know their colleagues in a more informal setting. You can also give them the company’s organization chart so that they do not have a hard time trying to remember who is who. 9. Give them a virtual tour If your company has a physical office, give your new employee a virtual tour so they can see where their team members work and what the space looks like. If you don't have an office, you can still give them a tour of your company's website, intranet, or social media channels. Make them feel like they're part of the team by showing them around and introducing them to everyone they'll be working with, even if it's just virtually. Always make an effort to have your camera on to create a warm face to face feeling when giving the tour. Click Trough an Onboarding Process Click through our interactive demo to see how LIKE.TG makes onboarding easy. Try It Now 10. Assign a buddy One way to help your new employee feel welcome is to assign them a buddy. This should be someone who's been with the company for a while and knows the ropes. They can answer your new employee's questions and help them feel comfortable in their new role. A workplace mentor can provide initial guidance and help eliminate the anxiety many new remote employees experience. Moreover, use video coffee chats and other ice-breaker activities to break the ice. 11. Provide training and resources As part of the onboarding program, provide your new employee with all the training sessions and resources they need to be successful in their role. An onboarding training session should entail a thorough introduction to the company culture, key policies, and job-specific skills, along with interactive elements like QA sessions, practical exercises, and opportunities to meet and engage with team members and key department leads. The goal is to set them up for success by providing everything they need to hit the ground running and make sure you’re both on the same page once their onboarding plan is complete. 12. Encourage communication and feedback Working remotely makes it easy to feel like you're out of sight and out of mind. To avoid this, schedule regular check-ins with your new employee. This gives you a chance to see how they're doing, answer any questions they may have, and give feedback on their progress. You should also be open to getting feedback from your employees. This helps you figure out problems and come up with solutions. Feedback will show you places where your new employees have problems. There are different ways in which you can collect feedback from your new employees. You can use surveys, meetings, or performance tracking software. Check-ins also allow your new employee to bring up any concerns or issues they may be having. By addressing these early on, you can help them feel more comfortable in their role and prevent any potential problems down the road. You can also ask them to turn on their video during conference meetings to make them settle in properly so you become aware of their onboarding experience. Since employees are not able to meet face to face, online meetings and daily communication are essential in team building and creating healthy remote team relationships. 13. Give them room to grow Finally, remember that your new employee is still learning and growing into their role. They may make some mistakes along the way, but that's okay. What's important is that you give them the space to learn and grow.Encourage them to ask questions, try new things, and take risks. This will help them become even more successful in their role and feel like they're truly part of the team. “As soon as we saw LIKE.TG’s Onboard demo, we knew this was the perfect solution for us. We loved that it was extremely simple and powerful out of the box, but that we could customize it with advanced capabilities to make it work in our company setting.” Elisa Garn Vice President, HR and Talent Christopherson Business Travel Learn More About Author: This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Employee engagement is a priority for most companies, but they often don’t know the dos and don’ts that can make their initiatives a success. This post will help you understand how to engage and retain your employees the right way. Did you know that 51% of US employees are disengaged from their work and 13% are actively disengaged? That’s a cause for concern for employers and the reason why so many companies are actively investing in employee engagement programs. But you must learn the dos and don’ts of employee engagement before you invest in such a program, to get the desired results. What are the dos and don’ts of employee engagement? Well, that’s what this post is about. In this post, I’ve listed some of the most important dos and don’ts of employee engagement that you should learn.So, let’s get started. Do These to Improve Employee Engagement Here are some of the dos of employee engagement that you should implement to get the most out of your employee engagement strategies. 1. Build a Culture of Open Communication The basic pillar of employee engagement is open communication. Build a company culture where employees are encouraged to directly walk in and talk to their managers or colleagues without hesitation. Many big companies like Deloitte encourage employees to follow an open-door policy and foster a culture of open communication. This also works the other way around. You should maintain transparency in all your communications with employees and convey important information frequently and accurately. 2. Run a Rewards and Recognition Program One of the biggest dos of employee engagement is having a rewards and recognition program in your company. Appreciate the excellent work done by your employees and reward them for their good performance. Why? Because employee appreciation rewards help build healthy competition among employees and motivates them to perform better. You can also start an employee referral program where employees get rewarded for bringing in new talent. You can research the different types of referral programs that other companies offer and design one that keeps employees highly engaged and motivated. 3. Offer Training for Skill Development One of the most important dos of employee engagement is to provide training and upskilling opportunities to your employees. After all, upskilling is an integral part of career development. According to a Gallup poll, 65% of US workers consider training opportunities when selecting a company to work with. It also found that 45% of employees will switch jobs if they get better upskilling opportunities. If you want to engage and retain your employees or attract the best talent, you need to strengthen your employee training program. You can use online course platforms to offer a wide range of courses to your employees. These should include both technical and soft skills courses. Also, incorporate employee training in performance goals for the year and ask them to spend a certain number of hours on training every year. And if you don’t have the budget to offer free courses to your employees, you could always opt for internal training programs. In these programs, you could make videos related to a particular topic and share them with your employees. They can thus see them whenever they deem it fit. Alternatively, you could have special training sessions with them where you could showcase these videos and follow them up with training. 4. Provide Opportunities for Participation in Social Work A good workplace is one where employees can participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This gives them the opportunity to do more than their daily work and make a difference. This is a great thing for your organization as well as society, making it a win-win situation for everyone involved. 5. Arrange Team-Building Activities and Outings One of the dos of employee engagement involves hosting team-building activities and going for company outings. Set aside a budget for such activities and arrange such events every quarter, if not every month, for engaging employees. Why is it important for employee engagement? It helps employees connect with each other and makes employees feel like a part of a community. This also helps them form a connection with your company and improves the overall employee experience. These things go a long way in building loyalty and improving employee engagement and retention. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now Don’t Do These for Employee Engagement Avoid these don’ts of employee engagement at all costs, to get the most out of your employee engagement program. 1. Ignore Employee Well-Being and Focus Only on the Output Don’t treat employees as mere means to an end. Treat them as the complex human beings that they are and care about their well-being. Focussing solely on the output and pushing employees to their limits will only cause burnout and dissatisfaction. Why is that bad? Other than the humane aspects of it, it’s bad for business because exhausted and demotivated employees don’t perform well. The best work is done when employees are excited about their work and motivated to do well. Another reason why you don’t want your employees to be overworked is that it will lead to stress, frustration, and eventual resignation. 2. Expect Employees to Work After Office Hours Adding to the previous point, one of the don’ts of employee engagement is expecting employees to work after hours. Employees that take their work home are often stressed and this affects their personal lives. And when someone is unhappy in their personal life, they are not likely to do their best work or have a great work life. It’s a vicious cycle. As an employer, you can end this cycle by building a company culture where employees are not expected to work after office hours. Better yet, actively discourage this behavior by educating and instructing your managers and team leaders. 3. Stop Employees from Socializing with Each Other If you’ve ever read a book or article on time management or good workplace practices, you’d know that taking breaks is actually good for employee productivity. And when employees take breaks with their colleagues, it helps them connect better and work more efficiently as a team. So, don’t discourage employees from taking group coffee breaks and socializing with each other. Pro Tip: To avoid people from misusing this flexibility you can use a time-tracking and activity logging tool that will record the time each employee spends on various activities. 4. Ignore the Insights from Employee Engagement Surveys One of the biggest don’ts of employee engagement is ignoring the results of your employee feedback surveys. Such surveys provide great insights into your employee engagement levels and the main causes of dissatisfaction among employees. They help you understand your employees’ pain points and work towards improving your work environment. So, don’t ignore the results of employee surveys and take action to make changes and improvements based on the insights gathered from such surveys. 5. Set Unrealistic Expectations and Goals Another one of the don’ts of employee engagement is setting unrealistic goals for employees that they’re most likely not going to achieve. Why is that bad? It’s bad for two reasons. First, you’re putting unnecessary stress on your employees, which can very easily lead to burnout. Second, you’re setting them up for failure, which reduces motivation and confidence. Ideally, you’d want the exact opposite of this scenario. Confident, stress-free, and motivated employees perform well and give their best to their work. So, when setting performance goals for your employees, use the SMART goals framework. It involves setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Such goals are achievable and when employees achieve their goals, they feel more confident and motivated. You get the gist, right? Improving employee experience doesn'tneed to be difficult - or expensive! Learn how Ready to Implement the Dos and Don’ts of Employee Engagement? Follow these dos and don’ts of employee engagement and you’ll have highly-motivated and high-performing employees. The key is to boost employee morale through team building and CSR activities, reward and recognition programs, and a positive work environment. If your employees are excited to come to work, they’re bound to perform better than they would under stress. While you can’t accurately measure employee engagement, these tips will definitely help you make a visible impact. So, start implementing the dos and avoid the don’ts of employee engagement and boos your employees’ performance and engagement. Good luck! About Author: Gaurav Sharma is the founder and CEO of Attrock, a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years | 10X leads | 2.8X conversions | 300K organic monthly traffic. He also contributes to top publications like HuffPost, Adweek, Business 2 Community, TechCrunch, and more. Other HR Teams Made the Switch From Workplace to Workmates Saved a Bundle They are now saving upwards of 60% and loving it. How much will you save? Save Now hbspt.cta.load(549864, '6caf5014-c177-4c8a-97aa-ec7be4376eec', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); checkPopupCookie("popupcookie-workplace","close-workplace-popup") $('#close-workplace-popup').click(function () { $('.workplace-alternative-popup').fadeOut(); setCookie('popupcookie-workplace', 'close-workplace-popup', "10"); }); $('.homepage-mobile-overlay').click(function (e) { $('.homepage-mobile-overlay').fadeOut(); $('.workplace-alternative-popup').fadeOut(); }); $('.btn.btn--orange-action').click(function (e) { setCookie('popupcookie-workplace', 'close-workplace-popup', "10"); $('.workplace-alternative-popup').fadeOut(); $('.homepage-mobile-overlay').fadeOut(); }); The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

The immensely popular 40-hour work week has its own unique set of pros and cons. For example, such a standardized schedule allows employees to maintain a routine and promotes accountability. However, the downside is that it causes an unhealthy work-life balance, particularly in today's environment where the global pandemic has caused remote work and hybrid work models to become the norm. So, in the interest of boosting employee motivation, engagement, and productivity, employers need to look at unconventional methods for running their businesses. One such method is to implement flexible work arrangements. Read the rest of this article as we discuss the reasons why you should switch from a 40-hour work week to a flexible work schedule for your employees. But first, a quick explanation of the difference between the 40-hour work week and a flexible work arrangement. 