Improving Employee Engagement and Creating a Happy Workforce: Our Top Tips
Running a successful business requires a lot of work and balancing various things. If one area of the business is out-of-balance, you can bet it will have a trickle-down effect and can throw everything out of whack. One area that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves is creating a happy workforce. Did you know that a happy employee is more efficient and productive, which benefits the bottom line?
So, what can you do as an employer to improve employee engagement and create a happier workforce? We’ve got several tips that can help and get you the results you’re after.
Make the Company’s Core Values and Culture Clear and Model Them at All Times
Employees like to get a sense of the company they work for, what it represents, its culture and its core values. It can make the company seem more personable and authentic. The best way for employers to do that is to have clear company values that are explained during the hiring process, emphasised during the training period, and then modelled by management at all times. You need to walk the walk, so you can’t just tell employees you expect a certain level of conduct; you need to lead by example.
When everyone is on-board with the same core values, it helps employees to feel more connected, engaged and equal. All of this leads to an increased sense of engagement since they feel part of a team.
Provide Employees with a Comprehensive Benefits Package
When people are looking for a new job, the incentives being offered will play a big part in their decision. And it’s not just job seekers, it’s people already employed within your company who may be weighing their options and wondering if they can get more elsewhere. One of the best incentives to offer staff is a comprehensive employee benefits scheme. A benefits scheme can be just as important as their salary, so it’s a fantastic way to attract and retain top talent.
If you’re in the market for a new benefits provider, you will want to find something easy to set up, implement and use moving forward. The software should be user-friendly for your HR staff and employees. Take a look at what companies like Zest Benefits offer as this is an example of how handy digital tools can be both for your HR department and the employees.
Encourage Employees to Provide Feedback – Communication Is Essential
Without employee feedback, you’ll be creating a vacuum in the workplace. Employees will feel as though they are going unnoticed, that their opinions and ideas aren’t important, and that management doesn’t value them. It’s hard to feel engaged and happy if that’s your mindset.
Management should always be open to ideas and conversations, and they should listen to concerns brought up by employees. It goes back to creating that level playing field where everyone is of equal importance. The more that employees communicate, the better the company can be, and the happier employees will feel in the end.
Recognise Hard and Good Work
Then there is employee recognition, which is another very important tip. As a manager or owner, giving praise and recognition to an employee for a job well done or a great idea they brought forth will go far. It helps employees feel pride in their work, and that what they are doing matters and is valued. You can recognise employees through a company newsletter, an employee reward programme or having a face-to-face meeting to share your appreciation.
To get the most employee engagement possible, it’s wise to embrace as many of these tips as you can. The more effort you make, the more positive of a reaction you’ll get from your staff.
