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Employee retention and engagement go hand in hand. An engaged employee is one that feels connected to the organization as well as the ethos of the company, its community and customers. It is said that employees who are engaged are more likely to remain at the company, are better performers and are more productive. Win, win for both employer and employee right?
Below are five easy steps based on latest research in the journal Industrial and Commercial Training, published by Emerald Publishing, that any employer can implement to help better engage and retain their employees while saving valuable budget on recruitment fees!
1 Help your employees feel good about themselves
If your employees feel valued, trusted and can clearly see how their work contributes to the organisation’s goals and vision they are generally more engaged. Meghan Biro, HR expert, remarked, “Employees engage with employers and brands when they’re treated as humans worthy of respect.”
As well as providing wellness programmes, encourage your employees to get out in the community. Give them time off from work to do this. It will help them to grow holistically as a person, as well as building a positive image of your organization.
2. Challenge, nurture your staff and encourage creativity
Remember that everyone is an individual and so treat them so. Allocate roles and responsibilities based on employee’ strengths and aspirations. Give them challenging tasks to enable them to come out of their comfort zones to execute their tasks effectively and unlock hidden potential.
3. Encourage a collaborative work culture
Ensure that employees have enough time to interact with one another, drawing ideas and learning from each other. This will not only help horizontal learning but also vertical progression. Job rotation is a great way of doing this.
4 Create a positive work environment
Create a healthy organisational culture and climate where employees contribute their best. Ensure that the organizational culture is free from politics and provide constructive feedback to enable them to assess their strengths and concerns.
5. Give your employees power, don’t micromanage them
Give employees the freedom to make decisions and come up with creative solutions. Let them learn lessons from their failures to grow as successful leaders. Ensure that every employee feels heard, valued and appreciated for their achievements.
You can read more from the full article by Professor M.S. Rao, ‘Innovative tools and techniques to ensure effective employee engagement’, Industrial and Commercial Training, published by Emerald Publishing for free until 28th February
