People are not machines, they like to be engaged. When individuals are part of a well led, engaged team, then productivity can increase by up to 17% and absenteeism reduce by up to 41%. A business can have strategies and procedures but if it does not have a culture which people are prepared to live by, it will always struggle.
There are four elements to having an engaged workforce.
1. Have an engaging purpose for the organisation
An engaged purpose details the transformation you are aiming to create. For example, the Body Shop sets itself apart with the aim “to enrich, not exploit”. Every organisation should have a unique purpose; it’s what sets it apart and attracts the customers and staff who share the same disposition.
2. Engaged owners
The owners of SME’s should be passionate about engagement within their organisation. If the owner doesn’t care, why should anyone else? Becoming an engaged owner requires going the extra mile so the staff, suppliers and customers can see it.
3. Engaged leaders
Engaged leaders communicate regularly with the staff. These people play a key part in turning the engaged purpose into reality, motivating and energising their teams to do the same. Leaders are essential to the creation of the final crucial piece of this puzzle: engaged employees.
4. Engaged employees
In most businesses, employees are where engagement meets the outside world. Without engaged employees, you will never have an engaged organisation. Staff engagement comes from them being motivated. Reasons people leave often fall into these main headings:
- Pay is the first hurdle; it should be fair and seen to be fair.
- Clarity of their role is important and how they fit into the rest of the organisation.
- They are not getting opportunities to better themselves.
- They are not respected by their leaders or recognised for their efforts.
Brave business owners are willing to find out what the staff really think. If you want to reset your business so everyone in it has the same passion about it as you, start by finding out where you are now and creating an action plan to engage the staff better.
