Often underrated, engaged employees are one of the greatest assets you can have as a business owner or operator. These select individuals are highly motivated and enthusiastic about what they do. They go the extra mile in making sure their deliverables are met, ultimately translating to better productivity and profits for your organization.
Engaged individuals are also generally more pleasant to be around. They are like a breath of fresh air in the workplace, making it enjoyable and lively for everyone coming to work. It is vital that you learn to identify engaged employees and spot those whose engagement is lacking so you can work out a strategy on how to increase overall productivity. Now, while there are a lot of distinguishable traits that can help identify engaged employees, we will take a look at the ones that actually matter.
What Defines an Engaged Employee?
An engaged employee can best be described as an individual who is highly driven and motivated to do their work well. Engaged employees have a deep emotional commitment to fulfilling their role, helping their team, and achieving company goals. They connect to your organization’s missions and actively work toward making a contribution to its success.
From that definition alone, it is pretty easy to spot an engaged employee. It will be the person who’s always running up and down, doing the most in the organization. You’ll find them following up on ongoing projects, offering suggestions and feedback even without being prompted. All in all, engaged individuals do not shy away from responsibilities. They always do their best to give satisfactory output.
While these traits might seem minor, they can go a long way in keeping your business ahead of the competition.
Characteristics of Highly Engaged Teams and Employees Include
While there are several traits that can be linked to engaged employees, here are the most fundamental traits you’ll spot:
1. Reliable
Engaged employees can always be trusted to deliver on time. Whenever they have a task delegated or assigned to them, they will do it wholeheartedly and see to its completion regardless of the circumstances. They will carry out the task with a positive mindset because they believe their objectives are aligned with those of the organization.
2. Positive
These are the employees that harbor the “can-do” approach to any task assigned to them. They are open to new, challenging assignments and have the emotional capacity to handle them without complaining.
Engaged employees carry with them an aura of positivity, and they are always happy to be at the workplace. You won’t find them quarreling, or making excuses for failed tasks. Basically, they seemingly work toward easing your burden as a manager.
3. Collaborative
These sorts of employees are always happy to assist when needed and are great team players. Since their goals align with those of the organization, they will happily work with others to get the job done, rather than only focus on their own duties.
Collaboration also means actually wanting other colleagues to achieve their goals while helping them get there. Engaged employees are quick to adapt and support each other even without the intervention of their superiors.
Overall, the workplace becomes more pleasant for workers. Productivity also increases since employees are working together instead of competing against each other.
4. Motivated
Whenever a project begins, an engaged employee will be fully committed to seeing it through. These employees show up on time, even working additional hours until their share of work is complete.
Such employees are willing to do difficult tasks without any resentment. They know almost all the processes within the organization, even in different departments.
5. Resilient
In the case of a setback, engaged employees always bounce back quickly. They take setbacks as lessons and learn how to prevent them from recurring.
They are great students of change and are often the ones encouraging their colleagues to keep up and not get disheartened. Ultimately, by fostering such work ethic, your organization and its various departments learn how to better handle downtime.
6. Innovative
These employees do not back down from challenges. They face them head-on and come up with new and creative ways of solving them. This means being able to see beyond the day-to-day tasks and embrace the bigger picture. By doing so, it inspires fresh ideas. An engaged employee will think outside the box and take calculated risks for the sake of improving the organization.
7. Well-Spoken
Effective communication keeps the workflow easy and open throughout the organization. People are able to express their ideas and concerns and ultimately inspire improvements. Engaged employees are able to do this effortlessly. They are not afraid to share their opinions with their peers or higher-level colleagues.
Communication skills also include being a good listener. An engaged employee will take and give constructive feedback and know the exact role they play in the organization. Instead of relying on speculations and assumptions, engaged employees seek clarity in everything they do, leading to efficient operations.
What You Should Do If Your Employees Are Disengaged
While not everybody can be an engaged employee right from the start, that doesn’t mean you give up on them. Some of them just need a little push to get there. Below are some proven ways to improve employee engagement:
1. Mentorship Programs
Mentorship programs are some of the best ways of instilling values or educating a group of individuals. You can start by establishing a program that focuses on improving your employees’ weaknesses and boosting their strengths.
A great way to do this would be having them choose a leader or colleague in the organization who excels where they are weak. This will give them a chance to grow and track their progress.
2. Recognition
Another great way of boosting employee morale is by giving them recognition when they do a good job or achieve a milestone. This will let your employees know they are valued and even increase team participation. You can achieve this via simple things, such as congratulatory emails, bonuses, and mentions in company meetings.
3. Team Building
Employees take comfort knowing that their needs are listened to and that they have the support of the organization behind them. You can do this through team-building and empowerment programs.
Giving your employees a voice in key decisions revolving around their expertise makes them feel important. Team building will make them feel like they belong to the organization and are part of the team. You can come up with simple routines, like outings for lunch-and-learns or delegating other important tasks to other members of the team.
Hire the Best Workers From the Start
Finding engaged employees really starts with sourcing the right talent from the beginning. At Sprockets, we believe that it is crucial to find someone who meshes with your team and fits into the company with their attitude, work ethic, and values.
We have developed AI-powered software that makes finding good employees easier than ever. Our applicant matching software does this by analyzing your top talent and identifying the most suitable applicants for your organization. Also, Sprockets allows you to keep open positions in front of the applicants who best fit your organization with our virtual recruiter and sourcing tools. To learn more, feel free to contact one of our platform experts today for a free demo.