Businesses rely on their employees to help them grow. One could say that their workers are their biggest assets!
The trouble is, some firms are too busy to recognize the efforts of their staff. As a result, those employees don’t feel like offering 100% productivity. In fact, they could become so disillusioned that they look for jobs elsewhere!
If you’ve got some real talent in your business, it’s vital you keep hold of it! The last thing you want to do is have your staff resign and go work for your competitors. What you need to do is improve your employee engagement rates. So, just how do you do that? The following ten points will help you get started.
- Remember that your staff are people just like you
I’ve witnessed many unfortunate cases where bosses treated their staff like robots. To all intents and purposes, they would order them around. Employers need to remember that their employees are people, just like them.
If you aren’t respectful of your employees, they won’t respect you. It’s important that you treat your staff fairly. For example, don’t shout at them if they did something wrong! Use the experience to help them learn how things went wrong and how to avoid that mistake in the future.
- Show your staff that you care
Sometimes employees might have problems that can impact their work. Many firms have systems in place where staff can get help from expert third parties through work. Examples include things like employee assistance programs to help with workplace stress. Other topics they can cover include workplace bullying and long-term sickness.
There are many EAP services for employers that offer useful benefits to staff. It’s worth enrolling in such a program to show your staff that you care about their wellbeing at work!
- Remember their birthdays
Sometimes it’s just the simple gestures that can make a real difference. Employees need to feel motivated to do a good job each day. Believe it or not, one way to boost their morale is by remembering their birthday!
How you help your staff member celebrate their birthday is up to you. Even just a simple birthday card will suffice, signed by their co-workers. You could even offer them the day off from work without affecting their holiday quota!
- Offer a Christmas bonus
We all know how expensive December can be for everyone. It’s a well-known fact that most people spend a lot on Christmas presents, food and other costs. The festive period can often be a big drain on one’s financial resources!
If your company has done well throughout the year, one thing you could do is reward your staff. Christmas is the perfect opportunity to do! Aside from giving each worker a Christmas card, you could give them a cash bonus. It’s a proven way to increase employee engagement.
- Be sure to carry out quarterly evaluations
How well is each team member doing? Sure, you might oversee what they do each day. But, how well is their progress overall? A quarterly evaluation is a perfect opportunity to answer that question.
You might be wondering what that has to do with employee engagement. Well, it’s the chance for you to identify issues they might be having with their work. And it’s your chance to help put things right. Your staff will be happy that you’re committed to their success. And, of course, it means they will ensure your company is more efficient and productive too!
- Don’t forget about your side of the bargain
Have you made promises to your staff that will help to improve their quality of work? For instance, have you said you’d get new equipment or machines fitted to help them be more efficient? If so, don’t renege on your promises.
It’s always important to follow-through the things you said you would do. That way, it ensures that your staff will trust you when you say you’ll do something for them.
- Stamp out workplace issues
Sometimes workers will feel aggrieved if you do nothing to resolve any issues at work. Examples include workplace bullying and discrimination. The last thing you should do is foster a negative culture in your organization.
You should also have policies in place to deal with those types of workplace issues. Most firms have those policies detailed in employee handbooks. A balanced and happy team is one that will be successful. Focus on aiming for those goals to increase employee engagement in your firm.
- Help turn each team member’s weaknesses into strengths
No-one on the planet is without their faults or weaknesses. In the workplace, some of those weaknesses could get turned into strengths. Training is perhaps one of the best ways to deal with such scenarios. For example, let’s say that one team member has trouble using an Apple Mac computer. They might be otherwise proficient at using Windows systems.
You could offer them some practical training for Apple systems. That way, they can carry out tasks and feel confident about doing so.
- Let your staff make important decisions
Most people would like to have responsibilities in their roles. They want to feel “in charge” of certain aspects of their work. The last thing you should be doing is micromanaging your staff. Instead, let them have control over some of the things they do.
Fostering such an approach does two things. First of all, it makes your staff feel more important in your organization. And, second, it means you have more time to devote to other tasks in your day.
- Allow staff to learn about other aspects of your company
Does a marketing team member have an interest in IT? If so, you could let them spend time with your Technical Support department. Perhaps a sales representative would love to learn more about marketing.
Believe it or not, allowing staff to be “interns” in other departments will do wonders! How? The answer is simple. It gives them goals for future career options within your organization. Plus, it shows that you recognize their need to increase their skills.
