5 ways to engage with your staff to impact on business success

Engaged staff are more productive, better at engaging customers, have higher morale, support organisational change and are less likely to leave.

Studies have shown that engaging with your employees can have significant benefits for your organisation:  impacting on your bottom line, customer satisfaction, productivity and reducing employee turnover.

Engagement happens when there is an alignment of one’s job with that of achieving the objectives and goals of the organisation. It’s when your staff love the work that they do and do it well to help the business achieve its goals. 

Engaged employees are those who will go that extra mile for your organisation. They are proud to be working for you and know that their work is valued and contributes to the organisation’s success and that they are appreciated for their contribution.

Do your employees feel this way? One way to start is to find out what are the issues and concerns for your staff by asking them.  This can be either face to face to face if your workforce is small or by conducting a staff survey.

 5 ways in which you can increase engagement

Be an effective leader: talk with your people so that they are clear about the purpose and values of the organisation, the direction in which it is heading and the ways in which you intend to get there. Don’t let them guess or assume that they know! Tell them, take them with you, inspire them to be a part of that vision… and keep it live by reminding them frequently

Align goals: enable the employee to understand how his job contributes to success of the organisation. Show clear links between what the employee does and how that contributes to achieving business objectives. Having a sense of purpose and knowing that it makes a difference add meaning and value to our professional lives

Be appreciative: everyone likes to know that what they do is valued and appreciated. Reward, recognition and praise do not have to involve a costly financial outlay. Timely feedback for work well done, genuine words or appreciation, a card with a well written note, a bottle of wine, cinema tickets… are all inexpensive ways of showing that you value the contribution that your staff make.

Stop them from getting in a rut: Doing the same thing day in day out, can be boring and un-stimulating. Provide the opportunity to learn new skills, to grow and develop. This can happen regardless of whether there are opportunities for advancement or promotion.  Set targets and goals that will stretch them and reinvigorate their work appetite. Provide the resources so that they are able to take on more responsibilities within their own jobs, to coach or mentor junior staff

Empower them by giving them the authority to make decisions and do their jobs without micromanaging them. Establish metrics and set standards in advance so that they know what is expected of them.

Have conversations, build relationships: Adopt a range of communication methods that is clear and timely and reaches all levels of the organisation and provide strategies for feedback. Do employees have a voice? Do you ask for their ideas, seek their feedback? Are they consulted, aware of changes, kept in the loop, involved in decision making where appropriate? 

How engaged with your staff are you? Do you take time out to talk with them on a regular basis? Do you have a trusting relationship with them? Are they able to be open and honest with you?  

Whether you are the boss or the manager, the more of a connection and a relationship that you have with your staff the more they engaged they will be …and that good for the bottom line and business success