The culture of an organisation will influence the engagement of the employees within your business and ultimately their productivity and performance. More than remuneration or conditions, more than professional development, it is your company culture that keeps good employees in their roles, or, results in them finding employment elsewhere.
Your company culture is a reflection of the company’s environment, the behaviors, the values, the office rituals, and the language of the employees working in your company.
A positive work culture results in effective employee engagement.
If your business has a positive culture, where your employees know what is expected of them, and they feel involved and supported, then your employees are going to feel engaged.
Engagement drives individuals to go that extra mile voluntarily and to do something not because they have been told to but because they want to.
So, how do you promote a positive company culture in your business and drive effective employee engagement?
Involve your employees
You can increase your employees engagement by involving them. Seek their feedback. Gather ideas from your employees via brainstorming sessions. Communicate your action plans. Involve your employees and you will increase their engagement.
Provide flexible working options
An increasingly popular way to improve your employees’ work experience is through flexible working policies and practices.
‘Flexible’ working isn’t only working from home. It covers a lot of options, from compressed hours that then enable an extra day off, to altered hours of work, such as working 10:00am-6:00pm in order to do the school drop-off each morning. It may also include temporary reduction in hours to attend studies, care for family members or a trial for retirement or purchased leave to access additional paid leave to travel.
Provide opportunities for professional development
Opportunities for professional development are another key driver of employee engagement.
Coaching and mentoring are great ways for employees to grow within your business and learn from others about their personal journey and experiences.
Alternatively structured learning courses are a great way for employees to build skills they require to meet the changing demands of their role for the future or to progress within your organisation on short or long term basis.
Provide an environment supportive of employees welfare
Providing an environment where employees can excel personally and professionally can go a long way in making them engaged. Welfare of employees is not simply an individual or personal matter for each employee, but rather something that a business can take a proactive step in promoting. This can include building awareness of causes, have walking groups or challenges and arranging employee flu vaccinations during the winter months.
Reward and Recognition Programs
Years of service, outstanding results on a performance appraisal review or completion of a project are all ways to reward employees for great work.
Incentive and reward plans are intended to reinforce the process of performance improvement by constantly reminding employees how much the organisation appreciates individual or team efforts and contributions.
No matter the size of your business or the resources that you have access to, there are always ways to reward employees. Learn what motivates your employees as to what reward will work best: from a simple thank you, to gifts or a bonus or additional leave.
Conclusion
As it can be seen, there are many ways to improve your employees’ experience and, consequently, keep them engaged, making them an active, positive part of your business.
Be proactive in developing a positive company culture and have engaged employees that are with your business well into the future.
Need some help developing your employee engagement strategy? At Small Business Society, we can help you with that.
The information provided in this document is for your guidance only and is general in nature. It does not constitute as legal advice. It is the responsibility of the individual to seek legal advice where required.
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About Kate Tongue
Kate Tongue is the founding Director of Small Business Society.
She is a qualified and experienced Human Resources professional with more than 10 years of experience across the private and public sectors.
Her particular interest and experience is in managing the employee life cycle, delivering process improvements, and Human Resource strategy.
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