40-Hour Work Week Vs Flexible Work Schedule Before beginning our discussion of the benefits of flexible work arrangements, we first have to understand what makes it different from a 40-work week. Once we understand the differences, the benefits become much more apparent. What is the 40-Hour Work Week? Established by Congress in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1940, the 40-hour work week is considered to be the standard amount of time employees are required to work. It's a standardized schedule that comes with many benefits, such as: It Helps Employees Maintain a Routine: Employees working from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday know they've got the weekend off, which allows them to plan their personal time and appointments around that schedule. It Promotes Employee Accountability: When employees know that they have to arrive at work at a certain time each day and get that tasks done by a specific time, they are more accountable. Establishes Great Communication: When all employees in the workplace have a set work schedule, they have access to all other members of staff for easy collaboration and communication. They might use email, Windows messaging, or Slack. However, while the 40-hour work week is a common concept that has been adopted by countless businesses across the globe, it isn't necessarily the best schedule for all employees. Some may find this type of schedule too constricting. They may feel that having a set number of days and hours within which to complete their work limits the amount of time they can spend with their families, running errands, or exploring hobbies. On the other hand, having a flexible work arrangement may be more appealing. In fact, studies show that over a third of company workforce location plans for the last year were focused on a mix of hybrid and fully remote work models. Source What is a Flexible Work Arrangement? Simply put, a flex work arrangement is an alternate schedule from the typical working day and week. Flexible hours allow workers the time they require to do other things during the day that they wouldn’t be able to do working a traditional 9 to 5 schedule. For example, it used to be that when someone went to work at 9, they stayed there until 6, went home, and did it all over again the next day. If they had a doctor’s appointment or a kid’s soccer game in the middle of the day, their only options were to either skip it or take the day off. But with a flexible work schedule, employees have the flexibility to meet personal and family needs and tend to life circumstances without the anxiety and worry that used to accompany such situations. They can finish out the day by working a little later into the evening once they get home. Remote work is one form of flexible arrangement. Other examples of flexible work include: Flex Time: Flex time is an arrangement where workers can put in a full day’s work, but they have the ability to vary working hours according to their individual situations. Reduced Hours/Part-Time: This type of work arrangement allows employees to choose to work fewer than the standard 40-hour work week, whether on a temporary or permanent basis. This is a great option for employees with disabilities or health problems. Compressed Workweek: This work model allows employees to work for longer periods of time each workday in exchange for a day off. Not only are flex schedules the new norm, but they've also been shown to provide a wide range of benefits, particularly to talented, self-motivated employees who find that type of work environment conducive to improved morale and enhanced productivity. Below, we take a look at 5 reasons why you should switch to flexible work arrangements. Reasons for Switching to a Flex Work Arrangement Now that you understand the difference between a 40-hour work week and a flexible work arrangement, let's take a look at some of the reasons you might consider making the switch. 1. Improve Employee Morale Alternative work arrangements can help boost employee morale and overall satisfaction at work. Increased job energy and creativity are additional benefits to granting your employees the ability to work more flexible hours. When employees get to work in a way that best fits their needs, they’ll be able to focus their time productively on work-life balance, increasing their sense of autonomy, happiness, and satisfaction within the company. Ultimately, this will give them the ability to handle stress in a much better way. 2. Boost Overall Productivity Just a few years ago, if anyone had said that people working remotely could be just as productive as those working in office settings, that comment might have been met with tons of mocking derision. However, technology has shattered this myth of workers needing to trek to offices everyday in order to collaborate effectively on projects. Now, this type of alternative work environment has been shown to promote productivity by allowing employers to spend their time more productively ensuring that employees are meeting deadlines, goals, etc. instead of making sure they’re “putting in the time.” Moreover, some employees are more productive early in the morning, whereas others find they can get the most work done efficiently during the late afternoon. Let them determine for themselves what their most productive time is so you can get the most from their work hours. Assaf Cohen, who runs gaming company Solitaire Bliss, believes autonomy is a major part of why remote teams are productive. “We found that when we went remote, we became more deadline and milestone oriented with our game development. Our employees loved the fact that we trusted them to manage their own time, and it resulted in significant productivity gains.” 3. Increase Retention Another benefit to implementing flexible work hours is that it allows you to offer more appeal to talented candidates who will then be likely to remain at the company for an extended period of time. When companies provide flexible work arrangements for employees, it attracts top-tier talent to the workplace. You’re also likely to notice an increase in productivity from current employees who are given the option of flex time. They will strive to boost their productivity after moving to a flexible work schedule in order to prove that they are still valuable to the team and to show gratitude to the employer for offering them a path to a happier work-life-family balance. How Much Can Workmates Save You? Higher engagement More features Half the cost Learn More 4. Eliminate Micromanagement As the global workforce enjoys more flexible work arrangements, managers are beginning to notice a drastic reduction in the need to micromanage workers. More and more people are finding ways to manage a happy balance between their work and personal life without dropping the ball at work. Some managers may feel that remote or flex work limits their ability to oversee employees since some employees working from home may be available later or earlier than others. For example, an in-office assistant may only be able to complete work during regular business hours, but a virtual assistant hired remotely is more able to complete late-night or weekend tasks as needed without having to leave their living room or at-home office. This is true of many other positions as well. A flexible work arrangement allows employees to have more autonomy, which means there's a decreased need for the type of micromanagement typically associated with the 40-hour work week and an increased amount of productivity among workers who can work whenever and wherever is most convenient for their work-life balance With the right plan in place, you'll be able to keep track of employees’ work progress and build professional and communicative relationships with them regardless of their flex schedule. In addition, consider virtual phone systems, email, and communications software like messaging apps for better communication. Ultimately, this will help you create a more conducive culture and focus more time on growing the business instead of micromanaging remote workers. 5. Reduce Absenteeism Yet another benefit of implementing flexible work arrangements is that it allows you to dramatically reduce absenteeism. As previously mentioned, when people work from 9 to 5, they typically have to take the day off in order to be able to take care of personal issues that occur during the workday. For example, if one of their kids has a late afternoon dance recital, their only options are to either skip the recital or take the day off. But, with flexible schedules, people can meet their personal or family obligations, and once their life circumstances have been tended to, they can simply get back to work and possibly put in a few extra hours to ensure that their work tasks are finished on time. This concept of time-off reduces the chances of leaves to be taken by the employees. Does Your Work Style Align With Your Zodiac Sign? Take our workplace Zodiac quiz to find out! ♉♊♌♍♐ Start the Quiz! hbspt.cta.load(549864, '492bccaa-9525-47dc-bc17-031d3b6ddfc8', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Conclusion There are some considerations that should be taken before jumping into flexible work arrangements for remote workers. When working remotely and outside normal business hours, there is often an increased need to ensure that data used by the employees is stored securely and not shared with third-parties. This might means revising employee contracts or privacy policies to ensure that access to company data off-site is down so in a secure way that protects customers and other stakeholders. Nonetheless, once you take the proper precaution, flexible work arrangements offer numerous benefits for your employees who will have the flexibility to better balance personal and family obligations during the work day. This, in turn, will lead to a more satisfied and motivated workforce, less turnover, and a healthier culture within the organization. If you are considering joining the countless companies that are reinventing work with strategic work models, then use the information in this article to make the best choice for your business so you can keep your employees engaged, productive, and loyal to your company. Are you ready to wave bye-bye to the 40-hour work week and embrace a more flexible work arrangement for your employees? Sound off below! About the Author: Ron Stefanski is a website entrepreneur and marketing professor who has a passion for helping people create and market their own online business. You can learn more from him by visiting OneHourProfessor.comYou can also connect with him on YouTube or Linkedin. The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

Employee engagement refers to the connection or relationship that employees have with an organization. Low employee engagement can result in low productivity and lower revenue. It also results in lower employee satisfaction. Employee engagement is crucial for an improved employee experience, a productive workforce, low employee turnover rates, and overall employee well-being. That's why organizations are beginning to pay more attention to employee engagement levels. One way to monitor employee engagement is by tracking several metrics. This article will cover seven employee engagement metrics you should track at your organization. Let’s dive in: 1. Productivity and Workload Balance Productivity and workload balance are some of the most important employee engagement metrics to monitor. There is a strong relationship between employee engagement and productivity. The percentage of employees that can deliver output consistently and efficiently needs to be measured. This can show you how engaged your team members are. You can measure employee productivity in different ways, depending on the type of business and goals. For example, you can measure productivity by the objectives reached or profit. You can also use quantitative measurements, like how many calls or products an employee processes in a week or month. Engaged employees can offer higher levels of productivity than disengaged employees. Apart from productivity, the workload balance is another metric that can show the levels of employee engagement. One of the things that can affect employee satisfaction negatively is overwork. According to a study, 77% of employees have experienced burnout at least once in their current jobs. Team members who are overworked or at risk of being overloaded are likely to have less job satisfaction. The workload data offers insight into work distribution. It should identify overworked employees and those who do minimal work. Also, the work-life balance should be kept in check. There should be a healthy balance between the personal and professional lives of the employees in your organization. When there is a disruption, it could affect employee engagement and retention. 2. Employee Health Index The employee health index is another factor to consider when measuring the employee engagement rate in your organization. The employee health index evaluates fatigue, burnout, and the physical and mental health of the current employees in an organization. The general well-being of individual employees is critical to having an engaged workforce. This is why it is crucial to have frequent check-ins to measure the well-being of your employees. An assessment will point out the gaps between employee well-being and the efforts taken by the organization to support it. For example, investing in virtual assistants may help to reduce the workload of overworked employees. Automation tools can also reduce workload and boost employee health index. Ask work-related and non-work-related questions to ensure each employee receives the support needed to be productive at work. Employee surveys can help identify the percentage of employees facing high stress and anxiety at work. Questions such as “Are you comfortable with the number of tasks assigned per day?” or “How would you rate the workload assigned to your team?” can be helpful here. Check out the top reasons for burnout at the workplace in the image below. What does it mean if more of your employees are reporting these issues? Well, chances are you have a poor employee health index. That could also mean you’re about to have a disengaged workforce. Something needs to be rectified. You should measure how satisfied your employees are with the workload and their general well-being at the workplace. Your organization can formulate an action plan based on employee feedback. You can provide resources such as wellness programs to create a happier workplace. Improving overall employee health and welfare is vital in changing workplace culture. 3. Rewards and Recognition This is another factor for monitoring the employee engagement rate at your organization. You must track if your employees are adequately rewarded. Aso, if they feel acknowledged for their work. Employee recognition results in improved employee engagement. Confirm if there are effective employee recognition programs in place. This is even more critical for employees who have gone the extra mile and have contributed to meeting company goals. Workplace recognition will also help to track productivity and the percentage of engaged employees in your organization. Employees who feel adequately compensated for their efforts will be motivated to put in extra effort in the future. Employees who are frequently recognized for their efforts will also feel valued by the organization. The markers of employee recognition include retention rate, employee loyalty, and motivation. To track this, hand out questionnaires to individual employees. Ask them how satisfied they are with the existing employee recognition system. You can also ask them whether they found the recognition or rewards valuable. You can also ask them if they think they get recognized frequently enough. A positive score will indicate that your employees are happy with the level of workplace recognition. The results may also show how your employees would prefer to be recognized and how often they would like to be recognized. You can improve your rewards and employee recognition programs based on those results. Introduction to Conflict in the Workplace(and How it Erodes Productivity Culture) Download the Ebook Now 4. Employee NPS NPS refers to Net Promoter Score. This metric is widely used across different organizations to track the levels of employee engagement. Employees with a high NPS score are generally considered engaged. NPS is often measured through employee engagement surveys. Employees are asked questions like “On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or company?” You can then categorize the responses into promoters, passives, and detractors. Promoters refer to employees who indicate that they are satisfied with the organization and are very likely to recommend the company. For example, on a scale of 1-10, employees who select 9 or 10 are promoters. Promoters are engaged employees. Passives refer to employees who are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the company. While they are not likely to recommend the company to a friend, they also won’t discredit the company. On a scale of 1-10, scores between 7 and 8 are passives. Here’s a Net Promoter Sample from Contact Monkey: On the other hand, detractors are employees who are unsatisfied or unhappy with the company. Employees who give scores below 6 have poor employee satisfaction. The NPS can be calculated using this formula: Employee Net Promoter Score = (Promoters – Detractors) / Total respondents. An NPS score above 50 is excellent. Tracking the NPS also allows you to follow up and find out why certain employees are unsatisfied. Through feedback, companies can devise methods to increase their employees' satisfaction levels. 5. Performance Review Performance review is another employee engagement metric to track at your organization. Successful organizations are filled with highly engaged employees who perform their jobs well. Tracking performance reviews can give more insight into the level of employee satisfaction. Generally, performance metrics can be divided into four categories: Work quality metrics: This includes results such as NPS, number of errors, and general feedback. Work quantity metrics: This includes results such as the number of units produced. It could also be the number of conversions or sales. Work efficiency metrics: This balances the work quality and quantity metrics to measure efficiency. Progress tracking software, for example, can be used to track work efficiency. Organizational performance metrics: This includes project results, revenue per employee, and the return on investment (ROI) on human capital. Timely performance reviews will benefit both the employees and the organization. When you track how well employees perform, as well as the organizational performance metrics, it can help measure employee engagement. Check out this performance review template from Indeed.com: When employee engagement improves, it is likely to reflect on performance. Bad performance reviews may indicate employee disengagement. 