The link between employee engagement, improved customer service, higher spending customers and better bottom lines has been proven repeatedly. So keeping your people engaged is a must for any business owner.
Even if you haven’t got any budget, there are lots of ways to engage your employees. Here are our top ten engagement hacks.
Tip #1: create values that mean something to your people
Manchester fashion brand Missguided are well known for their innovative approach to employee engagement. Speaking in this article, head of engagement Glen Grayson discusses how the business developed meaningful values by including 97% of the company’s 550 staff in their creation.
The values describe the way Missguided’s employees need to work to deliver business success by encouraging: “self-empowerment, praise and recognition, pushing boundaries and having the right people around the table.” They’ll be part of everyday life at Missguided, from recruitment to personal development.
Tip #2: recognise, recognise, recognise
Recognition doesn’t need to be expensive. Thanking people one-to-one for their hard work or in public goes a long way and doesn’t cost a thing. You can also design and print recognition postcards to be dropped around your offices so colleagues can recognise one anothers’ efforts.
Or take recognition to new levels - and gain exposure for your business - by sharing achievements on your social media channels. This will demonstrate that you value your staff and also showcase how they go the extra mile.
Tip #3: assign mentors
When someone’s struggling a mentor offers a great way for people to let off steam. They’ll also help demotivated staff to find a positive way forward with guidance from someone more seasoned. By supporting and developing people in this way, your business will ensure no-one’s left behind.
Tip #4: focus on collaboration and working together
Disengaged employees often prefer to work alone. Bring them back into the fold by creating collaborative projects. A Stanford study found people who were primed to work collaboratively stuck at their task 64% longer than those who weren’t.
They also reported higher engagement levels, lower fatigue and a better success rate.
To embed collaboration, ensure your business has the right digital tools and that your rewards and incentives encourage people to work together rather than individual outcomes at all costs.
Tip #5: clarify goals and responsibilities
Ernst and Young have found that purpose-driven companies make more money, have more engaged staff, more loyal customers and are better at innovation and transformational change. To drive purpose, your company needs to be clear why it does what it does. Then ensure every individual understands how their role contributes to your purpose giving employees a reason beyond the pay cheque to turn up every day.
Tip #6: support charity or special causes
Make it easy for staff to get behind a cause, bond the team, start a conversation and achieve something amazing. For example:
● Inviting staff to take part in a charity and set up a Just Giving page so staff can easily get involved.
● Draw attention to international days through internal communications channels, such as Mental Health Awareness Day or International Women’s Day and encourage staff to get involved with supporting the event.
Tip #7: introduce an element of fun
Whether you allow dogs into your offices or set up a lunchtime walking club, finding enjoyable ways to break down barriers will help people connect and boost engagement as:
● research from Nationwide and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute found that 91% of employees working in a pet-friendly company said they felt engaged at work compared to 65% at non-pet friendly workplaces.
● taking a lunch break increases productivity, improves wellbeing and enhances creativity.
Don’t want pets in the office? Ask staff to bring in photos of their furry friends and displays them on Love Your Pet Day instead.
As you can see, even without any budget, it’s perfectly possible to deliver the employee engagement that’s so critical to business success. By motivating your team in a range of different ways it’s likely you’ll see improved performance, financial savings or bigger profits. Now all you need to do is invest that extra money in even more employee engagement so the cycle of growth can begin again.
For more insight into the touch points where you can impact employee engagement, take a look at this article.
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