Employee engagement: Some lessons to learn from GoT

Do you know how vital it is to engage your employees so that they are motivated to work hard? Employee engagement will make them happier and motivate them to perform to the best of their abilities.

Over the years, we have all been watching Game of Thrones, which has spawned many crazy fans. Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have heard of Game of Thrones. That shows its popularity and fan following. I personally like it because I am surprised by how artfully its characters are crafted and its brilliant storytelling. It is completely a work of fantasy and David Benioff has done it brilliantly.

I am amazed at how every character has a mass of wisdom to offer to the audience. My team at ProofHub, relates this incredible fantasy with the real world and gets attached, becomes a part of it and ends up expressing its emotions.

A day when we were having a general discussion on the series, I explained my team that Game of Thrones isn't just a ‘show’ but a way of life and a source of entrepreneurial wisdom. I came to this conclusion by learning about several business lessons about employee engagement from GOT. Let me introduce you to some of them:

Celebrate individuals and their achievements

There is a scene in the part of Daenerys' journey, where everyone believes in her, supports and celebrates her achievements.

It is a human’s basic need to get support and recognition in every field they are involved in and without it, employees will become disengaged in their job roles. Thus, it is important for every manager to initiate an employee recognition approach for better business results.

Do not run from feedback

Alliser Thorne never missed a chance of letting Jon know what he really thought of his plans.

This is a great example of employee engagement as the voice of the employee is what makes or breaks the engagement. Are you following up with your employees? Game of Thrones teaches us to provide a feedback that will help us achieve 100 percent of our goals and improve company culture. This can be done by having a consistent internal communication which can be done easily with the help of project management software like ProofHub. You can provide quick response and host a Q&A session delivering more productivity.

Give everyone a chance

“A dragon is not a slave.”- Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones - Season 3

Some managers prefer to rely only on high-performers and do not pay much attention to others. This usually burns out the high-performers and also underestimates the work of others. Every team member has his own unique strength, so try to combine every individual's design to get the best and make them interactive to each other. With this stimulating work environment, employees will perform the best and invest in the company’s success.

Can you relate to them? I bet you can. Do you know the reasons why your employees are disengaged? Roughly, a majority of the employees are not much engaged with their teams, managers or boss and they usually point the fingers at their managers for this.

Reasons why your employees are disengaged

I know it is not entirely the fault of a manager behind the disengagement in office, there are some other genuine reasons like:

• They do not fit the office culture
• They are chargeable for their career
• They feel undervalued
• Boring training sessions
• Failure to using teamwork effectively
• No opportunities to grow

Many employees come across these problems and find it difficult to get engaged with other employees. As a manager, I whatever I could do to increase employee engagement in my office. Want to know what I did?

Things managers can do to increase employee engagement

As a manager, I am mostly worried about how engaged my team members are. But being greatly inspired by Game of Thrones, I tried to fix their problems. Here's what I did:

Understand their work value

This is something I try to know about my employees during the hiring process. Try to know employees’ work value by assessing their personalities. See if their characteristics fit in the work environment. Gather all points and try to cater to their every need. Mould your workplace into a suitable form for your employees to fit in comfortably.

Provide them with the right tools

When projects are assigned to employees, there are certain goals set to achieve the set deadlines. But managers fail to see if they have the right tools to achieve their goals. My team is using ProofHub, a cloud based project management tool, that helps them manage their tasks, prioritise their work and deliver the work on time.

Employee engagement activities

Apart from the daily tasks, I believe activities should be an important part of our work. Once a month, I always try to bring their creativity out by organising team-building activities. Fun activities, indoor games or brainstorming activities brings the team together and increases employee engagement greatly.

Employee recognition

A job well done should be appreciated. I believe in practicing gratitude in my life, both work and personal life. Trust me, there is nothing more boosting for employees than to get a pat on the back from their managers.

At work, I recognise my employees for their work, their extraordinary efforts and for their creative minds. It is a powerful motivation for employees to bring better results and push them to work harder.

In a nutshell, we all know we want an engaged work environment. So, why not take the initiative? Talk to your employees about their needs, and learn what you can do make employee engagement more worthy.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)