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The Secret to Employee Engagement

Are your staff giving 100% to the organisation? Do they feel valued and appreciated? Do they show-up each day with passion and purpose?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions – your organisation has an employee engagement problem. But don't worry - you are not alone. The Hewitt Best Employer Survey results suggest that engaging staff is a big challenge for most Australian organisations. According to their most recent survey – the national average for employee engagement is only 54%.

So why is employee engagement a problem? In Australia unemployment is running at historical lows, we are experiencing an unprecedented skills shortage in various sectors and many organisations have failed to create workplace environments which truly engage staff. These factors have resulted in a highly mobile workforce, which is costly to the organisation in terms of productivity and profit.

The secret to employee engagement is capturing the hearts and minds of your employees. The difficult part is discovering what truly inspires staff to perform above and beyond. Once you discover how to engage your staff the benefits include: a happy and healthy work environment, a more productive team and a more profitable business.

Here are ten tips on creating and sustaining employee engagement.

1. Let go of the negative thoughts you have about your employees. Each person in the team has unique knowledge, skills and something valuable to contribute. Rather than focussing on the weaknesses of a staff member it is important to focus on their strengths and place staff in positions where their strengths are best utilised.

2. Be nice to your staff. Noticing and acknowledging the contribution of your employees and treating them well will have a profound impact. However, staff usually forget compliments quickly, so it essential to give these out regularly and in an authentic way. Also be aware that people like to be noticed in different ways. Some prefer a quiet praise. Others prefer open acknowledgment in front of their peers.

3. Get to know your staff. Show an interest in your people and genuinely get to know them. Understanding the stress factors and motivational drivers for each staff member can be extremely useful in managing them. This will make you more approachable making you the first person they come to when there is a problem. In addition, introducing some light hearted activities into the workplace can change the tone and mood of the organisation.

4. Use clear and regular communication. Staff like to know 'what is going on and why', especially when changes are planned. Regular feedback to staff helps reduce damaging corridor gossip that can be an undercurrent of misinformation. In addition, it is essential to clearly communicate your expectations of staff so that they can be productive and meet targets.

5. Hold performance reviews. Staff are always keen to receive formal feedback on their progress. Using a twice yearly – 360 degree review process (i.e. feedback from superiors, peers, support staff and some clients) is ideal. The process is also a great way of formally acknowledging the contribution of staff. When staff do not receive feedback and do not see any future with the organisation, they quickly start to look for greener fields.

6. Equipping your staff with the right tools. Following a performance review, training needs should be identified and appropriate courses need to be selected for staff to undertake. Ongoing training programs show staff that the organisation is interested in and responsive to their needs for improvement. You also equip staff with the skills and tools to perform at their best.

7. Offer career progression. An important driver in keeping staff engaged is to offer a career development program for each staff member. Opportunities need to be identified for appropriate staff and they need to be groomed for positions via training and mentoring.

8. Provide inspiring leadership and give individual autonomy. When new employees join an organisation, leaders need to impart the values and aspirations of the business. Staff look to management for leadership and direction, but this does not mean they need to be monitored every step of the way. No one enjoys being micro-managed! Instead inspire excellence in your staff and allow them the freedom and autonomy to deliver on tasks.

9. Remuneration and incentives. So that salaries are fair they should be monitored on an ongoing basis to keep track of changes in the market for different job roles and experience levels. Employers should also adjust salaries yearly for those staff not changing their roles and responsibilities, to ensure staff don't fall behind. Many workplaces have also introduced incentive payments that are linked both to the person's individual performance and the overall performance of the organisation. The process for calculating incentive payments needs to be transparent and clearly communicated to staff. Incentives are an important recognition tool and a way of sharing the organisations success with staff due to their efforts.

10. Flexible working arrangements. Lifestyle and work-life balance are becoming important for today's workforce and employers need to adapt and offer greater flexibility. Some workplaces offer flexible working arrangements or have wellbeing and lifestyle programs in place, such as gym membership and cinema admission for their staff. These programs demonstrate the caring nature of the organisation.

Our experience with clients is that those organisations that have processes in place to manage the above tips are more successful because their staff are engaged and committed. Not surprisingly, their staff work harder, perform that extra 10%, accomplish more, are more loyal and speak positively about the organisation.

If you have questions or want to talk further click here to get in touch with us today.

If you want to re-used this article in part or whole, we are happy for you to do that. All we ask is that you reference us either within the article or in the footnotes, with a link that points back to our article.

