Only three out of every 10 employees are fully engaged in their work, according to the Gallup organization’s State of the American Workplace: 2010-2012 report. Your team can do better than that! To help you create and achieve a highly engaged, motivated and productive team, here’s a list of tips on how to keep your team members’ minds and spirits in the game.

1. Go Team Go!
How to Create a Highly Engaged and Motivated Team

2. Find ways to connect with team members
individually.
To engage your team,
engage with team members
individually.
Showing interest makes
people feel like they matter.
A little mattering goes a
long, long way.

3. Focus on and develop employees’ strengths.
According to Gallup, people
who use their strengths every
day are six times more likely to
be engaged on the job.

4. Connect work to a sense of
purpose.
Encourage everyone on the
team to verbalize what the
company’s mission and
purpose means to them.
Having a strong sense of
what their organization
stands for boosts their
engagement, especially
when their values are
aligned.

5. Leverage the engagement level of new team members.
Employees are naturally super
engaged during the first six
months on the job.
To make the most of this, pair
a new hire up with a workplace
friend or mentor who can show
them the ropes and provide
plenty of recognition for their
early efforts. Who knows—the
energy might be infectious!

6. Enhance people’s sense of well-being.
People don’t
compartmentalize their work
lives and their personal
lives. It’s the whole person
who comes to work. Each
employee’s well-being
influences individual and
organizational
performances.

7. If morale is low, learn why and
fix it ASAP.
Be brave enough to figure out if
you’re part of the problem, and
make the appropriate changes.
If you can’t figure out from team
members what’s creating poor
morale, consult your company’s
HR group. Think of HR as a
resource you can draw from, but
don’t ask them to take over the
problem. You still own it.

8. Be accessible.
Spend a few extra minutes
in your lunch or coffee
room; keep an open-door
policy (literally and
figuratively); ask people how
they’re doing and if they
need anything from you, go
out to lunch—be there for
and with your team.

9. Be generous with responsibility.
Empower your team members
to make decisions and
influence a project and their
jobs.
People will rise to the level of
responsibility they’re given.
And, if it’s the right challenge,
they’ll thrive. So will the
project.

10. Encourage constructive
criticism.
Give employees
opportunities to solve
problems and take action.
This acts as a strong
antidotes to fear and feeling
helpless. Also, involve your
team members in decision-making
processes for better
results.

11. Listen
When team members get a
chance to air their issues
individually it makes them feel
better, builds trust, and brings
to light any deeper problems
that need airing. Telling
employees to “move on” or
“just deal with it” fosters anger
and resentment—and
disengagement.

12. Communicate
Do more than share decisions
with your team. Explain.
why decisions are made.
David Lee, consultant and
founder
of HumanNature@Work says,
“When people understand
‘Why,’ they can deal with
almost any ‘What.’”

13. Let your team do things in new
ways.
Variety is not just a spice
but a great strategy to re-engage
a team that’s burnt
out or unmotivated. It’s
energizing to take risks and
experience new types of
successes and fresh
learnings. Go for it!

14. Advocate for your staff.
It’s good practice to stand up
for your employees if they’re
under attack and are worthy of
being backed. If words need to
be shared, drop by and have a
private conversation and offer
your support. Your team
members will be worth more to
you and your company than
the occasional cranky
customer.

15. Celebrate achievements
Thank-you’s and acts of
recognition highlight your
team’s progress. Applaud
examples of excellence in
difficult times; it’s important for
employees to feel like winners,
especially when times are
tough.
Go team!