So often I hear my employees just are not engaged. How can I get them more involved? What can I do to get them to be engaged?

The answer is simple; feedback.

Employees want feedback, they want to know how they are doing and they want to know what you think.

I know finding the time for feedback can be difficult. You are busy; you think about it but just don’t get around to giving it. At least not until the yearly evaluation process roles around and you have no choice. That is a big mistake on your part.

The best kind of feedback of course is positive feedback. Everyone likes to hear that they are doing a good job. Everyone likes to know that they are appreciated. Everyone likes to know that their supervisor notices they are doing a good job.

Believe it or not, the second best is negative; we will call it opportunity feedback.  At least your employees know where they stand and if you give it correctly, will know what they need to do to improve. Most people do not come to work with the mindset of performing poorly. They just want direction. As the boss it is your responsibility to course correct an employee if and when you see the need.

The worst kind of feedback is non-existent. This leaves your associates in the dark. They don’t know if they are doing a good job or a bad job. They can feel taken for granted. They don’t know what to think. Should they just keep doing the same things the same way or not? They can feel neglected or like you must not like them since you don’t let them know if they are meeting your expectations or not. In this case, no news is good news does NOT apply!

To have engaged employees you need to offer feedback and here is how;

• Feedback should be given daily. It is as simple as saying hey good job today, Thanks! Or, when you do this tomorrow, let’s try it this way, or I appreciate the fact that you tried but it just didn’t work. We will take a different approach tomorrow, OK?
• Depending on the size of your team you should be setting aside one hour a week to have private 1:1 conversations. The meeting only needs to be about 15 minutes; it is really just a touch base. This will also give you an opportunity to get to know your employees better and give you insight into how they respond and perceive their jobs.
• Your employees will feel valued and will appreciate the fact that you took your time to sit down with them and give them guidance and direction.
• You should always take notes, keep a copy and give the associate a copy. Transparent Management. Everything in the open.

Do NOT wait until the yearly performance review period as this is the worst thing you can do. It will make your job much more difficult especially if you have a large group. If someone is not performing to standards why would you wait to correct the situation? Why would you go a whole year with someone who is not performing? Why would you dump this on any one?

The longer you wait to give positive feedback the less impact it has. The longer you wait to give opportunity feedback the harder it is.

Feedback creates open and honest dialog with your employees, which creates a stronger team atmosphere.

Feedback fosters employee engagement!

As always I welcome your comments.

What do YOU do to foster Employee Engagement?