6. Employee Retention Rate Employee retention rate refers to an organization's ability to retain its employees over a period. The retention rate can be used in measuring employee engagement levels. Disengaged employees are more likely to leave the company for a better organization. A good retention rate benefits the company by reducing onboarding and training costs for new hires. In addition, when valuable employees leave an organization, it reflects on the productivity and sustainability of the workplace. A good retention rate means having long-term employees who are familiar with the internal processes and company values and goals. Employee retention rate can be calculated using this formula: Employee retention rate = (Total number of employees – Total number of employees who left) / Total number of employees x 100. Tracking the retention rate helps you know how to work on issues that can lead to employee turnover. The retention rate varies by industry and sector. However, every organization should strive to retain valuable employees for as long as possible. Generally, a retention rate of 90% is excellent for most companies. Listening to employee feedback makes it possible to improve employee engagement and retain engaged employees. Does Your Work Style Align With Your Zodiac Sign? Take our workplace Zodiac quiz to find out! ♉♊♌♍♐ Start the Quiz! hbspt.cta.load(549864, '492bccaa-9525-47dc-bc17-031d3b6ddfc8', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); 7. Employee Engagement Surveys Employee engagement surveys are crucial in tracking the engagement levels of your employees. An engagement survey lets you know what employees feel about the organization. It provides an effective way of gathering employee feedback across every department in the organization. Regular employee engagement surveys provide an easy and comfortable medium for employees to express their thoughts and opinions about the workplace. An engagement survey should cover employee satisfaction, relationship with team members, personal growth, individual needs, and communication. The form below gives an example of an employee engagement survey: Conducting regular surveys means getting regular feedback from employees. The survey results can indicate the level of employee engagement at your organization. Based on the results, you can create an action plan for implementing changes that can improve employee engagement. In Closing Tracking employee engagement is important in every organization. The level of employee engagement at your organization has a huge impact on productivity, retention rate, and much more. Productivity and balanced workforce, employee health index, rewards and recognition, and employee NPS can help you measure employee engagement. Timely performance reviews, employee retention rates, and employee engagement surveys are also effective ways of measuring employee satisfaction. Tracking your engagement score isn’t enough. You should create action plans to improve employee engagement and resolve issues that can lead to disengagement. HR mistakes impact your entire organization. Learn how to avoid the 12 most common mistakes with our free ebook. Download now

Hiring and onboarding people from outside the company is sometimes a gamble. You haven’t worked with them before so how do you know if they’ll be a good fit? Well, have you considered the untapped potential in your internship program? Young talent brings fresh ideas and a new perspective to your company, as well as your products and services. Hiring interns has several additional benefits, such as: A larger workforce A global employee candidate pool Minimal recruitment cost Enhanced brand recognition Effective supervisory skills Transitioning remote interns to full-time employees presents unique challenges and opportunities for organizations looking to nurture and retain top talent. The tips below will guide you through creating a seamless and supportive onboarding process that not only integrates interns into your team but also sets them up for long-term success in your company. The key to a successful onboarding procedure is consistent communication during and after the completion of the internship program. It keeps the candidates invested with the organization and creates a reliable talent pipeline. Having said that, you can deploy the following tactics for smooth recruitment: 1. Structure Your Internship Program for Preskilling Preskilling is a learning and development (LD) program for new candidates. Here, employees are trained for real-work job responsibilities, from planning to implementation. For instance, if you’re recruiting interns for marketing, make them familiar with different marketing styles, recommend Digital Marketing Books to enhance their knowledge, and teach them the use of Salesforce. This allows the interns to understand the working environment and culture of the organization and assists them in setting nearly accurate expectations for the full-time job. As an added benefit, it ensures that interns are ready to join the organization after the program is complete. Some of the things that human resources managers can do to implement the LD program are: Provide one-on-one mentorship Offer networking opportunities Give them "real" assignments (not just "getting coffee") Communicate frequently 2. Allow Your Interns to Explore Multiple Career Options Internship programs provide opportunities for candidates to discover and polish their skills. It enables them to get out of their comfort zone and look for the job responsibilities that best suit their capabilities. However, if you’re recruiting full-time employees for only one kind of work, they may or may not be interested in the job title. Thus, after completing internship tenure, they may not wish to continue. To avoid such circumstances, let your interns explore different career opportunities within your organization. For instance, if you hire a communication student, allow them to choose between content writing, client service, social media marketing, or client pitching. Download Our Free New Employee Orientation Checklist! Download Now 3. Make Them Feel Part of the Organization Gone are the days when an intern's work responsibilities revolved around menial tasks like filing and data entry. Now, leading companies are associated with prime job responsibilities and utilizing their knowledge and skills. This makes the candidate feel valued and connected to the organization. However, assigning them adequate work isn’t enough to encourage them to be part of the company for the long term. Instead, use the following employee engagement strategies: Regular check-ins with the interns and manager Clarify the candidate's doubts Ensure transparent communication Get feedback from the manager and candidate Appreciate the small achievements of the candidates If you’re able, create a questionnaire that allows you to learn about the intern's experience with the company—whether they choose to be full-time employees or not. Doing so will allow you to learn about the organization's pain points and areas of improvement. Plus, HR managers can then make appropriate improvements. 4. Invest in Intern Career Development Understand that an intern’s decision to join your organization is a critical life decision. This choice will define what the future holds for them. So, it’s essential that you make their internship experience enriching and rewarding. Apart from polishing their existing skills, help them grow into other areas. Don’t simply delegate the work and accept results. Instead, talk to them about the company, future goals, and what they want to learn. Come up with a practical training session plan, allowing employees to learn something new while assisting with the ongoing task. You can further plan team sessions to break the ice and lower employees' burdens. Click Trough an Onboarding Process Click through our interactive demo to see how LIKE.TG makes onboarding easy. Try It Now About Author:This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Employee onboarding and orientation are two of the most critical steps in starting a new job. They are essential to helping employees prepare for their new roles and avoid excess stress and overwhelm. What differentiates these processes in recruitment? This article will analyze the key differences between employee onboarding and employee orientation. What Is Employee Orientation? Orientation is a one-time event on an employee's first work day that aims to provide new employees with general information about the company, benefits, and job duties. It is also an opportunity for employees to meet their co-workers and learn about the company culture. Although orientation gives employees a broad overview of the company, it does not provide specific information about their job or department. Orientation is typically a shorter process than onboarding and is not as focused on helping employees adjust to their new roles. It helps new employees understand the atmosphere and decide if the organization is a good fit for them. Orientation also allows managers to get to know their new employees and start to build a relationship. It is needed to prevent new employees from feeling overwhelmed or lost on their first day. Starting a new career is exciting, but there is much to learn. Not to mention, there is the fear of the unknown. Employee orientation can help reduce some fears by providing employees with information about the company, their benefits, and their expectations in their new role. Benefits of Employee Orientation Employee orientation offers many benefits to both employers and employees. For employers, orientation is a chance to make an excellent first impression on new hires. It is also an opportunity to provide new employees with the basic information they need to hit the ground running with the company. Orientation can also help reduce turnover by ensuring new employees understand the company culture and the type of experiences to expect from the start. For employees, orientation is a chance to learn about the company and their co-workers and to address any questions they may have about their job. Additionally, employee orientation brings new hires up to speed on what is not acceptable in the workplace, as well as educates them on company policies regarding safety. What Is Employee Onboarding? Employee onboarding is a process that begins when an offer of employment is accepted and continues until an employee gets fully integrated into their new role. Onboarding aims to help new hires adjust to their new environment, learn their job responsibilities, start using the necessary business tools, and become productive team members. Oftentimes onboarding includes orientation because it provides new employees with general information about the company. However, onboarding is a much more comprehensive process consisting of various activities and can last for several weeks or months. Onboarding activities are tailored to the needs of the individual and the specific job they will be doing. For example, a new manager may receive training on the company's project management tools, while a new customer service representative may receive training on the company's policies and procedures. Benefits of Employee Onboarding Employee onboarding offers many benefits to both employers and employees. For employers, onboarding is also a chance to make a good first impression on new hires and give them all the resources they need to succeed in their new positions. A new candidate may have done tons of research to land their dream job with a specific company. However, it doesn't prepare them for what's to come. Onboarding can also help reduce turnover by ensuring new employees are on the right track from the start. It's an essential line of communication for overall success. Onboarding also helps new hires complete all their necessary tests and paperwork so they can start working as soon as possible. By completing these tasks before the first day, new employees can be productive from day one. Employee Onboarding vs. Employee Orientation Employee onboarding and employee orientation are two different processes. Employee orientation is the first essential step in the onboarding process. It is a one-time event that introduces new employees to the company, their job duties, and their co-workers. Employee onboarding is a continuous process that helps new employees adjust to the daily atmosphere of their company and their specific job duties. Employee orientation aims to help new employees feel comfortable in their new environment and give them the information they need to perform their job duties. Employee onboarding seeks to help new employees adjust to their jobs, learn the company culture, and become productive team members. Employee orientation usually lasts one day, while employee onboarding can last several weeks or even months. Employee orientation is typically led by HR staff, while the new employees' managers often lead employee onboarding. Employee orientation usually includes: A tour of the office. An introduction to the company's history and culture. A review of the job duties. Employee onboarding may include training on the company's systems and procedures, shadowing experienced employees, and attending company events. Goals and Focus Regarding focus, employee orientation is more about the individual and their understanding of the job they were chosen to do. Onboarding, on the other hand, is more about how the employee will gel with company culture and if they are a good fit for the team they’ll be working with day in and day out. The ultimate goal is for the human resources team to create a process that streamlines the process and addresses possible setbacks along the way. The goal is to make the matriculation period for new hires straightforward while giving leaders all the information they need to make crucial decisions. “Our hiring managers now have a reliable system that is easy to navigate. Our HR team can actively monitor the process, and assist if needed, but Onboard has helped them save so much valuable time and effort while increasing data accuracy. All of this has helped us improve compliance and gives us a powerful tool to achieve even more results in the future.” Kaylee Collins HR Analyst of Osmose Utilities Services, Inc Learn More Duration We've mentioned the duration of each process a few times. Still, it's worth reiterating that employee orientation usually lasts one day, while employee onboarding can last several weeks or even months. It can take months for a new employee to get up to speed and be productive in their position. The onboarding process ensures they have the support they need to transition smoothly into their new job. Both approaches are essential, but they serve different purposes. But together, they both set the new candidate up for success. Metrics New hire metrics help employers track the success of their employee onboarding and orientation programs. By collecting data on employee satisfaction, turnover rates, and productivity levels, employers can change their programs to improve the experience for new hires. Some common metrics used to measure the success of employee onboarding and orientation programs include: How many employees complete the orientation program? How long does it take for employees to complete the orientation program? How engaged are employees during the orientation program? How well do employees remember what they learned during the orientation program? These questions give the HR team fantastic feedback on what they can do to make their orientation program even more successful. The metrics for employee onboarding might include: How long does it take for employees to become productive in their roles? How well do employees understand the company's systems and procedures? How engaged are employees during the onboarding process? How likely are employees to recommend the onboarding experience to others? New hire surveys work as an awesome resource to measure both employee orientation and employee onboarding. For example, if multiple new hires complain about the ease of use of the company's software, that's something the onboarding team can work on improving. Wrapping Up Both employee orientation and onboarding are important for ensuring that new hires have a positive experience at your company. By understanding how these two processes differ, you can make sure that you're using your resources effectively to support new employees. The process of enhancing the procedures will change with time but it is the answer to streamlining the matriculation period for new hires. About Author:This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

