Your company culture took a long time to build. It’s not going to change overnight. Employee engagement is a long-term strategy based on trust, integrity, two-way commitment and communication between a company’s leadership and employees. Engagement starts at the top. If company leaders are passing the buck to human resources or lower-level supervisors, it doesn’t work. That’s a bummer, but it’s true.
When engagement is nurtured, it can be dramatically increased. However, when it’s not prioritized, engagement can be lost. Once lost – it’s not easy to regain.
Engaged employees have a deep, emotional connection to your company. Not only are engaged employees your hardest workers, but they are also the ones who stay with you for the long term and make the greatest contributions to the bottom line.
It’s no secret that turnover is expensive. Try putting your own pen to paper to see how much you are spending to bring employees in the door, and what it costs you when they leave. Having these numbers is a great motivation to make the changes necessary to increase your engagement levels, which will, in turn improve your retention levels too.
So, how do you create this type of workplace culture? Here are three tips to help you get started.
Focus on their everyday experiences. Employee engagement is not a “one and done” event. Survey your team to find out what’s working and what improvements they’d like to see. Make a commitment to prioritize their ideas and then – take action. Regularly catch your employees in the act of doing things well. Say “thank you” regularly. Encourage them to take appropriate risks and celebrate successes – even little ones.
Be inclusive. Employees working under leaders who are inclusive are 39% more likely to be engaged. Employees come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities. Make sure that your leadership team is a good representation of everyone who works there. Not only is this a good idea from a legal standpoint, it’s critical to attract the best and brightest talent coming into the workplace. The newest generation entering the workforce, Gen Z, is by far the most ethnically and racially diverse generation. They are looking to join companies that are diverse.
Create an atmosphere of trust. Focus company initiatives from the bottom up. Employees are the foundation of any organization, and if that foundation begins to crack, your whole company can come tumbling down. Have your employees’ best interests at heart. When they know you care about them, they are more likely to trust you and perform at a higher standard. Listen to what employees have to say, without judgment. Have a “thank you for sharing” attitude and look for grains of truth – no matter what they share with you. Act on their ideas and recognize excellence.
When you commit to an employee engagement initiative, and you stick with it for the long time, you will be in a position to attract and retain your industry’s top talent.
