5 tactics to attract, retain and engage your staff
Business owners today face changing workforce demands. Technology is one of the many factors changing the way businesses operate, which means companies need to revisit and set new organisational strategies to grow and engage their team.
Employee engagement is defined as employers maximising their value to the organisation. Let’s look at this definition in practice.
Let’s use Matthew as an example.
Matthew is the Managing Director of a large organisation experiencing steady growth. HR is spending a lot of time recruiting, hiring and training staff. As soon as they were trained, they would find new jobs within a year. Matthew decided to find out why he employees weren’t staying to improve retention rates. He found out his staff weren’t getting enough time off, so instead of increasing their pay each year, he awarded them with an extra week of holidays - his retention rates decreased by 30% after implementing this change.
You can improve your employee satisfaction by understanding the key drivers of engagement
According to the 2014 Trends in Global Employee Engagement, key drivers of employee engagement include career opportunities, performance, reputation, pay, communication, innovation, recognition, brand alignment, work processes, benefits, and learning and development. But every business is different and so will the motivations behind employee engagement.
Here’s our 5 tactics to use as a foundation to help your attract, retain and motivate your employees.
- Create a positive working environment
When it comes to attracting and motivating employees, creating an environment people want to spend time is important. Employee motivation to work is directly influenced by the environment. By creating a positive work environment, you encourage creativity and make sure your employees feel comfortable to speak their own mind. - Involve and engage your team
Does management make all the decisions, or do you ask your employees their opinions? Working together builds a stronger team and improves communication within the company. Make sure all voices are heard by running weekly meetings with all staff members. People are more committed and engaged when they can contribute their ideas and concerns. - Implement ongoing recognition and rewards
Money and benefits may initially attract employees, but ongoing recognition and rewards will keep them around for longer. Employees need to feel appreciated and proud of their work. Recognition and rewards will help meet that need. - Encourage skill development
For many employees, career opportunities are equally as important as the money they make. In a study by LinkedIn, more than 40% of the people surveyed said they would consider leaving their current role for another job with the same benefits, if that job provided better career development and greater challenges. Eliminate your employees feeling like they’ve reached their limit and create an individual development plan. - Measurement and evaluation
Unfortunately many small businesses simply don’t have the time or resources to provide their staff with regular reviews and evaluations. However, the evaluation process is crucial to help employees improve and grow in their position. An employee review should be completed once a year, evaluating attitudes, morale, attendance, targets and engagement level. Managers should always offer constructive feedback and avoid making their employees feel insecure.
Contact your local human resources manager to help you implement an employee engagement strategy that works for you.