A candidate's first impression starts off with the first time they interact with your organization. This means every correspondence matters. You can ensure your candidate's experience stands out by starting off with an exceptional recruiting process and solid communication with an employee app. However, once a candidate accepts an offer, the onboarding experience can be the difference between having a happy and motivated new hire or one that feels disengaged. Read on to discover how your HR Team can create a robust onboarding experience that helps your employees feel cared about, supported, and set up for success. Prevent Confusion During Onboarding New hires may find onboarding to be a time-consuming and tedious process. From filling out countless forms correctly to compiling personal documents, and understanding who to contact for support can frustrate new talent quickly. Instead, take the time to streamline the onboarding process to prevent confusion. Utilize HR tools by creating personalized portals for each of your new hires. This helps to organize everything for both you and your employee in a convenient and straightforward way. This way, an employee can see all of their personal information, and file and sign all of the necessary forms from one centralized hub. Not only that, but employees will appreciate the custom onboarding workflows and pointers along the way to help them complete everything that is necessary. No more need to worry about remembering when things are due. With a streamlined onboarding process, employees will have one less thing to worry about and can focus their attention on craft development instead. Empower New Hires to Utilize Employee Assistance Programs Resources Starting a new job is both stressful and exciting. New hires may have a lot of questions, concerns, and even self-doubt throughout the onboarding process and beyond. Therefore, help your new hires be in the know about what resources they can take advantage of, and highlight the unique programs HR provides or has partnerships with. It’s important to do so because sometimes highlighting these programs becomes lost or quickly glossed over. For instance, according to a Mental Health America survey, less than half of the employees surveyed knew about their company’s mental health services. Therefore, it would be helpful to have a centralized resource page that employees can easily navigate so they are aware of the programs offered. For instance, your resource hub can include things like online therapy support, self-help tools, work stress-reducing tips and strategy guides, information on PTO benefits, sick time, family leave, and mental wellness policies for example. In addition, ensure that your new hires know about other opportunities they may have like continued learning, self-service tools, and who may be their HR trusted point of contact. To round out your employee assistance and resources programs, you can foster employee wellness by using your intranet as well. “As soon as we saw LIKE.TG’s Onboard demo, we knew this was the perfect solution for us. We loved that it was extremely simple and powerful out of the box, but that we could customize it with advanced capabilities to make it work in our company setting.” Elisa Garn Vice President, HR and Talent Christopherson Business Travel Learn More Provide Mentorship Getting accustomed to a new role, organization, and workflows can be a big adjustment and be very stressful. To ensure your new hires have a thorough introduction to their roles and responsibilities, HR can have a mentorship program in place that can help employees feel supported rather than floundering and figuring things out on their own through trial and error. Having a mentor allows a new employee to have someone to trust and turn to for feedback, reassurance, and a go-to contact to ask questions and receive individualized training and support. Simply attending training workshops is typically not as engaging as a mentorship program. A mentorship program allows onboarding to be more personalized and tailored to the needs of each employee's learning style and skill set focus. Taking the time to have a mentorship program will be well worth the investment. It can help with time to proficiency, morale, and job satisfaction. In fact, research conducted by MentorcliQ, found that of participants, “83% of mentors and mentees said that their mentoring experience positively influenced their desire to stay at their organization.” Boosting retention is huge for organizations. This allows HR teams to focus on retention initiatives rather than constantly having to focus on candidate sourcing and hiring. Having a mentor can be the difference between your new hire becoming tenured talent at your organization or leaving due to a lack of job satisfaction. Personalized Introductions and Team Building With existing team members having already established relationships and being accustomed to working together, joining a team can be intimidating at first for a new hire. Therefore, instead of simply informing the team that a new member will be joining, it's time to make introductions more personal. Ideally, your new hire’s mentor will already be a member of the team and can lend a hand in the transition period. But take things a step further. HR can have new hires provide fun information to be shared in an announcement. A memo to the team with fun facts about new hires such as experience, favorite foods, vacations, special talents, and hobbies can be shared with the company via the communications board. This will help members to start to make connections and have some interesting talking points from the get-go. Other great HR introduction programs could include new hire lunches, whether in-person or virtual, and happy hours. This helps new hires to ease into the work environment, meet colleagues, and just have some light-hearted conversations rather than diving into work-heavy related meetings. Celebrate Your New Hires Celebrating your new hires can make a big impact on their experience early on. Recognizing employees will give them the confidence and reassurance they need that they are performing well. New hires can get into their head by questioning if their work is meeting expectations or if the team is happy with their contributions. Therefore, letting your new hires know just how well they are doing can help to propel their career forward. Try having teams that can work in tandem with HR departments to create a set of guidelines for rewards and recognition. Different categories such as being a role model, meeting or exceeding production, or just for effort can be established. Managers can then use these guidelines to acknowledge new hires for achieving goals and for an overall job well done. Recognition can come in the form of team or department announcements or perks and awards. Whether it is reassurance through team praise or a gift card for a cup of coffee, even a small gesture goes a long way. Show You Care It is important for HR Teams to have regular retrospectives and reflect on current onboarding programs. An excellent way to do so is by leveraging new hire feedback. Invite new hires to take a survey to better understand if your onboarding experience is holding up. This can help you to see areas that are especially helpful or opportunities for improvement. Consider even having a survey just for the mentoring program. Soliciting feedback not only allows you to take a look at the health and success of your onboarding program, but also helps to demonstrate to new hires that you care about their input and experience. If you are looking to make not only a great first impression but a lasting impression, onboarding is key. Having a personalized, streamlined, and thorough onboarding experience can impress your employees and set the tone for workplace culture and help launch successful careers. About Author:This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

More and more employees now have the opportunity to work remotely. The trend of working remotely is on the rise; the number has increased by more than 350 percent in the last 20 years. In some countries, the trend of employees working remotely or from home arises due to the rising office and property rental costs and traffic congestion problems that the government is facing. Many people opt for more flexible work arrangements, but cybersecurity is often unthinkable when logging in from outside the office. Given these trends, it is essential to ensure that employees keep company information secure, no matter where they are accessing the network. Here are some valuable tips for employees to maintain cybersecurity while working from home or remotely. Tips to Maintain Cybersecurity In order to optimize your company’s cybersecurity, there are several things you can do. Here are some of them: 1. Don't share plans or locations Working remotely is the preferred option for most employees, but they need to be careful about what they share. Tell employees that they should avoid sharing specific dates and, of course, never share photos of travel schedules or airline tickets––unless they want to have someone else take the flight or break into their home while they're away. They also have to pay attention to the mobile applications they use. Facebook and Twitter, for example, both share location information. A harmless post about an "amazing dinner" tagged with a Bangkok location, for example, instantly lets others know they're going overseas. Employees must be careful when sharing their location and not share too much when they are away from home. 2. Use a cloud-based password service. With a cloud-based password service, your employees can easily set solid passwords for all their applications or websites, only needing to remember one password to access the service. Most services enter passwords automatically for users, making it impossible for "keyboard scrape" apps––attackers use malware to track all of your keyboard activity so that they can find out your passwords. 3. Be careful with public Wi-Fi. We recommend that you think carefully when you want to connect to public Wi-Fi. Or better yet, avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi is very risky. The free Wi-Fi at the airport may look so tempting to write about on social media. But it's crucial to remember communications that should be private should never be shared with anyone and at any point. Oftentimes, users are tricked into talking to swindlers of Wi-Fi networks, who send their communications directly to attackers. This means attackers can find login details, passwords, and any data transmitted from employees' browsers while surfing the web. Your company should consider purchasing a subscription service and requiring employees only to connect to secure Wi-Fi. If possible, they must use a virtual private network (VPN) to connect to the internet. Things like using VPN for Chrome can be a solution to keep you safer. It's easy to install but highly beneficial. This will encrypt all communications so that attackers cannot see them. 4. Use multi-factor authentication Recent network attacks have insufficient simple password authentication to protect enterprises from illegally accessing networks and applications. The number of break-ins increased by 23 percent with dire consequences: non-compliance, fines, and intellectual property theft. Require multi-factor authentication, if available. This includes a password and a second "token," such as a passcode sent to your phone, for logging in. Many devices with built-in biometrics support this automatically, and some online services like Gmail have this functionality. When traveling, companies usually use two-factor authentication to sign in to their VPN and access cloud apps like Office365, Box, etc. Secure access is effortless with one tap or fingerprint scan. Shirley GarciaAuditing and Operations Administrator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. “I can’t say this enough: Without LIKE.TG, we could not have communicated important project information or demonstrated that we could take on an increased workload. We now provide real-time workforce statistics and productivity reports that have helped us win more projects.” 5. Secure all entry points to your device Ensure all devices have proper protection from vendors like Symantec on devices or the cloud. Embedding digital certificates (public key infrastructure; PKI) into devices will help keep network activities secure, from confidential email to eCommerce. 6. Secure all mobile devices with a backup and encryption system Although employees are required to keep their mobile devices safe at all times (they should not leave the device in their car, hotel room, or hotel secure), sometimes devices can be lost or stolen. In this regard, have a backup system to ensure all data is safe. If the device is damaged or stolen, at least the data can still be recovered. TOP 5 Security Software to Protect Employers In order to keep your working environment safe, there are at least five security software programs that should be installed. Let’s go straight to the first one. To learn more about giving access to vital HR and work information — even when they're not in the office. Download our ebook now. Download now 1. Virtual Private Networks VPN or Virtual Private Networks is one thing that people are using nowadays, especially when cybersecurity risks are on the rise. According to some research, 77% of employees who are working from home are unprotected and unmanaged. This is understandable since the system of WFH isn’t the same as WFO. There’s not any system that could protect them from the danger of cyber attacks. And since they're mostly using their own internet connection, the risk has become more imminent. Plus, 25% of the respondents say that they allow the other family members to use the device provided by the company for other means. The device could be used to open websites, access videos or music illegally, download games from unknown sources, etc. This could worsen the already-dangerous risks, especially if the users tend to use public Wi-Fi rather than private one. That’s one of the main reasons why companies should give their employees access to VPN technologies. By using a free or paid VPN, their connection will be channeled through a safer tunnel, and their IP address will also be masked as well. The VPN will help a lot in creating an additional layer of protection for both employers and employees in sharing and trading data. 2. Email Encryption Another technology you need to have is email encryption. We know that most companies would probably use active email-spam protection. However, the problem isn’t only about spam, especially today when hackers are always one step ahead of everybody. Email security is definitely essential to keep your company’s private data protected and private. Surely, you don’t want it to be leaked, especially to competitors. Even SMBs need email protection against viruses, malware, spam, and also phishing attacks. The incoming email isn’t the only problem, the outgoing mail may have the probability of being hacked, and the results could be quite serious for the company. A company’s policies, plans, and strategies might get leaked in this way. That’s the reason why email encryption is definitely a mandatory technology to have in every company. They’ll help not only to keep the data safe but it’ll also ensure that the messages will only be sent to the suitable and intended recipients. 3. Data Sharing Protection Software Employees share data every day. A more secure file-sharing technology will make employees safer when sharing large, sensitive company data. The file distribution can also be made to be effortless thanks to the URL simplification and easy-to-access transfer page. The links that will be shared are generally able to be customized. If they’re too long, employees can simplify them and send them whether to the employers, fellow employees, or the other intended parties. 4. Software and Education to Fight Phishing The only effective way to make your company a lot safer and secure is by giving an adequate amount of safety and cybersecurity training to your employees. A company without proper cybersecurity protection will be at a huge risk of terrible reputational damage and huge losses in terms of finances. The first and one of the most important lessons to be told to the employees is about the phishing method. Although this hacking technology is considered old, it still works wonderfully since not many people know and are familiar with it. Hackers also became smarter in masking themselves to be an employees-look alike, making their effort almost indistinguishable. So, what the employers can do about it is to explain the logical and proper way of thinking about phishing and other cybersecurity risks. Since the method is often seen to be too boring, try to engage more with the employees by using the gamification aspect. 5. Password Management Software Passwords are essential. In a workplace that doesn't give a single thought to cybersecurity risks, the employees may lack care of the company’s and their own passwords. The situation is worsened when they work outside, using their own device to access the company’s website using a public Wi-Fi connection. When there are a lot of cyberattacks occurring around us, what’s best a company can do is to utilize the proper password management for all employees. Start by giving them education about the importance of password keeping, and then introduce them to the system. One of the commonly used is MFA or multi-factor authentication. The technology can be really useful to create a safer working environment, especially when the employees already have VPNs. About Author:This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time! The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

