In relationships, no marriage can take place without an engagement. Business is much the same, except instead of the marriage being between two people, it is between a company and its employees. Much like any personal relationship, employee engagement depends on motivation, trust, loyalty and commitment.
Engagement is crucial
As a leader, it is essential to understand that the level of your business success is directly related to the level of engagement felt by your employees. Keep it in the forefront of your mind every day when you come into work. Understand that it is vital to keep your staff motivated and committed, and in so doing, build mutual trust and loyalty.
A common misperception is that it takes a lot of effort to boost employee engagement, whereas in reality, it doesn't need to. For whatever reason, people seem to think that high employee engagement depends on taking the team away for a team building retreat every few months, or holding competitions to motivate the staff to perform their best.
This will improve employee engagement in the short-term, but will lead to what I call ‘artificial engagement'. Team members will begin to work for the rewards, rather than for the purpose of bettering the company.
When you cut back on the rewards, or they stop winning, employees will blame you, causing their trust and loyalty to you to reduce, and in turn, reducing their motivation and commitment.
Incorporating employee engagement into the business routine
Genuine employee engagement is developed through the small day-to-day things that happen around the office. It is these that help foster a nurturing, warm workplace, a space where staff are happy to be and a space that facilitates excellent work.
What small things am I referring to? It's really dependent on the type of work environment you have. It can be anything from having lunch brought into the office for all staff once a week or something as small as sending a weekly email keeping everyone up to date on the company as a whole.
Employee engagement strategies
Here's a list of things that will help improve employee engagement, and a brief explanation as to why they work:
- Let them get in touch with the world
Staff are allocated one day per quarter in which they are able to do charity work for a charity of their choice. A number of recent psychological studies have suggested that altruism fosters happiness, and in my experience, a happy mind is a productive mind.
- Let them keep in touch with loved ones
Staff have a relationship day once a year. This means they can take a day off, no questions asked, once a year to be with their loved ones. Whether it's watching the kids' soccer final or attending a wedding of a family member, staff are given the chance to be supportive at home, which reduces stress and leads back to the idea that a happy mind is a productive mind.
- Let them build relationships with colleagues
One example of this is to hold a staff social every six weeks. Whatever vehicle you choose, the idea is to help facilitate personal relationships between staff members. The effects of this are two-fold, the first being that it makes the workspace more enjoyable. The second is that it shows the staff that you do care about them as people and they aren't just cogs in your money-making machine.
- Let them connect with where you're going as an organisation
Regularly set and update team goals and targets. This has the effect of motivating the team and giving them something to aim for. I like to compare it to archery - you can't hit the target if you don't know what you're aiming for. By clearly setting out the goals and targets, you ensure that everyone knows what they are trying to achieve and that everyone's striving for the same objective.
Remember that for staff to trust and remain loyal to you, you must trust and remain loyal to them. Then, and only then, will staff be committed to the company, and be collectively motivated to perform at their best to better the company as a whole.