Improve Employee Engagement With These Ten Tips: Image source: Pexels
If there’s one thing that stumps many modern business leaders, it’s whether they are doing enough to engage and excite their employees. Let’s be honest: going to work and spending eight hours earning money for someone else isn’t exactly a dream come true. However, it’s a living and an income, and for most people, the company that they are working for is the place they start to achieve their dreams – whatever they may be.
Engaging the people who work for you isn’t as easy as you think, either. You are at the head of a business that is trying to sell a message, a product or a service. The people who work for you do so for one of three reasons:
- They need money.
- They have goals to hit and you are a stepping stone on the way to that goal.
- Lastly, they believe in you.
Now
You need the people who you have trained and hired to work for you. Before you ever think that staff need you, remember that you need them and you selected them from pools of candidates – you need their skills. They can leave you and go elsewhere, but the goal is to have a low turnover that will ensure that your business is steady, not one that is high in turnover and people are leaving every week.
We all want our staff to share the passion we have for the work we are trying to do, but the truth is that it very rarely comes down to that reason. Well, unless you have a hand in it, of course. You are putting on a daily cape and being a hero for the people working for you. You are choosing how to keep them motivated and productive, and while it may not seem it, you have the biggest hand in their future than you can imagine.
So, it is up to you to be the leader that they need you to be. You need to go into work every day with the mentality that you are changing the lives of the people who work for you. We are living in the middle of a pandemic, so whether you are working from home and planning to head back to the office soon, or you are in the office already and trying to make a difference, here are ten ways you can engage your people.
1. Foster The Best Environment
Company culture has a lot to say for itself. You need to create an atmosphere in your business that shows that people gel very well together and work hard as a team. This is a team effort – no one person can stand out among everyone and be the “best” because you have hired people who are all the best at what they do. You want a balanced company culture that sees you give the same amount of attention to everyone in the office.
Once you do this, people start to appreciate each other more. They start to work well and their personalities match – why? Well, because you made it so. You hired people you knew would like the workplace you have created. You want inclusivity and fun, not office politics and (to put it politely), b*tchiness. All of this will lead to people building a life and a career of which they can be proud.
2. Keep People Safe
As we mentioned, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. You need to do whatever you can to make the new normal as safe as possible for the people who trust you to be there for them. Update your PPE policies in the wake of COVD-19 and head to ppesuppliesdirect.com to order new supplies. You have a duty of care to each and every employee. Work with the local government on furlough schemes and do what you can to make life a comfortable thing for those who spend most of it in your company. They are the ones making sacrifices for you – so make sure they don’t have to sacrifice their health and safety.
3. Show That You Care
You care about your employees, right? It’s time to show them. Keep a close eye on their lives outside of work and make allowances for those with children. If people need to work from home, be flexible. You have to make the people working for you as comfortable as possible and the only way to do that is to ask them what they need to be happy. If people need or want more education, help them to reach their goals. If people want a pay rise, show them the route to get there. You are in charge, but you can show that you care and make people as confident in their role as possible.
4. Empower Your People!
You don’t need a plinth made in your name or a pedestal on which to publicly speak from, but you do need to empower the people that you have in your employ. These are the people who are taking on new challenges and taking responsibility for their futures, and they’re doing it under your careful guidance. You want to help to develop people and allow them to achieve their goals as best you can. Empowering them means being there for them, not micromanaging them every step of the way. If people have good ideas, encourage them to come to you. They are working in your business so they should be allowed to step forward and have a say!
5. Make Your Team Work
Employee engagement isn’t just about the individuals. It’s about creating the right connections through the organization. You may have separate teams, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t interact together to complete projects and do them well. Create an environment that fosters collaboration and encourages goal-setting and achievement. If you get people together as a team, you will reward them as a team, too.
6. Encourage Learning
We’ve talked a lot about goal-setting and achievements, but if you want that to happen you need to give people opportunities to do more than come in, work their shift and go home. Offer educational courses and classes to help them to upskill and do better. Sure, people may use your company as a stepping stone to something better, or to set up their own business, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help them. You will forever have a good connection and link to a new business if you are the person who encouraged someone to find their own path. It’s not detrimental to your business to encourage people to achieve. It shows you are a great leader. Be the leader that allows people to learn and grow.
7. Don’t Forget The Fun
Work is eight hours or more per day, five days a week. There is far less time for fun than there should be. However, you can get the best out of people when you make it fun. Workplace lunches, pizza parties and nights out are all great ideas. They keep people bonding together and they allow you to alleviate some of the workplace stress that people feel. You don’t have to make the entire week a party: you need people to work hard, after all. However, you don’t have to have a business that is boring and rubbish! Get people excited to be a part of the organization and you will instantly engage people!
8. Ask People What They Think
The best way to know you’re doing a good job as a leader? Ask your staff. Sure, you may not always have everything totally positive all of the time. However, this is the point in asking! You cannot do better unless you know better, and the only way to know better is to ask! You have to be able to have courage and ask what people think about the business, how you are as a manager and ask them what they need going forward. The more you know, the better. Make it anonymous if you must, but check in and then listen. Listening is far more important! If people bring up an issue, resolve it. Make the workplace a good one to work in and you’ll have a loyal workforce.
9. Recognize!
Rewards and recognition are two things that people crave in their working environment. Sometimes even the verbal recognition of work well done is enough to keep someone happy all day long. Be the boss that celebrates the little achievements as well as the big ones! Offer a good reward scheme that is lucrative enough to be more than book vouchers, and you will have people working hard. We all want more – give them more!
10. Offer A Sense Of Purpose
Workers in your business are going to seek a sense of purpose in their job. Whether they are using your business to get them to their ultimate goal or not, you need to make sure that people feel valued and valuable in their role.
Engaging your staff takes work. Are you ready to make it happen?
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