Engagement plays a major role in the productivity of employees and entire teams. Enthusiastic professionals will complete their tasks more effectively. Their commitment is then likely to spread to their coworkers. This can create a ripple effect of productivity improvements, helping companies excel. But, the opposite can occur as well. To ensure your business continues to grow, your team members must be engaged.
There are many strategies to achieve this goal. But, most of these are long-term plans that could be challenging to implement in the short term. They involve generalized commitments that are difficult to split into individual steps. This makes it hard to get started, which is one of the most important steps in the process.
This article will explore a few actionable methods to improve employee engagement. These use a productivity tool that may already be a part of your team’s workflow: time tracking software.
What is employee engagement?
Before you improve employee engagement, it is important to know what it means. Employee engagement simply shows how enthusiastic a professional is about their work. An engaged team member will not only be committed to their role but also aligned with the goals of their employer. They will be more inclined to do their best to help the team succeed. Engaged professionals will often put more effort into their tasks and even be willing to work for longer. But, as we’ll explore in a bit, your company needs to take advantage of this in moderation. Now, let’s dive deeper into the benefits of employee engagement and look at their effects on your business.
How improving employee engagement can positively affect your business
Improving employee engagement will help your company in many ways. This includes increased productivity, reduced employee turnover, and more efficient resource spending.
- Increased productivity: Engaged employees will be more eager to complete their tasks effectively. This will increase their productivity, improving performance. Besides completing more tasks, they will also provide your company with higher-quality results. Studies show that this difference can be as much as 41%.
- Reduced employee turnover: High turnover rates can be detrimental to your company’s growth. By improving employee engagement, you can increase loyalty among your team members. Engaged professionals won’t be looking to switch jobs for longer, helping your business retain talent.
- Efficient resource spending: By combining increased productivity and reduced turnover, your business can spend its resources more efficiently. This applies to money and time, two of the most valuable assets of any organization. Your company will be able to spend more on things that matter, helping it grow faster.
How can time tracking improve employee engagement?
Time tracking software can be a powerful tool. High-quality examples like WebWork offer many productivity features. These allow you to ensure high productivity at your company. But, you can also use them to improve employee engagement.
Many factors influence employee engagement, with one of the major ones being the sense of purpose. If a professional feels a task is a waste of time, they won’t enjoy working on it. Time trackers help communicate purpose more effectively. By using features like task management, your team members can get a better understanding of why certain tasks are important.
Tips to use time tracking software to improve employee engagement
You can use time tracking software to improve employee engagement in many ways. Let’s explore a few tips that can help you achieve your professional engagement targets.
1. Detect low engagement
The first step to improving employee engagement is determining if it is necessary. Time tracking software can help you do this by detecting low productivity. If you notice reduced productivity for a high-performing employee, they may be disengaged. The most likely cause of this will be burnout, which stems from overworking. Fortunately, detecting and preventing burnout is pretty simple with time tracking apps.
2. Prevent overworking
Ensuring a healthy employee work-life balance is important for many reasons. As mentioned earlier, you need to take advantage of the benefits of engaged employees in moderation. This is because highly engaged professionals will be willing to work for longer, which can quickly lead to overworking. Consequently, they will get burnt out, reducing productivity and team performance. To prevent it, you need to set clear boundaries between work and personal time for your team members. For example, you may disable time tracking outside of work hours using WebWork. You can also set a weekly working hour limit if you’d like to provide more flexibility at your firm.
3. Break down large tasks
Large tasks may sometimes be daunting for employees. They can be difficult to start, leading to distractions and reduced focus. These in turn will result in a downward spiral in productivity. Time tracking software can help your team simplify their to-dos by breaking down large tasks. Your employees will be able to take small steps toward completing major goals. This will help them stay focused and remain aligned with your organization’s long-term objectives.
4. Efficient time management
Managing time for teams is important for many reasons. It can help individual members boost their productivity and focus, speeding up business growth. Besides improving overall performance, effective time management will also improve employee engagement. It can do this by reducing wasted time. Professionals can then use this time to improve their skills and grow along with their company.
5. Reward employees for their performance
Rewards and recognition are vital for improving employee engagement. They’re as important as the sense of purpose in ensuring professionals remain committed to their tasks. You can use the data gathered by your time tracker to reward your team members for their performance. As an example, you can use the reports offered by WebWork to reward your team’s achievements in many areas. This can include everything from overall productivity and performance to attendance and punctuality.
Closing thoughts
Improving employee engagement is important for businesses aiming to grow. There are many ways to achieve this target, including with time tracking software. Using such apps can help you ensure a high employee engagement rate at your organization. In turn, this will help you take your business to the next level.