What makes a workplace a place of work? Is it the location, the office building, the equipment, or the amenities? No, it’s the people that determine both the quality of the workplace and the future of the organization. In a 2017 study by Gallup, it was found that only 15% of the world’s one billion workers are engaged at work. It’s a downward spiral that originates with our lack of understanding of human capital management, or more specifically, employee engagement. The more engaged employees, the better it is for the organization. With effective employee engagement ideas, employees are motivated to give their best, resulting in higher profitability, better customer retention, better talent acquisition and retention, lower employee turnover, and a safer work environment. But remember: An effective employee engagement strategy is not a one-day affair. Only an ongoing process will obtain incredible results. No credit card needed Less than 5 min to set up What is Employee Engagement? Employee engagement sounds simple but goes deep. A good employee engagement strategy improves the likelihood that the relationship between the employee and the organization will be positive in nature. Engaged employees: Are self-motivated Have a clear understanding of their roles Recognize the significance of their contribution Focus on future training and development Feel that they belong to a community—that is, the organization The Benefits of an Engaged Workforce Effective employee engagement results in more motivation and better job satisfaction, and thus, a lower cost-to-value ratio for your human personnel expenditure. It goes like this: While every employee adds to the bottom line, engaged employees add that much more. This idea, also known as the service-profit chain, was introduced by Harvard researchers in the 1990s that traces business profitability and customer loyalty right back to engaged, motivated employees. Top corporate leaders know that engaged employees can help raise productivity, increase profits, enhance customer experience, foster brand loyalty, and facilitate growth. The Best Employee Engagement Strategies Below, you’ll find an outline of the steps you can take in order to ensure that the employees achieve a positive emotional connection with the organization and the work they’re assigned to do. In essence, there are three main parts: Physical: The level of complexity of work corresponds to the employees’ skill set. Emotional: Employees understand the job’s significance and put their heart into it. Mental: Employees become engrossed with their work. 1. Hire With Engagement in Mind The decisions you make during the hiring process can lead to different results in the engagement of an individual employee as well as workforce engagement across the organization. Every new hire you make has the possibility to impact how employees interact with each other, either strengthening the values of your organization or detracting from the work culture. A successful hire occurs when a new employee aligns with the organization in many different aspects, including job details as well as the company’s overall culture. Salary: Your new employee’s salary expectations should match what the company can unfailingly offer. Values: Your new hire should respect how the organization operates to attain its goals. Competency: The new hire should have the skills to meet the responsibilities of the position. Culture: The new hires should possess personal and emotional skills to be on the same page with their new colleagues and management. This doesn’t just impact current employees; new hires should be adequately prepared for their new positions, too. According to a Jobvite survey, 43% of new hires leave their jobs in the first 90 days as they felt that the role described during the process of hiring wasn’t what they experienced when they began to work. Your newest employees will evaluate their experience more carefully during the initial few weeks with your business. If you are able to provide what you promised during the hiring process, it will deepen that initial good impression and make way for employee engagement. 2. Streamline Onboarding Developing a comprehensive onboarding program can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and support the success of new hires. A good onboarding program should: Introduce new hires to the company's mission, values, and culture: Help new hires understand the company's purpose and how they fit into the organization. Orient new hires to the organization: Provide an overview of the company's structure, processes, and systems. Connect new hires with resources and support: Ensure that new hires have access to the resources and support they need to be successful, such as training materials, a mentor, or a go-to person for questions. Provide opportunities for socialization: Help new hires get to know their coworkers and build relationships within the organization. Set clear expectations: Communicate expectations around performance, attendance, and other aspects of the job. Assess progress and provide feedback: Regularly check in with new hires to assess their progress and provide feedback to help them succeed. Your new hires are only learning to navigate the complexity and will need assistance in specific areas. Thus, your first step should be to understand their viewpoint and work towards offering an onboarding experience that will keep them engaged. According to data from ServiceNow, organizations that offer inadequate onboarding programs have twice the chance of facing employee turnover. The first impression is crucial and will have a significant impact on new employees’ expectations. 3. Clarify the Company's Mission By making the mission a central part of the corporate culture, employees are more likely to feel aligned with the company's goals and motivated to contribute to its success. When employees know the overarching goals and values of the organization, they can see how their individual roles contribute to larger objectives. To effectively communicate the company mission, management should integrate it into all aspects of the workplace, from onboarding sessions and training programs to regular team meetings and company communications. Leaders should consistently emphasize and relate back to the mission in daily interactions and decision-making processes, helping employees connect their tasks to the company's broader goals. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to engage directly with mission-related projects or community initiatives can reinforce their commitment and understanding of the company's purpose. 4. Set SMART Goals and an Action Plan Without any goals, an organization doesn’t have a direction to follow. What does it want to achieve? What does it need to improve? What is the role of the strategy? All these questions need to be answered first. Moreover, the goals that you set need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely—that is, S.M.A.R.T. With tangible outcomes in mind, managers will be able to properly execute the strategy and figure out whether it is following the expected results or not Once the particular goals are in place, prepare an action plan on how to attain them. At this stage, the allocation of resources and definition of key performance indicators (KPIs) are taken care of to facilitate the measurement of progress. The effectiveness of the action plan is the responsibility of the direct supervisors. Employee engagement rates soar when they distribute the results and propose future endeavors. One of the ways to ensure this is to let your employees know how significant their contribution is. There are different ways on how to do staff recognition. Tell them how it is helping in achieving the organization’s business objectives. Simply speaking, organizations need to start making their employees feel that they matter. 5. Be People-Centric Employees are not robots; they are human. Organizations that tend to see employees as a commodity, but your employees are not another factor of production. They are prospective champions of your organization’s values and principles. Companies can become more people-centric by prioritizing employee well-being and development at the core of their business strategies. Actively listen to employee needs and feedback, providing comprehensive support systems like mental health resources, career development opportunities, and flexible working conditions. 6. Create an Office Environment Conducive to Work Giving employees a space that enhances productivity and satisfaction involves ensuring that all employees have the necessary tools, information, and training to perform their jobs effectively. First, the physical workspace should be designed to promote focus and efficiency. This means organizing workstations to minimize noise and distractions, providing ergonomic furniture, and ensuring that the office is well-lit and temperature-controlled. Adequate technology and resources, such as high-speed internet, modern computers, and effective communication tools, should be readily available to all team members. Second, maintain an open line of communication where employees can easily access the information they need and feel comfortable requesting additional support. This can be facilitated through a well-structured intranet, regular team meetings, and clear documentation of workflows and policies. 7. Offer Remote and Flexible Work Offering flexible work hours can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few benefits of offering flexible hours: Improved work-life balance Increased productivity Greater employee retention Improved morale There are a few different ways you can offer flexible work hours, such as allowing employees to choose their own work schedule within certain parameters, offering flexible start and end times, or allowing employees to work remotely. 8. Promote a Strong Company Culture By prioritizing a positive and inclusive company culture, organizations can create a workplace where employees feel valued and inspired to contribute their best work. A strong company culture is built on clear values that are actively practiced and integrated into every aspect of the organization, from hiring practices to day-to-day operations and decision-making processes. Management should lead by example, embodying the company's values in their actions and communications. Regularly celebrating achievements that align with these values, such as teamwork, innovation, or customer service, can reinforce their importance. Additionally, creating opportunities for employees to connect with one another, such as team-building activities, social events, and collaborative projects, strengthens interpersonal relationships and fosters a supportive community. Lastly, encouraging open communication and feedback through town hall meetings, suggestion boxes, and regular check-ins can help maintain transparency and ensure that the culture evolves in a way that continues to meet the needs of its employees. 9. Establish a Sense of Community An organization is essentially a community; each member fulfills a specific task and serves the community as a whole. To encourage this community spirit among your employees, any engagement activity can help, from organizing a big annual event to simply taking a team out to lunch. Notwithstanding the hierarchy of the organization, it’s better to maintain a certain level of equality and unbiasedness where everyone feels they are important to the community. This philosophy is typical in the new-age technology startups where they adopt a more casual, no-walls organizational policy. Though sustaining this new business approach might be tricky, it can lead to highly engaged staff. 10. Recognize Employee Contributions Two out of three employees feel they do not get enough recognition for their work, according to Office Team data reported by Forbes. As a result, most employees will not deliver their maximum potential and may engage in unwanted behavior. And highly-trained and qualified talent will always be looking for better job offers. For this reason, it’s wise to create a recognition-rich environment where good work is rewarded with perks and incentives. At the very least, a few good words and a certificate of appreciation can go a long way in letting others feel valued for their work. 11. Invest in Career Development For many, just coming to the office, doing the work assigned, and taking the paycheck back home isn’t enough. They need to know there are sufficient growth prospects for the role they are fulfilling. If your employees feel that you don’t care about their professional development, they may begin to look for work elsewhere. Whether it’s by running a proprietary training program or sponsoring higher education for your employees, you are not only investing in the future of your company but also creating a sense of loyalty among your employees. Remember, every employee loves a company that supports them in their professional career and adds value to their personal lives. Want to retain top-notch talent in your organization? Ensure their professional growth and you will reap the benefits. Providing opportunities for employee development can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Offer training and development programs: Workshops, seminars, or online courses help employees learn new skills or advance their careers. Encourage continuous learning: Learning opportunities outside of formal training programs can include attending conferences, participating in webinars, or taking online courses. Set up mentorship programs: Match employees with experienced mentors who can provide guidance and support as they learn and grow. Provide opportunities for career advancement: Offer opportunities for employees to take on new challenges and responsibilities, such as leading a team or taking on a new role within the organization. Promote self-directed learning: Encourage employees to take ownership of their own development by providing them with resources and support to pursue their own learning goals. 