If want to ensure that your efforts to improve the workplace for staff are having the desired effect, you need to regularly survey your staff. (Image: Shutterstock)
Engaged employees are more productive and better for your business. So, it might surprise you to learn that in a typical business, around 67 percent of the workforce is not engaged, and 18 percent is actively disengaged, with just 15 percent considered engaged with their work and the efforts of the business.
Clearly, then there is plenty for companies to do in order to improve levels of engagement. But the truth is it's not usually anything enormous or sweeping that makes the changes; it's getting the little day-to-day details right. Here we take a look at some of the small things that your business can do that will add up to a big difference in employee engagement levels.
Related: The real reasons employees quit
|Compliment slips
If you want to engage your employees then you first need to ensure they feel like a true part of the team. It is important for us to feeling like our working lives are professional, and there are things that businesses can do help staff get this sense. It may seem like a tiny detail, but whenever staff are given any kind of informal document or note, it should be presented on a compliment slip.
Personal messages that are sent on a branded compliment slip are more powerful and memorable, and it can genuinely leave your staff feeling more positive about their role. Whether you are sending a thank you, or congratulating a member of staff for something, a little thing like a compliment slip makes a difference.
|Regular staff surveys
If want to ensure that your efforts to improve the workplace for staff are having the desired effect, you need to regularly survey your staff. This can be very beneficial for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it allows your business to keep track of the opinions of staff, and use their feedback to make positive changes that will actually help the business – no-one knows what your company needs more than the people doing the job.
Secondly, sending out surveys shows your staff that you are interested in their opinions and are willing to listen to what they have to say. When employees feel more engaged and have the ability to making changes, it can be extremely motivating and morale-boosting.
It's not expensive or time consuming to send out surveys, and results can be easily collated and then actioned for useful changes.
|Provide training
Staff want to learn more. It's a fact that is often overlooked by employers who might think that their employees are happy to do what they do – but for the vast majority of staff, the ultimate goal is progression and gaining further skills. It's a great idea, then, to provide staff with more opportunities for training.
Training can take multiple forms. It doesn't even necessarily need to be something related to their role directly. You might offer sessions in leadership, or public speaking, or even something that is unrelated to their current work, but can lead them to be a more rounded worker.
|Communicate more
Employees hate being left in the dark about what is going on within a business. Whether it's news about hiring new members of staff, or big plans about the directions of the business, employees love to know the details and feel like they are a bigger part of the company. This can make them engage much more in the work they do, and feel as if they are part of a shared goal.
|Celebrate!
There can undoubtedly be an issue with companies where success is not celebrated. As humans we like to see that our achievements are recognized, and take a moment to appreciate those of our colleagues. This can be a real motivator for staff because it shows that there was a reason for your hard work, and reinforces that what you are doing is good.
In turn this can raise morale throughout the team and keep everyone feeling like they are part of a group moving towards a shared goal. Celebrations don't have to be extensive – perhaps a couple of hours a month, or one afternoon every quarter just to spend time recognizing the good work being completed and how it is affecting the business. Getting the little things right can lead to far better levels of employee engagement. And in turn this can improve morale and boost productivity. So consider implementing the ideas above into your workplace, and look for the huge difference these small changes will make.
Dakota Murphey has a wealth of experience in business management, with over 10 years of experience she's worked on a number of successful campaigns. She now enjoys sharing her knowledge through her writing and connecting with like-minded professionals.
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