As a business, it is important to focus on meeting your customer’s needs. However, the needs of your employees are equally as important. Unhappy and disengaged employees are less likely to be productive, motivated and are more likely to be absent from work. Replacing employees can cost a considerable amount of money and time. When employees leave it can also put extra pressure on other employees, which can result in lowering of morale.
Increased levels of engagement from employees can lead to;
- An increase in productivity
- Better customer service
- A reduced likelihood of absence
- A reduced likelihood of employees leaving for another role
- A positive environment for all employees
Here are 6 tips to help increase employee engagement:
1: Strategy:
Be holistic – help employees understand their contribution to the purpose, objectives and culture of your business whilst also incorporating employee motivation and wellbeing. Ensure everyone understands your vision for the future.
2: Measurement:
Measurement helps identify areas for improvement. Regular measurement provides an indication of how employee engagement is changing over time and the factors that relate to higher or lower engagement. Consider employee attitude surveys or focus groups.
3: Promote Key Behaviours:
Allow your employees to voice their views and concerns (this could be through anonymous staff surveys). Acknowledge and address these concerns in a timely manner. Ensure good staff/management relationships through management training and techniques.
4: Empowerment:
Allow your staff to provide ideas for innovations and improvement. Give them proper consideration. Show you value their contributions by giving them power, responsibility and the trust to make changes where possible and fulfil promises.
5: Wellbeing:
Showing employees that you care about their health, work-life balance and financial wellbeing can be very effective in retaining talent. Healthy employees are less likely to be absent from work. Having the right mix of benefits can have a substantial impact on how an individual feels about their employer. Allowing employees to be involved in choosing the benefits that are available will increase engagement, as employees will feel listened to.
6: Communication:
Low levels of understanding about the strategy of a business is likely to lead to reduced buy-in and decreased success. Not telling staff about the employee benefits in place is a common mistake of many businesses (even though they have spent time and money providing them) and can lead to confusion about what is actually provided.
Research carried out by Cass Business School suggests that when employees are aware of benefits – such as Health Insurance or Income Protection – there is increased loyalty and employees are actually unlikely to take more time off sick. Communication methods should always be considered – with high numbers of Millennials and Generation Z in the workforce, mobile apps are likely to feature highly in their communication preference.
Engaged employees are often the most productive team members you have. They are typically committed to ‘going the extra mile’ to ensure they are the doing the best they can. Engagement is about creating a cultural shift in the way your business behaves. Your strategy should be realistic and continuous and employee wellbeing should be at the core of this.
Employee benefits are a key component in wellbeing and allow you to show your staff that you care. If budget is an issue, consider offering ‘soft’ benefits such as days off for birthday, access to discounts for retail and leisure and ‘voluntary’ benefits that the employee pays for out of their salary such as Car Salary Sacrifice.
Talk to Eppione Today
We are Employee Benefits consultants who help businesses to become a better workplace and for the employees to be the best they can be. Our online HR and Employee Benefits platform can help your business to thrive by offering flexible benefits to your employees enabling them to choose benefits that are best suited to their needs.
