What You Need To Know
There is a saying that people don’t leave a job, they leave a boss.
Money is often not the main reason people leave an employer. Employees may leave due to boredom, feeling unappreciated, or become frustrated with an aspect of their work(place). Most employees want to work for someone who values them as individuals. They want to work for someone who listens to what they have to say and/or provides them with opportunities to further develop or share their skills.
The best way to engage employees is through ongoing communication.
Why You Need To Know
If you focus on keeping current employees, you should see a reduction in resources required to recruit new employees. There are direct and indirect costs to your business when people leave, so a focus on keeping them is a good investment.
Engagement through ongoing communication can help reduce negativity and/or eliminate unproductive behaviour. It’s contagious! Good employee relations can also help to improve customer service, safety, profits, and productivity.
What You Need To Do
Create a positive work environment and become known for it. A few ideas to engage your employees:
Encourage employee ownership, decision making, and flexibility
- Share the vision, mission and strategies of the business with employees.
- Include employees in decision-making.
- Allow employees to have independence and control over work
Create a motivating, supportive, and trusting environment
- Ensure that employees are supported to be productive at work.
- Encourage teamwork among employees.
- Recognize and reward employee contribution.
Maintain a healthy, safe, and comfortable workplace
- Provide a safe and healthy workplace.
- Provide people-friendly facilities.
- Provide a clean, comfortable environment.
Put work and personal life in balance
- Allow flexible hours and vacations.
- Consider alternative working arrangements (e.g. part-time, modified work weeks).
- Allow employees some discretion over the timing of overtime.
Maintain regular and open communication
- Continually share information and knowledge with all employees.
- Consider regular employee meetings or update employees on a frequent basis.
- Provide regular feedback to employees and managers.
