By now, you probably already know that more engaged employees equal happier, more productive employees. But how exactly do you go about boosting your team’s engagement levels? Fortunately, there are a ton of folks out there who are happy to help guide you through your mission. All you need to do is reach out to them.
If you're reading this, congrats! You're already taking steps to gain insights from the best and brightest in the world of people management.
Through LinkedIn Groups, you can access the collective wisdom of thousands of managers, ask specific questions, take part in meaningful discussions, learn from shared experiences and apply those insights in a way that is most applicable to your goals and objectives.
To get the most of out of these communities, make sure you're harnessing them as part of a wider strategy. That strategy should involve measuring and tracking your existing levels of employee engagement . By using a tool like TINYpulse to gather data and real time feedback from employees, you can feel confident you're asking the right questions within your chosen LinkedIn groups.
But there are thousands of groups out there and all the content is private, so how do you choose between them? To make things easy, we've put together a list of the seven employee engagement groups every manager should join on LinkedIn.
1. Employee Communications and Engagement
With almost 38,000 members, this group offers a wealth of content ranging from talent retention to transparency within your company culture. The group was started almost a decade ago by Jeremy Henderson, an expert HR director, who has transformed the employee experience at global companies including eBay and Salesforce. Each admin is very active within the group and willing to provide a high level of expertise across a variety of topics.
To get a taste of the sort of content you should expect to come across, check out this post from Gonzalo Shoobridge, Head of Action Consultancy at Great Place to Work.
Want to learn how to become a more effective leader? At a quarter of a million members, you're sure to come across some energetic discussion threads, inspiring stories and employee engagement examples to help guide you to success. The group is dedicated to advancing new leadership concepts as the relationship between leaders and followers continues to evolve in the 21st century.
The post below is a great example of the sort of the forward-thinking articles you should expect to see from Leadership Think Tank.
This group was founded by the folks over at HRchitect, a well-established consulting firm specialising in HCM (Human Capital Management). With over two decades of experience working with thousands of clients to draw from, the admins of the group are highly skilled at facilitating compelling discussions and ensuring quality content is shared.
The discussion below for example has generated a great deal of thought-provoking dialogue between members.
If you feel that most managerial styles are a little impersonal, this is the group for you. The community's mission is to galvanise businesses by "bringing more humanity to the employee experience". Become a member and you'll learn employee engagement strategies and best practices for empowering your team members, recognising their achievements and helping them reach their full potential.
If you only join one group from this list, make it this one. With over 44,000 members, Wholehearted Leadership takes the conversation one step further by focussing more broadly on how to develop an employee-centric leadership style. Group members include best selling business authors such as Travis Bradberry (Emotional Intelligence 2.0) and Julie Clow (Work Revolution).
Related: What Your Employee Survey Says About Your Company Culture
6. Internal Communications and Employee Engagement
Boasting a 20,000 strong collective of HR thought leaders, internal communication specialists and managers from a wide range of backgrounds, you're sure to discover expert advice that touches on every stage of the employee lifecycle. Among the most interesting pieces of content shared includes the results of a survey taken by 420 internal communications specialists within the group. Watch ‘ A day in the life of an IC Practitioner ’
7. Employee Engagement Network
While this group may be slightly smaller in size, the expertise of its member base makes it an excellent resource for employee engagement articles written by CEOs, authors, speakers and educators. The group was founded by David Zinger, a company culture consultant and educational psychology instructor with 22,000 hours of experience. His approach focuses on the ABCs of engagement: Achieve Results, Build Relationships and Cultivate Wellbeing.
Check out one of his latest posts below on how to develop positive work ownership.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re in a new managerial role and need help finding your feet or a seasoned professional and want to hone your craft, LinkedIn Groups are a great place to learn, grow and connect with others.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and spark up some conversations! If you’re working through a problem, you might be surprised just how many people have been in the same boat and are eager to offer guidance.