In this rapid cycle economy, business leaders know that having high-performing employees is essential to survive and compete. They recognize that a highly engaged workforce can increase innovation, productivity, and also reduce costs related to hiring and retention. Most leaders understand the importance of engagement. But how do they manage it?

Conducting yearly surveys is clearly not enough, especially if it becomes a routine procedure to be completed to please your organization head.

Here below some of the actions Zane Safrit, CEO of a small ICT company, recommends to take in order to improve employees’ engagement:

• Measure engagement: choose your metric, define it at the start, track the changes as you proceed
• Welcome any new hire (incl. prepare training, arranging work area, etc.).
• Know your people’s dreams and why they’re important to them
• Explain how their accomplishments impact everyone
• Tell your boss how good they are, in their presence
• Honor their time
• Make every meeting meaningful: share an agenda beforehand, start and end the meeting in time, take notes and follow-up
• Recognize your mistakes: it will help them recognize your humanity. 

You lead by example and create learning opportunities which build further trust and engagement.