For any business, a positive and motivated workforce is a huge asset. Employees who are engaged with the business will deliver more in terms of productivity, innovation and growth. Engagement is a crucial part of this – without it, staff can become demotivated and your business may have to deal with a high turnover of employees, which can be both costly and disruptive. So, how do you keep your employees happy and engaged when working?

Create a sense of ownership in the business

There are many ways in which you can make employees feel like the success of the business is their success too. Companies, such as Starbucks, for example have been able to improve engagement with staff by giving them an actual stake in the business in the form of shares that increase in number for each year of employment. Bonuses are another way to intertwine financial performance with employees’ sense of ownership in the entire enterprise. You can also develop a company culture that gives employees the opportunity to contribute ideas and input into strategy. Whichever technique you use, making employees feel like they matter within the business, and that they will benefit from going the extra mile for it, is a powerful way to boost engagement.

Set clear goals, map pathways to progress

Many employees exit a business because they are ambitious and there is no clear pathway to career advancement within it. Others find that they are constantly being criticised for not meeting sales targets or other objectives but are not shown how to improve. In both situations, an employee will usually find a way to exit the business because the lack of clarity and opportunity to progress has made them feel disconnected. If you want to ensure you employees remain engaged then feedback is essential, alongside making it clear what counts as improvement and how employees can achieve it. As crucial is demonstrating to employees how they can move up the career ladder within your business. If you can offer all these things then employees have something to aim for and know how to get where they’re trying to go and so are much more likely to be engaged and happy.

Provide a supportive working environment

This can manifest in a number of different ways, including:

  • Offering training programmes and opportunities to further skills and experience with in-house learning
  • Ensuring that your employees have a safe and comfortable space in which to work
  • Focusing on achieving a work:life balance that enables your employees to give their all for the business while still fulfilling family responsibilities and finding time for wellness and rest
  • Creating a business culture that provides support for employees during difficult times and encourages staff to speak up or ask for help when necessary

Every business will be different but there are some basic elements that make it easier to improve engagement in the workplace. From giving employees goals to offering them a stake in the business, you can improve productivity and results if you’re willing to find ways to better engage.