7 Strategies to help you reduce staff turnover, improve productivity and increase revenue
The term “employee engagement” has been thrown around in countless articles, meetings and strategy sessions, to the point where your employees probably roll their eyes when it is used. Although the term is frequently discussed, many organizations struggle to truly define it and therefore make it impossible to achieve it. To determine a working definition let’s first look at what employee engagement is not:
It is NOT an event, such as a pizza party, Hawaiian shirt day or even a family picnic
It is NOT HR’s sole responsibility
It is NOT achieved by having an “Employee Experience Social Committee”
It is NOT implementing a “work-from-home” policy
It is NOT providing monetary incentives for completing tasks or activities
None of these items are bad if they make sense for your organization but if you have them that does not mean you also have engaged employees. This is because Employee Engagement is NOT the same thing as Employee Satisfaction.
Satisfied employees are typically pleased with their pay, working environment, coworkers and the job function they perform. Even though they are not the same thing they are also not mutually exclusive. Meaning, a certain level of employee satisfaction must be in place for employees to be engaged but it does not ensure an employee will be passionate about their job, nor does it cause an employee to throw their heart, hands, and mind into their work.
So, what then is Employee Engagement? Let’s keep it simple: it is an employee’s emotional connection to the company that makes them feel passionate about their work and how it positively effects the Company. It leads to employees caring more and contributing more to their work and their organization.
Now that we have defined it, let’s explore how to achieve it:
Leadership – Although it seems obvious total leadership buy-in and adoption can be easier said than done. Leaders must be willing to accept that they do not have all the answers. They must be willing to be transparent and honest in all interactions with their employees whether it is an email, company presentation or one-on-one communications. They must be approachable and accept negative feedback with no repercussions. This must still these beliefs in their management team and communicate their expectations to the organization.
Culture – Culture is another word that has been through around a lot in recent years. But what does it really mean? Simply, culture is the personality of your organization. It is what makes your business unique by identifying the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. Leadership must have a clear idea of what their culture currently is and what they want it to be. Many times, the leadership has an internalized idea of culture that is different from other employees in the organization. For example, I have interviewed employees within the same organization that had opposite ideas of what the company’s culture is. That is why once culture has been identified it must also be communicated and adopted throughout the organization.
Hiring – All too often hiring mangers focus on the hiring candidates that have the technical skills they require for the position. Although important, it is equally, if not more important, that the candidate fits the culture of the organization (that is why it is so important to define what your culture is). Hiring managers and Human Resources must be trained to ask and interpret questions that provide insight into the candidate’s personality, ideology and motivations.
Training - Although hiring the right people is critical, it can’t end there. Industry benchmarks estimate that 15% of new hires quit within the first six months of being hired. The number one reason reported for these employees leaving is lack of training and on-boarding.
This is not only a source of frustration for new employees but also current employees. Of course, training is important for the technical requirements of the position, but employees also need to be educated on the organization as a whole. For employees to be emotionally connected to your company they must understand the importance of their role within the organization as well as the important of others. Additionally, they need to understand the impact the Company makes in society and how their work can make the world a better place. This will lead to a greater sense of purpose, ownership and pride in the work they do. Additionally, it will encourage teamwork by providing a greater appreciation for the work of others.
Feedback – An engaged employee is one who is fully absorbed and enthusiastic about their work and takes positive actions to further the company’s success. To achieve this, you must go to your employees and get their feedback about how to further improve the organization. An organization that has a high level of employee engagement does not just get feedback once or twice a year in the form of an employee survey. Although, this may be a tool that is used it is supplemented with a cultural ideology of being welcoming to employee feedback throughout the year. Getting the feedback is great but employees must feel that you do something with the feedback. This does not mean you must implement every idea that comes your way. However, for those ideas you choose not to implement you must explain why and for those ideas you do you must give credit.
Goals – Goals drive behavior. Having clear, compelling goals mobilizes your employees toward actionable behavior and a greater sense of responsibility. Most organizational leaders engage in some type of planning and goal setting. But are you sharing those goals with all employees? To go one step further are you explaining to each employee how their role can positively affect the achievement of these goals? If all employees feel they are working towards the same goal and understand how their role can impact the goal they again will experience a higher sense of responsibility and ownership in their position.
Sharing results - Studies have shown that publicly sharing progress toward your goals can actually help motivate your employees to accomplish them. If you are behind where you want to be, being honest and sharing the results can motivate employees to rally together. If you are crushing your goals it encourages employees to celebrate and take pride in what they have accomplished. Having goals but not communicating progress is almost worse than not having goals at all.
The most important thing to acknowledge when looking at your level of employee engagement is that this does not happen overnight. It is a long and ever-changing process that requires consistent focus. Secondly, it is also important to recognize that not all employees want to be engaged (and that is ok). However, the importance of employee engagement can’t be overstated. Effective employee engagement strategies have been proven to reduce staff turnover, improve productivity and efficiency, increase customer loyalty and revenue. Most importantly, when your employees are engaged, it infuses everything you do with purpose, energy, and enthusiasm.