Have you ever thought about what it would be like to do someone else’s job for a day? Some organizations take this question very seriously and use it as a means of employee engagement. This is one of several low-cost tasks that management can do to increase employee engagement and discussion about job satisfaction in the workplace.
If you’re looking to reinvigorate your employees, or even if you just want to change the corporate culture, consider these creative, inexpensive employee engagement solutions from your friends at Dale Carnegie Training of Central & Western PA:
1. Change Your Company’s Wardrobe — While your organization might allow the typical “dress down Friday,” you might want to switch things up a bit. Consider allowing a sports jersey day, a Hawaiian shirt day, or a company colors day when appropriate.
2. Interview Employee Day — Have you ever looked at someone’s job title in your organization only to wonder exactly what it is that person does? Set aside some time for your employees to “interview” each other about their roles in the organization. This will inspire personnel to achieve new goals in the company and to make new contacts within the organization.
3. Change Your Music — Most offices/warehouses allow employees to listen to music as long as it is kept at a low volume or via headphones. While this can boost productivity, it can also create a level of isolation. For a change, allow employees to appreciate each other’s musical tastes by asking everyone to contribute a song to an office playlist for the day. Alternatively, you might want to consider using a free web-based service such as turntable.fm, Pandora or Spotify.
4. Have Your Staff Switch Jobs For a Day — Job swapping is a great way to enrich your staff as it allows your staff to explore other areas of interest and gain appreciation for what their coworkers do. Additionally, it inspires individuals to communicate beyond their own teams as they get to learn about new departments. This can also reveal a great deal about your employees’ interests. To best accomplish this, coordinate a 30-minute meeting between employees so they can learn about the essential job duties and what must be accomplished within the work day.
Employee engagement does not have to be a large or expensive program or process. Most employees are curious about the jobs and interests of others, and you can learn a great deal about your employees’ goals by allowing them to learn about each others preferences and job duties.
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Western and Central PA, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in Pennsylvania. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @dalecarnegiepa.
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