Employee Engagement Ideas: How To Make Your Office Irresistible

Idea: “Funky Shirt Fridays—that’ll increase staff engagement.”

Reality: TGIF no more— Friday has become the most dreaded day of the week. John from IT scrambles through the laundry bag to find his parrot-print shirt which hasn’t seen the light of day since Mexico, 2009.

You want to shake up the office and discover how to increase employee engagement—but it feels impossible to find inspiration.

So you send out an employee engagement survey, to understand the office vibe. But how can you act on the results you get back and make it the best place to work? You start brainstorming and turn to Google for help.

There are a lot of colorful employee engagement ideas out there. Tropical smoothie parties, mustache meals—even communal baths with colleagues.

But think about what gives bench-markers like Netflix, Tesla, and Microsoft an edge. It’s their first rate work-life balance. These trend-setters have the best benefits and company culture in the biz.

Okay, realistically you’re not going to build your own Googleplex this year, but there’s a bunch of other ideas you can try to improve the workplace. Learn how to engage employees now and they’ll be bragging to their friends, family, and anyone else nearby about how it’s the best place to work—ever.

→ Create the best employee engagement survey your team has ever seen with these 10 essential survey questions.

Get on board with onboarding

When people experience out-of-this-world onboarding, they settle quickly and are more likely to stay with the company for longer.

Greet your new starter on day one to let them know you’re there to support them—according to Kissmetrics, you’ll see a rise in productivity of up to 15% in the first three months, all from a simple hello.

Here at Typeform, we give newbies a rundown of what their first few days are going to look like in a friendly welcome typeform before they even set foot in the office. When they do reach HQ, they’re greeted with a smile and a tour of the office to get to know our family.

Giving your team more freedom is one of the best employee engagement strategies out there. FlexJobs say that 82% of people say that they would be more loyal to their employers if they were offered the option to work flexibly.

Some people come up with game-changing ideas at midnight. Others work best with their first cup of Joe. People are different and that’s what makes them great. So why not accommodate that in your workplace? Here’s how:

• Offer people the chance to work from home—it will strengthen work-life balance as team members get to spend time with their kids, partner, and furry friends.

• Ditch the 9 to 5—it’s not for everyone. Some gym-goers and joggers jump out of bed at 6 a.m., others smash the snooze button five times before rolling out of bed.

• Set a minimum amount of holiday your team can take and make sure they’re getting some respite.

Let's get physical

We spend a huge chunk of our lives at work—but sitting around all day can be really rough for our health. Dodgy desk chairs cause back pain. Luminous lighting gives us a headache. Sometimes just being at work is enough to wipe us out.

Offer mindful group activities at work, such as yoga. They give people a chance to escape from the clutches of their desks for an hour and chill out. Make it easier to arrange by sending out a sign-up sheet and see who’s up for bringing their Zen to work. Fewer sick days, less stress, and reduced fatigue are just a handful of the benefits.

But remember that being healthy isn’t just about downward dogs and treadmills. Step up your snack game in the office and provide delicious, healthy treats that keep the Pringles Monster at bay.

→ Use these employee retention strategies and watch your employee engagement go sky-high

Team engagement = dream engagement

Are you still struggling to remember the advertising manager’s name—Jenny maybe, or is it Joanne? Could you tell people what Greg actually does? When was the last time you even went out as a team? It might be time to rethink your company culture and drum up some fresh staff training ideas that promote a relaxed and personal working environment.

How to get employees engaged? Grow an efficient, supporting, and engaged team and treat each other like, well, people.

• Share stories over food.

• Hold group potluck lunches and get people to bring their favourite dish.

• Organize days out with friends and family, as well as just your colleagues.

• Let people choose their team-building activities: send out a poll so they can make the big decision.

Use your inner-compass

Feeling “lost” in your job is a one-way ticket to disengagement—it can feel like you’re trying to pin jello to a tree.

Save the jello for dessert and stop boredom from infecting your team—make sure everybody has a clear career path and a direction for development. You wouldn’t drive to a new city without Google Maps, so why would you jump into a career with no idea where you’re headed? Having a professional roadmap for your team is one of the best employee engagement ideas you can put into place.

Give them a training budget. Then give them the freedom to spend it as they wish. Well, within reason. Marketing conference in Chicago—yeah why not? Writer’s retreat in the hills—go on then. Team trip to Barbados—maybe next year.

Pair people up with buddies if you have members of the team who are more senior. This way, both of them can learn and grow from different skills and experiences. Open new conversations and share knowledge—it’s free.

What next?

Huzzah! You’ve put these employee engagement strategies into play and things are looking up.

You’ve generated up to 21% greater profitability just by improving employee engagement (Gallup Study). That’s something to present to any skeptics.

Strive to build a work environment that can consistently improve by itself. Ask people what they’d like to do, see, or get to be happier and more productive, and implement new processes.

Make it personal. Make it fun. Make it genuine.

And always put your people first.