12. Hire Quality People Managers Your secret weapon to spur employee engagement is the managers—they are the middlemen between boardroom members and the employees. In most cases, the employees interact with the top-level executives rarely, if ever, but have daily interactions with their immediate bosses. Whether they are feeling secure, angry, or ignored depends on how you manage employees. Gallup’s chairman, Jim Clifton, once said: “Employees—especially the stars—join a company and then quit their manager. It may not be the manager's fault so much as these managers have not been prepared to coach the new workforce.” While organizations can choose to educate their managers on how to better engage their employees, it’s always better to hire a capable manager first. Check their professional background and try to see if they are suited for the tricky job waiting for them. 13. Introduce Team-Building Activities Team-building activities can be a great way to improve employee engagement and foster a positive work culture. Here are a few ideas for team-building activities that you might consider:Trust-building exercises: Some of the examples include "Human Knot" or the "Trust Fall."Communication challenges: Activities that require team members to communicate effectively can help improve collaboration.Problem-solving activities: Examples might include "Escape the Room" or "Mars Mission."Outdoor activities: Getting team members out of the office can help them bond and have fun together. It can include a team hiking or camping trip, or a group outing to a ropes course or other adventure activity.Creative activities: This can be in the form of painting or art competitions, singing and dancing events, etc.It's important to choose activities that are appropriate for your team and that align with your goals for employee engagement. 14. Provide Incentives for Work Achievement Incentives can be a powerful tool for motivating and engaging employees. Here are a few ideas for incentives that you might consider Monetary rewards: bonuses, pay raises, and other financial incentives Time off: offering additional vacation days or flexible work arrangements Recognition: publicly recognize and praise employees for their hard work or send a hand-written note Professional development opportunities: training programs, mentorship opportunities, or professional certification courses. Special perks: reserved parking spot or a choice of office location Another option: a recognition and employee rewards solution, like Workmates. Our solution is customizable and offers a unique set of advantages, as an ideal recognition solution. Workmates increase employee engagement and boost productivity in the workplace. Workmates Self-Guided Tour We’ll show you how Workmates can engage everyone in your organization, transform your culture, and drive productivity to new heights. Start Now 15. Encourage Collaboration Encouraging collaboration can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and drive better outcomes for your business. Here are a few strategies you might consider: Encourage employees from different departments or teams to work together on projects or tasks. This can help break down silos and foster a sense of teamwork. Encourage employees to share ideas and feedback with one another, and create a culture where it's safe to speak up and share perspectives. Host team-building activities or outings that encourage employees to get to know one another and work together in a more relaxed setting. Encourage a culture of collaboration and teamwork by recognizing and rewarding team contributions and successes. Utilize tools like project management software, virtual meeting platforms, and online collaboration spaces to make it easier for employees to work together and share ideas. 16. Facilitate Two-Way Communication Top business leaders generally believe in the open door policy and do not use “top-secret” information to their advantage. If organizations act secretive and only divulge information on a “need-to-know” basis, it will likely cause lower engagement rates among their employees. Transparency begets trust when employees understand how corporate decisions affect the workplace. But simply disseminating information isn’t enough. Communication should go two ways—the employees should be encouraged to share their concerns so they don’t feel ignored or unvalued. Here are a few strategies that can help your organization: Create a culture where it's safe for employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. This might involve setting aside dedicated time for open discussions or establishing a suggestion box where employees can anonymously share ideas. Encourage employees to communicate openly and honestly with one another and with management. This might involve creating dedicated channels for communication, such as a team chat platform or a suggestion forum. Be open and transparent with employees about company goals, plans, and challenges. Regularly solicit feedback from employees and actively listen to their ideas and concerns. This might involve hosting team meetings or one-on-one conversations with employees. As a leader, model open and honest communication by being approachable and transparent in your own communication style. 17. Utilize HR Software Implementing HR software can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement and streamline HR processes. Here are a few ways that HR software can support employee engagement: HR software can help automate and streamline HR processes, such as payroll, benefits management, and time and attendance tracking. This can help reduce the administrative burden for HR staff and free up more time for engagement and development efforts. Many HR software platforms offer features such as team chat, task management, and document sharing, which can help facilitate communication and collaboration among employees. HR software can provide employees with access to self-service tools, such as a portal for viewing and updating personal information or requesting time off. This can help empower employees and improve their overall experience with HR. Some HR software platforms offer tools for setting and tracking performance goals, which can help employees stay focused and motivated. Many HR software platforms offer features such as learning management systems, which can help employees access training materials and track their progress. 18. Conduct Employee Surveys Circulate questionnaires and surveys that permit your employees to express their opinions and concerns. The more you ask for their opinions, the more they feel esteemed, entitled, respected, and like they belong to the organization. Conduct the survey in such a way that it will yield the most thoughtful, timely responses. The catch here is to keep the surveys short and conduct frequent employee-pulse surveys. This lets employees think properly and reply at a higher rate. Additionally, it’s a great idea to build a habit of transparency and share the results. Sharing all the data collected from surveys will demonstrate transparency and help you to engage employees. 19. Engage Departing Employees Offer appropriate transparency when offboarding an employee. Each will have their own reasons why they depart. The appropriate details provided by the team members when they depart can aid the rest of the employees in processing the change without making cynical guesswork. Apart from that, recognize your employees’ reasons why they are leaving voluntarily. When you understand and categorize the reasons employees leave, it will help your organization to improve. If any engaged employees are leaving voluntarily, stay connected with them. You can consider curating alumni networks to be in contact with past employees. It will give you access to expanded networking and employment opportunities. Plus, it might make some employees come back to your organization with new skills and experiences when new positions open up. Try Workmates Interactive Demo Click through it yourself withinteractive demo. Try It Now About the Author This article is written by our marketing team at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!

Happier and more engaged employees lead to improved performance and increased productivity, which in turn drives greater company revenue. However, finding the right employee engagement software solution can be difficult. Employee engagement is critical for any organization - it's been linked to better retention rates, productivity, and overall profitability. So, it's no surprise that employee engagement software is becoming more and more popular. But with so many providers in the market, how do you know which one is right for you? Here are a few tips on how to pick the best employee engagement software provider for your organization or business. What is Employee engagement software? Employee engagement software helps employees feel more valued and fulfilled in their work, leading to increased productivity, satisfaction, and happiness. By identifying and addressing problems in the workplace such as low morale or workplace stress caused by a lack of employee feedback - employee engagement software can create a more positive work environment for everyone. Employee engagement software puts you in the driver's seat when it comes to your business by being proactive about creating a work environment that is healthy and productive. Instead of relying on manual processes, which can be time-consuming and inaccurate, employee engagement software automates the process of collecting employee feedback and analyzing the results. This provides you with a real-time overview of the state of your organization, so that you can identify what areas are working well and which ones need attention. What makes Employee engagement software so important? Employee engagement software is a tool used to measure and improve employee engagement. The surveys provide you with an overview of the state of your organization in real-time, which is difficult to obtain through other means. Employee engagement software will provide you with the data and actionable insights you need to improve employee satisfaction, morale, and productivity. Helps create an employee experience where they feel valued, creating a positive effect on business performance and overall bottom line. How to choose the best employee engagement software vendor for your organization/business? When you're looking for employee engagement solutions to improve, it's important to find a vendor that offers the best employee engagement software for you. Here are some useful tips to consider when you're evaluating different vendors: Wide Range of Options with Customization Make sure the vendor offers a variety of employee engagement software solutions. You want to make sure they have a range of options so that you can find the right solution for your company. Find a vendor who is willing to work with you to customize a solution. Every company is different and, therefore, the vendor should be willing to tailor their offering to your specific needs. Proven Experience Expertise Check whether the vendor has experience in your industry and with engagement softwares. They should be able to help you in interpreting the software results and offer a plan for post-survey coaching and action. Get references from other companies who have used the vendor's services. Ensure that you're working with a reputable company that has a track record of success. Customer Service Support Get a sense of their customer service and support. The vendor should provide technical support during every phase of the project. A reliable and responsive employee engagement software partner, specializing in technical support outsourcing, is key to success. Leverage a partner that prioritizes your goals, understands what you want to discover, and provides a success plan. The Ease of Use Before you finalize a vendor for employee engagement software, check whether it is easy to use and intuitive and whether you can access results quickly. The results and reports of surveys provided should be clear, meaningful, and segmented into various groups that help you make informed decisions and implement result-oriented solutions in the workplace. The Cost Factor While cost is a very important consideration, evaluate carefully whether you can select a product that saves money in the short term and what may be the costs your organization might incur in the long term. Make sure it fits in your budget and that your vendor provides end-to-end software with no hidden costs. Quick Access to Data Employee engagement survey results are important, but they're also time-sensitive because employees’ feelings, employee sentiment and opinions are constantly changing, and this is applicable even more if you have remote employees. How long do you want to keep your employees waiting to hear back from you after they've taken the survey? Your vendor software should be able to compile the results and hand over the reports relatively quickly using the survey tool. Your vendor should make it easy for you to see results of Pulse Surveys as soon as possible. After you’ve received enough responses to compile a decent amount of data, the results should be available for anyone who needs it. This level of transparency helps speed up responses and gives you a sense of your employees’ opinions using the software so that you can formulate your strategic response as soon as you receive the feedback. Vendor that understands what motivates people at work Understanding how to engage employees starts with comprehending what motivate employees and individuals at various points in their life. What drives someone to work may be entirely different from the next person, whether it’s millennials searching for purpose-driven jobs, older adults wanting stability, or Gen Zs looking to take on new roles. There's no universal way to engage employees. This is where employee engagement software comes in handy as it can help you discover the customs of your company's culture. Validated software, based on science The main purpose of using employee engagement software is to be more methodical in your decision-making instead of based purely on intuition. It's important to select a software solution that is rooted in science with a vendor who can provide a dependable, validated foundation. Don’t go for quick fixes. Employee engagement software shouldn't be considered as a one-size-fits-all solution but rather as one part of employee engagement programs that have multiple components – where employee engagement process metrics form the key. Tools to improve Employee engagement Although using employee engagement software is a good way to show you're interested in having a workforce that cares, it doesn't necessarily improve employee engagement on its own. You need to do more than just use the software if you want to see real change. The best employee engagement software vendors are the ones who will provide you with other employee engagement tools that can help improve your workplace situation. Intuitive reporting system The vendor you choose should give your managers easy-to-read reports so they can always be in-the-know about how their teams are feeling. Your dashboard should be personalized and simple to understand so you can take action quickly. The vendor you choose should also provide an overall metric, favourability and response rate, including all questions and comments in order to get the most accurate understanding of your employee engagement. Integration with your tech stack An employee engagement platform is only as good as its integrations. Make sure they have a robust platform that can meet your needs. If it can't connect with the tools you're already using, it's not going to be very helpful. The best employee engagement platforms offer seamless integration with the tools you're already using. The software should align with the best practices you already follow. After all, the whole point of an employee engagement platform is to streamline your processes, making them more convenient and efficient where integrations are an indispensable part of that puzzle. Understand the importance of culture and engagement Make sure you select a vendor that practices what they preach. Many organizations evaluating vendors don't even consider this as a must-have criterion, but it's essential. Your vendor should have a strong culture, a higher level of engagement, and a proven track record of listening to and acting on employee feedback. Only when the vendor has an engaged organization it is proof that they know what they're selling and whether they understand the benefits of an engaged company culture. Prioritizing employee success drives business success. You can use these criteria when looking for an ideal employee engagement software vendor that effectively provides support for your people initiatives with their software and performance management. A lack of employee engagement costs businesses all over the world hundreds of billions of dollars each year. The need of the hour is to invest in the best employee engagement software for your needs. About Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.

