Employee engagement is a key element to any business no matter the size. Not only will it help to reduce turnover, but it can also make the workplace more productive. The steps to get to a strong, engaged workforce can seem intimidating at first glance but there are some ideas you can keep in mind to help you out.
Try to Be Flexible
For most companies, employees need to be in the workplace during set hours. Most companies enforce this by using attendance management software. This is a system through which employees “clock in” at the beginning of their shifts and “clock out” at the end of the day. These systems aren’t only in place to track employees’ hourly pay but to allow employers to judge employee performance based on their attendance.
This gauge is an important one but should come with a little leniency. You’re likely to see better results if your employees’ lives outside of work are recognized. This doesn’t mean that tardiness should go unrecognized. Rather, consider reasonable situations. If an employee needs to take their child to the doctor one afternoon, treat it differently than an employee that simply skips out on work.
Be Transparent and Foster Communication
There is often a barrier between employee and manager. This goes beyond standard professionalism into a feeling of discomfort or even unease around a professional superior. The best way to shift this feeling is to simply be yourself around your employees and direct any other managers to do the same.
There are a few ways in which this can help your SMB run more efficiently. For one, you are fostering a psychologically nurturing environment employees will appreciate. This will differentiate your company from other, less welcoming jobs that employees had in the past.
This will also help increase communication in your office. The more willing members of an organization are to communicate with one another, the more productive they’ll be. This is especially true if different management levels can seamlessly communicate.
Set Goals
If there’s one thing that can be disheartening to anybody, it’s the idea of an endless 9-to-5 with no goal. That’s why it’s important to make sure that everyone in your business has a goal they’re working towards. Not only do you want to give them a goal to work towards, but need to show them how it matters. For instance, instead of just giving someone a goal of completing a spreadsheet, tell them about the larger project their contributing too.
Fulfilling Employee Needs
The goal of any good management team is to fulfill the psychological concept of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The basic ones are fairly obvious such as making sure they’re physical needs are met in a safe, comfortable office.
The higher levels are what will set a company with great employee engagement apart from a company without it. Self-esteem is the second tier and self-actualization is the top tier. These technically aren’t something that you can foster in an employee. What you can do is create an environment where these needs can be met.
Self-esteem has to do with how important a person feels. This can be brought back to the earlier point of adding value to goals. Not only should they reach for this goal, but they also need to know what it’s worth.
Then, there is the concept of self-actualization. This is the concept of someone realizing and working towards their full potential. Once again, obviously, this isn’t something you can give your employees directly. What you can offer them is the potential for growth. Employees that see a chance for growth with a company are more likely to stay with them. Try to position your company as an option for more than just a job but, instead, a career.
Employee engagement means a lot to a business. Without it, gaining and retaining talent will be difficult which will cost you both time and money. Taking the time to make your company as dedicated to your employees as it is to your customers and profit, will go a long way. Not only will you see your effort returned in employee appreciation, but also in productivity, efficiency, and an increased bottom line.
This is a sponsored article.