All good business leaders know that the key to a successful company, is happy employees. There have been numerous studies done on this – take this statistic for example, “Happy employees not only worked faster, but also achieved 13% higher sales than their unhappy colleagues.” Efforts to improve employee engagement can lead to increased productivity and more profound results for your business.
Follow these seven basic steps to boost engagement internally.
1. Provide Training and Coaching – Imagine starting a new sport, with no prior experience and no one to coach you. More than likely, it would take twice as long to train and figure out the rules of the game yourself. By properly training and coaching your employees in the onboarding process, you can better guarantee that the job is done correctly and efficiently the first time around. It’s a good idea to take interest in what employees are genuinely interested in by hosting “Lunch & Learn” presentations or cover the expenses of a webinar/conference for them.
Contact a local agent to set up a training session on topics like health insurance, workers compensation, money management, safety in the workplace, among other topics!
2. Use Your Please and Thank You’s – This may seem self-explanatory, but it’s frequently forgotten, especially in fast-paced work environments. A simple “thank you for your hard work” does a lot to improve company morale. Take it a step further with handwritten thank you cards to affirm your appreciation.
3. Give Employees a Voice – We are in a new era of company culture. It’s no longer “my way or the highway.” Employees want to feel heard. Offer an anonymous or open forum or reserve a few minutes after a staff meeting where employees can voice questions, comments or concerns. Leaders and managers should take that constructive feedback and act on it.
If an employee voices a concern about work safety, it’s important to address it immediately. Learn more about how to avoid injuries at work and/or have a safety plan in place in response to these kind of comments.
4. Allocate Time to Disconnect and Socialize – We spend about one third of our lives at work. To show your company supports work/life balance, encourage employees to connect with one another and socialize offline. Refresh a common space, like a breakroom, where employees can gather and not disturb others. Host happy hours or themed potlucks every so often. If you want to go above and beyond, host a fun team building experience, such as a ropes course or laser tag outing.
5. Recognize Employees – Nobody wants to feel like a cog in the wheel. No matter if you are a big or small company, recognition on some level is important for employee retention. If employees feel like their work is important and valued, they will be more inclined to work hard, especially if there is an extra goal or incentive involved. Some simple solutions include: put up a community recognition board in a common space, distribute superlative awards at the next company-wide event or give a shout-out to an employee on your company’s social media pages!
Hard work pays off. Another significant way to show appreciation for employees is within the company’s good benefits package. Rural Mutual Insurance can help guide and outline customize employee benefit packages like: workers compensation, life insurance and health insurance. Check out this blog to learn more about or talk to a local agent about hosting an information session where they can also provide insights on retirement plans.
6. Make Work Meaningful – Employees will be more engaged when they feel they are doing meaningful work and making an impact on the business, for the customers and/or the community. This is especially true with millennials. According to a Harvard Business Review study, “Employees with very meaningful work spend one additional hour per week working, and take two fewer days of paid leave per year.”
7. Give feedback – Even if an employee does a naturally great job, it’s important to discuss areas for improvement and growth. Provide feedback regularly to keep employees engaged and motivated to excel. Host regular, open and honest check-ins with your employees and allow feedback to flow both ways.
The information provided in external website links is for general informational purposes only and does not form any recommendation or warranty by Rural Mutual Insurance Company or its affiliates.
