When it comes to getting your staff to feel more engaged in their jobs and ultimately your business, the first step is to work out where you’re starting from. You might not like the response when you assess the current state of play, but simply asking your workforce how they feel about their jobs and your business, you’ve already taken the first step to improving their sense of value and therefore engagement.
The ideal scenario as a business owner is that you retain your staff, saving money on recruitment costs and building a loyal workforce which are engaged in their work and hopefully like their jobs. So what are some simple steps you can take?
- Empower your employees give your employees the autonomy to shape their jobs. Giving them some freedom will enable them play to their own strengths, take more responsibility for their day to day tasks and enable them to feel more empowered to seek opportunities for your business and their development.
- Motivation through development not all of your staff will want the same thing in terms of development, but understanding how they want to improve or expand their skills and helping them to do it will help to motivate them in their work and could also reap rewards for your business. Development doesn’t need to be expensive. It could be as simple as helping an employee find a mentor, getting them out and about at networking events, attending workshops, involving them with other teams, internships as well as formal qualifications.
- Channels for employee voice whether it’s an anonymous suggestions box, a biannual employee survey or just regular one to ones, making sure your employees feel heard could not only lead to improvements in your business but also will make sure your staff feel engaged.
- Communication to reinforce purpose and vision do your employees know where your business is going and how they can help get you there? Employee engagement is about much more than motivation and job satisfaction, although both of those elements will help. It’s a commitment to the organisation and its purpose, so ensuring you have channels where you can communicate values to your staff and ways they can deliver through those values is vital.Â
Experts Grow is a free programme funded by European Social Fund for small and medium sized businesses in the hospitality and food and drink sectors. The free programme, delivered by the Cornwall Food Foundation, best known for its social enterprise, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall has been designed to help you develop talent within your workforce and maximise your productivity.
Sign up to the free Employee Engagement: How to energise your workforce workshop on September 18 at Fish for Thought.
