In the early days of hiring staff, we tend to think of our employees as well, just employees, workers who are hired to do one specific job. But over time that perception begins to change. As we grow, we see our employees as part of the company’s family, or at least we should. If the family is healthy, then people will be productive, happy, and ready to work to push the company forward. Ensuring that your employees are engaged with the company is one of the best ways to do this. But how do you achieve this goal? We take a look at a few tried and tested ways to create a more engaged and productive workforce below.
Give them Space
No-one’s going to enjoy your company’s interpretation of family if it’s of the hostile and restrictive variety. In order to be fulfilled and engaged with the business, your workers need to feel relaxed, comfortable, and secure in their work. This is not all that difficult to achieve: if you’re giving them engaging work, dealing with any problems they may have, and keeping the requirements (such as dress code and working hours) to a minimum, then you’ll be likely to have a happy team of staff.
Open Communication
The company and worker dynamic is a relationship, and like all good relationships, there needs to be an element of mutual respect between the two. So take a look at how you’re interacting with your employees. Is it a one-sided relationship, or are you opening yourself up to their thoughts, feelings, and suggestions too? A worker will have much better feelings about the company they work for if they know that they’re able to approach the people in charge and get their voice heard.
In the Loop
Your employee will be deeply involved in the job they were hired to do, but there’s a chance that they know very little about the broader health and goings-on of the company. As such, it’s a good idea to look at keeping everyone in the loop. You can do this in a number of ways. You can work with a brand publishing company such as Readz, and publish an internal newsletter that tells your staff across all departments what’s going on with the business. It’s also recommended that you host social get togethers, so that employees who don’t ordinarily work together have a chance to meet and get to know one another.
Stand For Something
A job is more than a paycheck. Or at least it should be. The employees who are most satisfied and engaged with the company they work for aren’t just looking at their salary: they’re looking at the broader values and mission of the company. It’s always good practice to figure out what you’re standing for; why, essentially, the businesses exists, beyond making money? If you can make your employees onboard with these missions, then you’ll find that they’ll be much more engaged. They’ll believe in the underlying values of the company.
