What’s really influencing your employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a complex matter. After all, what drives one person might not necessarily be of interest to another. Although it’s likely to take time, mastering employee engagement is an important part of running a business because naturally, you want your staff to be happy, motivated and loyal.

Below are some of the most common factors which influence employee engagement and why they’re so important.

Relationships

When we work with the same people day in and day out, it’s important that we get on with them. A huge factor that influences engagement rates is the quality of the relationships that staff have with colleagues, their line manager, the organisation as a whole and even people working outside the company such as suppliers.

Research also indicates that the single most important factor to drive employee engagement and retention is the relationship they have with their immediate manager. Bad management is also often cited as one of the main reasons why people leave their job.

If you’re a manager, questions you should be asking yourself include:

• Do you trust your employees? If your staff feel you don’t, it’s likely to sour your relationship
• Do you micromanage your employees? Again, this can make them feel like you don’t think they’re capable of doing their job
• Are you aware about whether or not your staff are coping with their workload?
• Are you providing opportunities for learning and development?
• Do you provide your team with regular feedback and give praise when it’s deserved?

Development

Employee engagement surveys continue to reveal that staff would rather be presented with the option to grow and develop their skills than receive a big pay cheque. If you want to keep your team motivated and engaged, ask yourself if you’re providing opportunities for promotion, advancement and learning opportunities.

The company

If your staff believe in your company and what it stands for, they will not only be more engaged but they are likely to remain loyal for far longer as well. As an employer, ask yourself:

• How do your staff perceive the products/services that you produce?
• Do your employees understand that vision of your organisation?
• How does your company vision translate to what your employees do?
• Do your employees believe that their individual contribution makes a difference to the business?
• How is the company adapting to societal changes?
• Are senior leaders trusted by other employees?
• Are employees kept in the loop about changes that will affect the running of the company?

Recruitment

If you suffer from high staff turnover or low levels of employee engagement, think back to your recruitment process and what candidates are being told about the job and the company. If the job sold at interviews does not match reality, employees are highly likely to be left feeling very dissatisfied. If the company culture is incompatible with the individual’s beliefs or needs, this is also likely to have a big impact on their happiness in the job.

Wellbeing

People are becoming increasingly conscious about their wellbeing and a good work-life balance is often a top requirement amongst candidates. Ensure that you’re supporting your staff and their personal needs. For example, if somebody is struggling with childcare, allow them to work flexible hours or remotely when they can.

Regularly ask for feedback to ensure that staff are coping with their workload and ensure that nobody is suffering from stress or anxiety because this can have a dramatic impact on their wellbeing.

If you need help with any of your hiring needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Choralis Consulting and we’ll be more than happy to help.