Your job plays a vital role in your life. It helps you understand your strengths and weaknesses, so you should be grateful for how you support yourself and do your job well. Even though you are talented, productive, and good at your profession, how will you advance in it if you don't put effort into bettering yourself? Despite your level of productivity or skill, there is always room for improvement. The first step to becoming a better version of yourself is to constantly look for ways to improve your skill set and seek opportunities to learn something new, and include new strategies in your performance management process. As a result, you are not only able to do your job better, but you can also advance your career.Given the importance of ongoing and continuous self-improvement, we've put together a list of 7 ways to improve work performance and succeed in your career. Tips on improving work performance Before breaking down our useful productivity tips, which hopefully will help you improve your work performance and succeed in your career, you must prepare yourself. That means that sometimes we do not see where we might lack and that requires strength and acceptance. Once you reflect and find gaps where you can improve yourself to better complete tasks in the future, you start from there. Hopefully, our list of tips will help you realize those gaps. Clear Communication in the Workplace The secret to improving your effectiveness at work is communication. Do not hesitate to ask for clarification if you are unsure of your responsibilities. The best company executives are naturally curious and seek out creative solutions to problems. So why not ask for a second explanation for whatever you might find yourself not understanding? A plus would be implementing performance management software in the process; managers and employees would benefit from it a lot. Setting clear and effective communication within the workplace is very important not only when you might have something to ask, but this is important setting boundaries, setting clear expectations, and being at ease with yourself at the end of the day. Communication is the key solution to everything. While it may be tempting to check up on the latest news and speak with coworkers, doing so too frequently can damage your ability to perform well at work. Take an interest in your team members' life because building relationships with them at work is crucial; nevertheless, avoid drama or gossip. It can not only affect your focus and productivity, but it can also change how other people perceive you. Avoiding such things will increase your productivity since your main focus is on your tasks. To learn more about Perform by LIKE.TG, download one pager now Download now Set priorities and avoid multitasking Lack of productivity is one of the main factors affecting performance at work. You won't advance in your profession very far if you can't learn how to manage your work hours and know your skill sets on this matter. It's simpler than ever to become distracted at work and waste time thanks to the internet and social media. Take frequent, brief pauses to avoid being distracted, or use programs to block websites that frequently divert your attention. Even though they are essential, we frequently put off our least favorite tasks until the last minute. Get the most important jobs finished first so they don't consume your thoughts. If you finish the first task, you can move on to another or take a break. Prioritizing critical or high-value tasks first shows your supervisor and coworkers that you can be counted on to move goals forward, even if the task is one you don't particularly enjoy. Set a particular time for meetings and emails A significant portion of lost productivity at work can be attributed to our inboxes. It can be tempting to check in frequently and read emails as soon as they arrive, sometimes even more than once, before we have a chance to respond or take action. Establish regular times throughout the day to check your email to minimize this and recover part of this lost time. You might want to discuss this with your employer first, but if everyone on the team gets used to it, they'll quickly realize its benefits and give it a shot. The same goes for meetings, sometimes a 30-minute sync ends up being more than an hour sync. The best way to avoid this is to keep one-on-one meetings with the manager. This way employees to whom the topic does not concern can be free to go. Know your work limits It's crucial to be aware of your energy levels as well as the fact that everyone has a certain amount of work they can handle. If you start to feel tired or distracted, or if you start to put things off, you're probably getting close to your personal limit. By identifying your emotions and taking a break, you can prevent burnout. If a task is difficult or you're exhausted, change to something less hard for a bit. Return to the first work and push through after your mind has had time to clear. Take full responsibility for your duties If you’re a leader setting objectives and committing to yourself is one thing when it comes to your career. However, teams are considerably more likely to succeed if members openly promise to one another in a public setting. To evaluate employee performance, many businesses have implemented performance management systems. Your team will be able to see your targets or goals and how you are doing in relation to them thanks to this kind of software, which will help you keep accountable. Additionally, you'll be able to track their development so you can encourage them and hold them responsible for achieving their objectives. To avoid any concern, consider regular anonymous feedback via Incognito for the Slack app. This way you will be up to date and see if there is something pending in the workflow. Be practical and realistic Realizing that no one is perfect is one of the elements to working productively and effectively. Everybody has "off days" where they are less focused, lack confidence, or do less well than usual. You're less likely to see any drops in productivity if you approach this with reality. Additionally, you'll be more understanding of people who are struggling or not giving it their all, which will improve team spirit and relationships. Network with professionals We frequently consider ways to increase our effectiveness within our teams or organizations, but you can also focus on personal development within a larger network. Make use of the chance to establish connections with individuals working for other organizations, in industries both comparable and different, online and offline. Knowing the right people is always beneficial, and you never know where you'll meet your next buddy, business partner, or employee. About Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.

Every business wants to attract and retain the best talent in its industry. After all, a good business is run by good people. A high employee turnover not only costs the company a pretty penny, but it is also demoralizing for the people who genuinely want to work for you. As per a LinkedIn survey, the average turnover rate is about 11% {SOURCE}. Many people who may switch jobs decided to stay put in recent years. The reason was the pandemic and the job insecurities that came with it. Add that all together, and it comes to, well, a lot! Some of the most successful businesses work hard to make their workforce feel appreciated and constantly look for new ideas for better employee retention. What Causes a High Employee Turnover? If you wish to reduce employee turnover in your company, the best place to start is to understand what causes high employee turnover. Improve your exit process to identify the most prominent reasons employees decide to leave and work to rectify it. Here are some of the most common causes of high employee turnover:· They do not feel recognized for their hard work or contributions· Feeling like a misfit in the team· They have an unhealthy work relationship with their manager· They do not identify with the work culture in the organization· Their day-to-day responsibilities are not what they expected when they joined· They don’t feel adequately supported or trained to do their job· They feel like there is a culture of favouritism or a toxic work environment· Low job security· Unhealthy work-life balance· No new opportunities for progress in the company· If they are or they feel they are being paid lesser than their peers for the same job· They think that the company is not doing well or is headed in the wrong direction Christopher BaggottChief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC. “Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.” Why is it Important to Reduce Employee Turnover? Building a good team with skilled people who have the proper knowledge and experience is essential to any business. If you have the best talent pool, you can deliver the best results in every project. However, attracting the best talent is easier than retaining them. A high employee turnover can prove costly for your business. The average cost of replacing an employee is 1.5 to 2 times the annual salary of the job position.Besides, a high turnover affects productivity and morale. It creates a company culture where no one wants to work with you for very long. And that’s why we have put together a list of eleven effective ideas that can help you reduce employee turnover in your company – Hiring the Best Fit Hiring a resource should be a well-thought-out exercise. Do not recruit in a hurry tofill a position. Recruitment should be meticulously planned by identifying the skill gap and hiring the required talent ahead of time. Smart recruitment strategies help you find employees who are the best fit for the role. Organizations use applicant tracking systems to effectively and efficiently manage hiring processes.Hiring staff with planning and preparation can help your organization avoid a shortage or excess of resources. It will also give your company a reliable, high-quality resource pool that delivers on client expectations. People who are a good fit in their job role will perform well and be happier, more satisfied employees. Training Mentorship Programs Conducting regular training and mentorship programs will ensure that your employees are always well-prepared for their job. It can also help keep your employees on the same page as the management. Employees who feel inadequately trained will have low job satisfaction and may be frustrated. New hires should be given thorough training before they start working.A good training program is an investment that develops your employees into future managers and leaders. Design your training programs to help your employees progress and gain industry knowledge. Training can equip them to take on more significant roles and find value in the workplace. To learn even more about improving the employee experience and increasing your competitve advantage while providing a fast return on investment, download our ebook now. Download now Optimal Workforce Utilization Optimizing the utilization of your workforce means ensuring that your employees’ maximum time is spent on strategic and billable work. Overutilizing an employee can adversely affect their work-life balance and lead to burnout. Underutilizing an employee can lead to disengagement and a negative attitude. Optimally utilizing your workforce is essential to use your employees’ skills to their maximum potential.It is also essential for job satisfaction. Working on a project where their skills are relevant and valued helps boost employee morale. Productivity goes hand-in-hand with workforce utilization. Managers can use dashboards that track and improve employee utilization levels. Team Building Activities Organizing practical fun team-building activities builds strong bonds among colleagues. People who feel connected and friendly with their team members are more likely to stay with the company than those who feel disconnected. For greater team bonding perform team-building exercises like informal meetings, outings, team lunches, and fun contests help colleagues build meaningful friendships with each other.According to GoRemotely’s Workplace Collaboration Statistics, teams that value interpersonal relationships can see up to a 21% increase in profitability. The buddy system (adapted from defence forces) is an excellent example of a team-building exercise. When new employees join, they are assigned a mentor or a ‘buddy’ from the same team. It facilitates hand-holding, training, and integration of the new employee into the company. Recognition Rewards and recognition are great ways to boost employee morale and reduce employee turnover. A small thank you note from a superior or employee rewards every quarter can help employees feel appreciated for their hard work. Another way of recognizing an employee’s efforts is to give them new opportunities and responsibilities. Managers who can incite positivity among their team members can engage with them better. Receiving recognition reinforces an employee’s wish to remain with the organization for longer. Peer-to-peer recognition programs are also very successful in reducing employee turnover. Creating a Healthy Work-Life Balance Everyone wants a balance between their personal and professional life. Working on weekends or beyond office hours prevents employees from attaining a healthy work-life balance. It may lead to burnout or prompt employees to look for other job opportunities. Understandably, this trend is more pronounced among older employees, who are married and have children.Promoting flexible schedules allows employees to adjust their work timings to suit them. Giving the option to work remotely at least a few times a week can reduce commuting time and improve the work-life balance for your employees it also eases mental health issues Employee Engagement Higher employee engagement directly translates to employee retention. Workplace relationships are an excellent place to start employee engagement efforts. A