It has been proven that employees who are engaged with their employer and role are more productive and happier, and there are clearly accepted benefits to business to those that dig into the subject to better understand it.
However, some managers may not be clear of the possible benefits yet as there are so many challenges to consider when running a business that it’s not surprising that it can seem an overwhelming potential initiative to undertake.
It can be a difficult subject, particularly if you don’t quite understand the value or recognise the overall importance it can have on your business.
Getting employees engaged, or even the term employee engagement, what does that mean anyway?
Engaged employees is not just a phrase or metric to report on, and it’ s not just about making your staff happy or satisfied with their role or the company overall. An engaged workforce is one which encourages employees to commit to you as an employer and to commit to their colleagues as well and are “buying in” to the corporate purpose and vision.
Successful and sustainable employee engagement has been shown to increase productivity and discretionary effort dramatically if you get it right. With that as a key benefit, why wouldn’t you want to jump on board and have your employees jump on board too?
Giving employees periodic surveys, free coffee, an extra hour off at the end of the week or cakes in the kitchen, does not necessarily engage your workforce, although they might appreciate these facilities. It could in fact show your employees that you don’t fully realise (or worse don’t care about) the value of their role and impact in the company.
Employees engaged with the business are likely to interact with you and your managers and influence their thoughts to improve the business for everyone inside and outside the business, not just for themselves or their own personal gain.
Employee engagement builds a working environment which encourages employees to stay in their current role, or even move to another one within the same company because the company fits emotionally, mentally and physically. It sits with the head, heart and hands, and where purpose and belonging meet development and personal growth.
It is a culture where all employees whatever their role are encouraged and invited to communicate openly, respectfully and effectively with colleagues and managers about the important things that make a difference to the top and bottom line for the business and the employees within it.
A culture that fosters employee engagement represents the opportunity for employees voices to be heard and their feedback acted on. A positively engaged workforce is one which gives employees more than just a job; it creates a trusting and supportive environment in which employees can work, communicate, and operate, effectively and transparently.
In a recent Gallup poll, only 32% of American employees claimed to feel engaged in their workplace, leaving a whopping 70% of staff feeling disengaged, and the Chartered Institute of Personal Development, a professional UK HR body, showed that almost one in four workers in the UK were looking to leave their jobs because of managers failing to engage and recognise staff for their efforts.
With technology advances, employee expectations of an engaged environment are greater than ever, and the demand is high for tools and systems that allow them to do their jobs well and up to their own expectation in their workplace.
If improving employee engagement is on your radar think about how you can bring much more than role satisfaction to your employees. Consider offering learning and development, health and wellbeing initiatives, growth opportunities and a recognition and reward program to motive your employees.
Demonstrating that you are committed to delivering an engaged environment and positive culture that they want to be part of and also have a responsibility in shaping will have a positive impact. When doing so, consider the following:
• Provide ongoing and fully supported training
• Prioritise internal promotion of job openings
• Implement employee recognition awards which credits role performance and behaviours
• Focus on measurable employee feedback and subsequent action plans
• Align the business to your corporate values and culture
KPMG recently reported. “If organisations don’t feel the need to invest money to drive engagement, how do they achieve a culture which does? And how do they know what to change to transform employee engagement?”
Ready to go get your employees engaged?
Call us today on 03 9909 7411 or email us at info@browniepoints.com.au to arrange a no obligation demonstration.
