The Best Questions to Engage Employees

Learning to ask the right questions to engage employees can make all the difference in the world when it comes to the growth and development of your team. Knowing the questions to ask can often help you get a better idea of any potential issues that could arise. By asking these questions regularly and keeping up with the staff, it will also allow you to find and handle issues before they become a major problem.

Having one-on-ones with your employees will help immensely, and you should make sure you are asking the following questions. They could help to guide your business in the right direction and ensure your employees become and remain happy.

What’s Going Well for You This Week?

This is one of the best first questions to engage employees because it ensures that the conversation starts on a positive. It is time to let the employees celebrate the victories they have had in the workplace. Encourage the employees to talk about even the small wins they have had, as they all add up and should not be overlooked.

You will start to get a better understanding of the employee’s strengths. Knowing where they shine will help you to ensure they are in the right role. When the employee tells you about the things that have gone well for them, show your appreciation and thank them for the work they do.

What Types of Challenges Do You Face Currently?

Your employees are dealing with a wide range of challenges each day, even though you might not be aware of them if you haven’t asked. A lot of times, people feel as though they need to handle these issues on their own, or they might feel that they are the only ones dealing with the challenge. You want to ask your team what challenges they are dealing with, so you can then take steps that will help to correct them. The sooner you act, the easier it will be to deal with those issues.

What’s the Morale in the Company Like?

You will want to get an idea of how your employee, and their peers, feel in general about work. Is there a lot of tension? Are there a lot of rumors that are causing people to worry? Does the team feel like they aren’t being listened to? All of these things and countless others could lower morale, which ends up lowering productivity and increasing turnover. You want to know how morale is, so you can take steps to boost it if needed.

How Fulfilled Do You Feel on a Scale of 1 to 10?

You need to get a good idea about the overall job satisfaction your employees have. Ask each of the employees in the one-on-ones just how fulfilled they feel in their role. Are they happy with how they are being treated? When people feel fulfilled, they tend to be more productive, they perform better, and there is lower turnover in the company. By asking these questions regularly, you can get a better idea of how engaged your team members are and where you might need to make some adjustments.

What Can I Do to Be a Better Leader?

You should also ask for feedback from your team members, but you need to encourage them to be both respectful and honest. You can find out what things your team might want you to do differently. It will let you know where you are succeeding and where you need to make some improvements in your management style, communication, etc. You must take the feedback as gracefully as you hope your team takes feedback.

With all of these questions, though, there needs to be a certain level of trust set up between you and your employees. They need to trust you if you want them to answer honestly, so don’t use their answers to these questions as a way to make life more difficult for them.

How Often Should You Ask These Questions to Engage Employees?

You will want to try to ask these questions of your employees each week. This will help to keep you better apprised of what’s happening in the workplace, and it will let you head off any problems before they become serious. Ideally, you will have a one-on-one conversation weekly, even if it’s only a few minutes long. If you can’t do one weekly, then you should strive for biweekly. These are not the sorts of questions you want to wait to ask until a performance review. Ask them soon and ask them regularly.

Make Sure You Listen and Take Action When Needed

Keep in mind that you can’t just ask these questions to engage employees and move on with your day. You need to listen to what your employees are telling you in their answers. This can provide you with some insight into how things are going at the company and how things could be improved. You want to take actionable steps that will help to make the changes that are needed.

Keep in mind that this is an ongoing conversation, too. Just because you ask the questions and make a few changes now doesn’t mean you’re finished. These questions need to be asked regularly so that you can keep up with necessary changes and so your workplace can evolve and grow.

Reasons You Need to Boost Employee Engagement

You want to ask the questions above and listen to the answers to ensure your employees feel happy and engaged in the workplace. When you have employees who feel more engaged with the company, you will discover that it provides some excellent benefits.

Increased Productivity

When employees are engaged, you will find that they tend to be loyal and committed to their employer. They want to do well for the company because they feel the company is doing right by them. They go above and beyond and are happy to contribute to the organization. This helps to increase the overall productivity of your company.

Employees who are not engaged do not care about the company or its success. They only care about their paycheck. Of course, if your company doesn’t do anything to truly engage the employees and make them care, it is no wonder they don’t feel connected to the business as anything other than a way to earn money. The disengaged don’t see themselves as part of the company for very long. A lot of them might already be looking for other jobs, which leads us to the next reason to improve employee engagement.

Reduced Turnover Rate

If you have engaged employees who like the company, there is a good chance they are going to stay at the company for a long time. They like being an employee, and they enjoy the job. They might even want to become a manager one day, or train to work in another part of the business. These are employees who will want to work for you now and in the future.

However, when you have disengaged employees, you will have a higher turnover rate. These employees are going to look for other jobs because they aren’t satisfied with their current roles. As you know, turnover is time-consuming and expensive. Anything you can do to reduce turnover is a good idea.

Stronger Teams

You will also find that better engagement will create stronger teams and improved employee relations. People in the company care about one another and the overall success of the business. Some of the strategies you could use to improve employee engagement include offering team-building exercises and offering conflict management in case there are issues between employees.

You should also ensure a safe and healthy workplace for your employees. Provide career development paths for those who are looking to advance and grow, and always make it a point to show employee appreciation for the things your team does.

Happier Employees

Ultimately, when you have employees who are engaged and who like working for you, they are going to be happier in their personal and professional lives. Provide your employees with the tools they need to become more positive and strike a good work-life balance. When you can keep your workers happy, they will do more for your company. It is important to create a good symbiotic relationship.

Happier Customers

Of course, when you have happier employees who like their jobs, it is going to show. When engaged employees interact with customers, they often sing the praises of your business. They go above and beyond, and this is something the customers are going to notice. It will typically leave a positive impression on the customer and client, which can then lead to a better experience for them. Good customer experiences, of course, help to boost customer retention.

As you can see, employee engagement is important. Simply asking these questions weekly, or as often as you can, will help to increase the levels of engagement and satisfaction in your company.