person’s relationship with their manager profoundly impacts employee engagement. Companies that discover and cultivate individual employee motivations usually have the most successful employee engagement programs. Employee engagement surveys and focus groups through employee app help the management evaluate the results and improve engagement. Performance Feedback Employees who feel criticized or uninspired after a performance review are most likely to look for a new job. Infrequent and unproductive performance reviews are a recipe for high employee turnover. Looking at employee feedback examples can help you determine the frequency and quality of performance reviews in your company.Create a performance review process that is collaborative, inclusive and dynamic. Changing performance reviews to be continuous helps improve the relationship between an employee and a manager by enhancing communication. Your performance review system should recognize the goals and KPIs of every employee, link them to actionable metrics and provide rewards for good performance. Room for Personal Growth Is your organization creating opportunities for your employees to grow and learn new things? Design training programs that utilize your employees’ time in the best possible way. Most employees would be happy to work at a company where they get opportunities to strengthen their existing skills and build new ones.Upskilling your employees allows them to take on new responsibilities and perform better in their roles. It also provides the company with the skilled staff it needs to meet evolving business needs. Suppose you can match the upskilling process with defined job roles in your organization. In that case, it makes it easier for employees to find internal positions to progress in their careers. At the same time, making it easier for the organization to source talent for new posts. Employee Autonomy Providing employees control over their job helps create employee autonomy. Better employee autonomy promotes creativity, critical thinking, originality, innovation, and engagement. Even if procedures constrain the job role, any increase in autonomy will help improve employee morale and engagement. Improving employee autonomy allows your team to decide how and when to complete their work. The freedom to control their work and responsibilities promotes performance and reduces employee turnover. Analysis Deploying an efficient human resources management system can help your company management collect, analyze, and act to reduce employee turnover. Analyze your turnover numbers year on year to find the cause for the churn. You could also understand the numbers in-depth by investigating top performer turnover trends, and break-up according to business units, geography, and demographics. Analyzing this data will help bring out valuable insights into the causes of high employee turnover in your company. Rectify your talent management strategy according to that to reduce employee turnover.Excessive employee turnover is a problem that most businesses deal with. Suppose your organization is also witnessing a high employee turnover. In that case, it may be time to remedy the situation. You could use any or all of the steps listed above to slowly create a team of talented people who are happy to work with you.An essential aspect of employee retention is to be aware of employee turnover trends and take action before the problem gets out of hand. An excellent way to do this is to adopt a cloud-based human resources software that collects and analyzes HR data. A good HRM software can help you get a bird’s eye view of talent trends, performance tracking, skills gap, and training statistics. It can help find better ways to get your employees engaged and help you create an improved employee experience to attract and retain the best talent in the industry. About Author:Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise. The LIKE.TG Award for Excellence in Employee Experience Participation is free and winners receive: A $25 Amazon Gift Card Feature on the LIKE.TG website and social media Digital badge + certificate to share on your website recruitment materials Apply Now

Making enough time for both your professional life and personal life (aka work-life balance) can be hard, especially as hustle culture is gaining popularity to make ends meet—but it’s not impossible. The concept was introduced during the 1980s as a way to allow for more time for family and hobbies outside of work. But in a post-pandemic world, it feels like work-life balance may be harder to attain. For example, in the first 8 weeks of lockdown, employees worked 49 minutes longer per day on average, and sent about 8% more emails after-hours, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Below, we’ll discuss the impact of having a poor work-life balance before giving you tips on how to improve it. Work-Life Balance and Why It’s Important Work-life balance means managing your professional responsibilities and personal life in a way that reduces stress and allows you to be more productive and content in all areas of life. Consequences of an unhealthy work-life balance include: Burnout: Survey results from the UK’s Mental Health Foundation found that 1 in 3 people are unhappy about the time they work, leading to burnout. Low productivity: Research from Britain’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service found that more employees are more inclined to take absence leave when their life lacks balance. Decreased job satisfaction: Having a poor work-life balance can result in decreased job satisfaction, higher turnover rates, and absenteeism, per a January 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Signs of an Unhealthy Work-Life Balance Feeling tired all the time, even after resting or on weekends. Spending little to no time on personal relationships, hobbies, or self-care. Getting sick more often, which can be a sign of lowered immune response due to stress. Displaying short temper and irritability with colleagues, friends, or family. Struggling to stop thinking about work during off-hours or compulsively checking work emails and messages at home. Experiencing insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns, often due to stress or overthinking work-related issues. Productivity levels drop, indicating inefficiency and potential employee burnout. Feeling disinterested in work and other activities that used to be enjoyable. Increasing dependence on substances like alcohol, caffeine, or even overeating. Ways to Improve Work-Life Balance 1. Time Management Improving time-management skills is essential for maximizing productivity and achieving a better work-life balance. Although it’s easier said than done, the first step is important: Set target tasks and ensure that you finish them throughout the day. Start by setting clear, achievable goals and breaking larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Prioritize tasks using tools like to-do lists or digital planners, and allocate specific times to focus on each task to maintain concentration and take regular breaks. Here are some tools that can help: Technology: Take advantage of the software and apps available, such as calendars, apps, and to-do lists. And apps like Notion, Evernote, and Trello can help you organize your work process. These apps also allow for integration with other apps, which makes it easier for you to keep everything in one place. Planner: Set aside time to organize and review what’s happening in your week. This way, you can cut down on tasks that take up too much time but don’t have a lot of value. Reminders: Set an alarm or reminder for time limits for tasks. Try the Pomodoro Technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on a specific task. Take a short break, then repeat. After every four rounds, take a longer break (15 to 30 minutes). 2. Know Your Priorities Setting priorities for work tasks effectively throughout the day and week involves a strategic approach. Begin by identifying all tasks and categorizing them based on urgency and importance, using tools like the Eisenhower Box or a simple priority list. Start each day by reviewing your list and focusing on tasks that are critical and time-sensitive first, while scheduling less critical tasks for later in the day or week when you anticipate having spare time. It's also helpful to review and adjust your priorities at the end of each day or week to reflect any new tasks or changes in task importance. This method ensures that high-priority tasks receive the attention they need, preventing last-minute rushes and reducing work stress. 3. Establish a Realistic Schedule Establishing a realistic work schedule starts with you defining your work hours based on your most productive times and the demands of your job. Be realistic about what you can accomplish within these hours and set boundaries to protect your personal time. It’s important to remain disciplined about starting and ending your workday at the same time. Additionally, don't be afraid to unplug completely after work hours—turn off email notifications and resist the urge to check-in. 4. Set Boundaries A good work-life balance doesn’t miraculously happen in a snap. It must begin with you setting boundaries and limits on the things you do. Learning how to say “no,” especially when those things do not benefit you, is one part of effective conflict management. Knowing your priorities can help you set your boundaries, and learning how to say “no” makes it easier to say “yes” to things that are good for you. Examples of these include being able to take breaks and do something you love to do. 5. Take Breaks This may sound simple, but it’s easy to skip taking breaks, especially when you’re intensely focused on doing something for work. Make sure that you step away from your desk once in a while, eat on time, drink water to stay hydrated, and get adequate sleep. Try your best not to skip lunch—away from work. You can even eat lunch with coworkers. Taking these breaks helps you improve your work efficiency and also gives you space to breathe. 6. Use Vacation Days Aside from taking breaks during your work hours, make full use of your allotted time off. One way to make sure you do this is to plan vacation time in advance, clearly communicating it with your manager. You deserve to have a vacation where you focus on your well-being and relaxation. 7. Create a Flexible Schedule Creating flexible work hours or incorporating a work-from-home policy involves carefully considering the needs of both the business and the employees. Start by evaluating which tasks you can effectively manage remotely and identify the hours you are most productive. Communicate these insights clearly to your employer, proposing specific work hours that ensure you can fulfill your job responsibilities while also attending to personal commitments. Be prepared to discuss how you will manage communication and remain accessible during core business hours for meetings and teamwork. Alternatively, there are many jobs offering part-time hours, and some companies are even switching to a 4-day work week (staff work 32 hours instead of 40 with no drop in salary). In 2022, the Icelandic government experimented with a shorter working week which led to benefits such as: increased productivity, being less stressed at home, and better social connections. 8. Find a Job You Love Take time to reflect on activities that energize you and skills you excel in, and consider how these can translate into a career. Research industries and roles that align with your interests and identify companies whose values resonate with yours. Networking is also key; connect with professionals in desired fields to gain insights and learn about job opportunities. Consider internships or volunteer positions to test the waters in potential career paths. 9. Make Time for Family and Friends Prioritize important family events, social activities, and personal downtime in your calendar, treating them with the same importance as work meetings or deadlines. Dedicated social time provides necessary breaks from work stress and recharges emotional and mental energy, improving focus and productivity when you return to work. Don’t hold back on requesting time off, but make sure to communicate your availability to your colleagues, and also, resist the urge to check work emails or messages during designated personal times. 10. Exercise and Meditate Exercise is one of the most effective stress relievers. It not only benefits your physical health but your mental health as well. Exercise boosts your mood, which improves your outlook throughout the day and week. Meditation and yoga are also beneficial. Start small by doing a quick 5-minute meditation session when you wake up or before you sleep. 11. Cultivate Your Hobbies Having a good work-life balance isn’t restricted to having more time for your family and friends. It means you have more time for yourself as well. Devote time each week to doing something you love to do like reading, painting, collecting certain items, dancing, and more. Sometimes reaching professional and personal goals isn’t enough to keep us satisfied. Hobbies help improve our quality of life, leading to better mental health. 12. Provide Honest Feedback Giving honest feedback to your employer requires clarity and professionalism, focusing on how certain aspects of your work environment or schedule impact your productivity and overall well-being. Be specific about the challenges you face, such as excessive work hours or unrealistic deadlines, and propose practical solutions or adjustments that could help alleviate these issues. Communicate openly and constructively, ensuring your feedback is seen as an effort to enhance not only your own performance but also the overall efficiency and morale of the team. About Author: This article is written by a marketing team member at LIKE.TG. LIKE.TG is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications engagement, and rewards recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.