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Connect your employees with the organization. Employees want to feel a sense of
ownership over opportunities and challenges. This will ensure that they are fully committed to the success of the organization.
- Post the mission, values and organizational objectives so they are visible to all employees.
- Refer to these when setting goals and communicating decisions so employees understand how they influence the day-to-day operations of the organization.
- Keep the employees informed of new opportunities, challenges and seek their ideas.
Be honest — Employees value honesty and trust.
- Be honest about your expectations and your objectives, and keep your word. Employees will feel respected and will commit to you and the organization.
- Communicate regularly your expectations and objectives for the team and for individual employees.
- Be aware of how your statements can be perceived.
Give regular feedback — Employees want to hear about their performance.
- Rather than wait for the quarterly or annual performance review to make comments on an employee’s performance, make a point of giving feedback as situations arise.
- Provide feedback in face-to-face meetings and deliver it in a constructive manner.
- Encourage the employees to engage in discussion and to ask questions about their performance.
- Review skills required and be proactive in helping employees gain those skills (where appropriate).
Recognize good work — Employees want to be acknowledged.
- Recognize new ideas, creativity, excellent customer service, teamwork, etc., by providing individual or public acknowledgement, depending on the employee and his or her preferences.
- Recognize small employee efforts as well as big ones.
- Send a note to the entire team about an employee’s or a team’s contributions.
- Encourage other employees to share the unique contributions of their colleaguesby asking them to submit their name for a monthly prize draw.
- Celebrate successes and milestones with the entire team.
Employee Engagement and Retention – Ask employees how they would like to be recognized, and follow through on their ideas where possible.
Offer competitive salaries and benefits — Employees want to feel fairly compensated for the effort provided.
- Competitive salaries and benefits are key components of employee retention programs.
- Appropriate compensation will reduce the temptation to go to other organizations.
- Provide information sessions or FAQs about the employee benefit plan.
- Be transparent about salary scales and inform employees of what needs to be accomplished to move within the scale.
Plan for growth — Employees want to know what the organization can offer them in terms of career growth, training opportunities or general development.
- Ask what employees’ personal goals are and develop with them a plan to achieve their objectives.
- Follow up on and update the plan regularly.
- Align with Skills Profiles where applicable.
Value Work-Life Balance — Employees want their life to be more than work.
- Be flexible and understanding of family or personal commitments.
- Comply with relevant employment legislation and standards.
- Be highly supportive of employees during critical life events such as personal health and family emergencies; accommodate employees’ work-life balance needs when possible.
Related articles
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- 2 Secrets to Keeping Your Employees Engaged (businessinsider.com)
- How to engage employees in the workplace [infographic] (holykaw.alltop.com)
- Employee Engagement Steps to Drive Results (lawsonhealthcare.wordpress.com)
- Employee Engagement Taskforce [Leslie Allan] (ecademy.com)
- Employee Engagement – what employers can learn from video game makers (leaderchat.org)
- Don’t let the paper work get in the way of a good conversation: making Performance Management work (liw3.wordpress.com)
- How Engaged Are Your Employees? (jamiemurphy23.wordpress.com)
- Employee Engagement Key to Economic Recovery (bestcompaniesaz.wordpress.com)
- Employee Engagement Vs. Employee Satisfaction (abhishekmittal.com)
Great post. You’ve hit on a few key issues. Allowing everyone to take part and participate in your companies vision certainly gives employees a strong sense of ownership.
In my experience it’s equally as important to give all employees the tools to openly recognize each other for the positive actions that are taking place. Select the values you’d like to emphasize internally, that way you have an element of control over what is being praised. This method works two-fold in that it can actually change culture by reinforcing your core values. It’s a great way to focus on the positive, and to keep your employees engaged by recognizing and celebrating their accomplishments.
Ben Butler
Rewards Nation