Understanding employee engagement

 

Are your employees feeling appreciated? Do you and your managers understand what motivates your people? Is your organisation stingy when it comes to rewarding your people?

A number of recent surveys of employees working in SMEs have highlighted some key points about employee engagement. Here are some of the results:

  • 62 percent of employees have rated their managers as "Very Poor", "Poor" or just "Satisfactory" at delivering specific and timely praise.
  • 52 percent of employees say not receiving any recognition would be a contributing factor in their decision to leave their organisation.
  • 40 percent of employees are actively considering leaving their current employer.

So what does it take to keep your good employees happy?

Broadly there are three factors (desire, cost and obligation) which influence an employee's level of engagement at work.

An employee's desire to engage is based on their level of emotional attachment to the organisation. If a staff member can personally identify and align with the vision and goals of the organisation they will feel engaged in their role and provide products and/or services to clients in the best way possible. These employees can be further engaged by positive feedback, career advancement and training and development.

The costs of leaving from an organisation might be viewed as being harmful to an employee. In other words, an employee thinks that by leaving, they may lose their friends/colleagues, high paying salary, bonuses, accrued leave, etc. Staff incentives such as long service leave or flexibility in working arrangements can help engage these staff members.

Some employees feel engaged through a sense of obligation to the organisation. This happens when employees feel a level of indebtedness. In other words – they are engaged because they 'ought to be'. Offering ongoing training and development programs and personalised bonus structures can help engage these staff members.

If you have questions or want to talk further click here to get in touch with us today.

If you want to re-used this article in part or whole, we are happy for you to do that. All we ask is that you reference us either within the article or in the footnotes, with a link that points back to our article.

Why use a Business Coach

"A business coach can help identify the ISSUES in your business and provide practical SOLUTIONS so that you can reach your business goals faster"

Do you want to boost your business performance? Do you seek to gain more control of your business? Are you open to ways of improving your business?

During this article you are going to discover the benefits engaging a business coach can bring to your business.

Most businesses are started or purchased by people who are good at what they do. Unfortunately, many of the courses and practical experiences that have helped people become a great dentist, lawyer, graphic designer, etc have NOT equipped them with the essential knowledge and skills to run and build a thriving business. Often the business experiences come from hard-fought first-hand lessons, which can be both costly and stressful for the business owner.

Sometimes business owners get swamped by all the tasks of running a business, which causes them to lose focus and feel overwhelmed by problems such as:

  • A lack of purpose;
  • Fluctuating sales;
  • Inconsistent cash flow;
  • Inadequate profit and
  • Staff management.

Businesses who suffer from any of the above issues can benefit from the services of a business coach. However, some people think that only a struggling business would engage a business coach. The reality is that many successful businesses use business coaches as their secret weapon.

What is a business coach? Every great athlete is surrounded by coaches, mentors and advisors. Therefore in a business context, think of a business coach as a mentor or advisor who can help you set goals, implement strategies and track your progress so that you can reach your goals in the shortest possible time. You also benefit from a non-emotional objective view of your business and their experience in handling a vast range of situations.

Business coaches represent a great investment when you consider the financial return and other benefits of their advice. Starting from as little as a few hundred dollars per month, a business coach can help you:

  • Increase your marketing effectiveness and sales conversion to grow your revenue.
  • Improve your expense management and grow your profitability.
  • Increase the level of customer satisfaction which can fuel your word-of-mouth promotion and ensure ongoing revenue for your business.
  • Attract, manage and retain quality staff.
  • Create efficient and effective processes and systems which will result in a smooth operation.
  • Develop control reporting systems so that you gain feedback about your business performance.

In addition a business coach can help you:

  • Clarify your vision and purpose
  • Solve your business problems or frustrations
  • Identify and take advantage of opportunities
  • Navigate through a changing market or economy
  • Develop and refine your ideas
  • Become more accountable
  • Design a plan of action
  • Communicate more clearly and confidently
  • Become a more effective leader

Business coaches won't work for everyone! Typically clients who get the most out of the process are:

  1. Ready mentally, physically and emotionally for change;
  2. Are willing to make the financial investment and
  3. Are 100% committed to achieving a great result.

If you have questions or want to talk further click here to get in touch with us today.

If you want to re-used this article in part or whole, we are happy for you to do that. All we ask is that you reference us either within the article or in the footnotes, with a link that points back to our article.
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