A significant part of employee engagement is giving them a ‘voice’. MacLeod and Clarke explain this well in *Committing to Success*: “Employee engagement strategies enable people to be the best they can at work, recognising that this can happen only if they feel respected, involved, heard, well led and valued by those they work for and with.”

However, employers, business owners and managers sometimes overlook the fact that employee engagement is a two-way process. If we expect employee engagement to be the result of delivering results for the company, surely the same level of commitment should be expected from their managers? Once the results of the employee engagement survey have been received and analysed, it is up to managers to act on these results and provide meaningful feedback to employees.  There are simple, practical steps they can take in their day-to-day routine to bring about a change in the culture of a traditional workplace. The advice comes from LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, who tweeted the following:

With a 97% approval rating from his employees on Glassdoor, his advice certainly seems worth heeding.

Inspire

People are inspired by actions rather than titles or hierarchical positions. This means that a manager must show employees that they deserve their respect through their actions, rather than assuming that simply because they are the manager, they should inspire through words alone. Managers should be willing to help employees and emphasise that they are there to develop skills and potential rather than using the ‘stick’ to get what is required. Furthermore, showing enthusiasm for the company’s aims and objectives is very important.

Empower

Providing employees with the right tools to do their job is a key part of ensuring they are properly motivated. Developing their skills, as well as providing the right tools, is equally important. Many use performance management systems which, as well as monitoring performance and being useful for awarding bonuses, are extremely helpful for understanding how an employee is performing and what they need to do even better to realise their full potential.

Listening

It is always worth listening to employees, and it takes far less time than one might think. Listening can take place both during the normal course of daily work and in regular one-to-one meetings. The employee engagement survey is a fundamental part of listening, just on a larger scale.

Appreciate

If an employee has done a good job, the manager should, indeed MUST, be ready and willing to acknowledge this by appreciating what they have done. Not only that, they MUST tell them why they did well. People always perform better if they feel valued and appreciated, as this provides positive reinforcement for achieving future goals. This aspect should be an integral part of every company’s culture.

Here is an example of what a LinkedIn employee says:

“LinkedIn is truly an incredible place to work. Feeling valued, being treated with respect, and having independence and autonomy in my work… I feel lucky to work here every day.”