How can FDs improve employee engagement?

October 15th 2018 | Posted by phil scott

How can FDs improve employee engagement?

How can FDs improve employee engagement?

59% of Millenials have been in their current role for more than 3 years, according to Udemy’s 2018 Millenials at Work Report.

The report explains that ‘they want to be loyal and stay with a company’ but that they ‘need employers to show that they are equally committed’.

An equal commitment is central to a positive and successful employee/employer relationship. Both parties need to be dedicated, proactive and willing to put in what is needed for the partnership to flourish. Business owners and FDs must recognise that loyal, productive and enthusiastic employees are motivated by much more than simply salary and financial reward.

A successful employee engagement programme covers themes and subjects that enhance the full employee experience.  An employee engagement strategy that achieves its goals will look at topics that interest their wide employee group, from career growth to working conditions and from community goals to diversity.

Here are 5 helpful tips FDs can use to create an employee engagement programme that works for his or her business:

Support career goals, learning & development

Top of the list for successful employee engagement is supporting people’s career goals. A loyal employee wants to feel that their employer believes they are worthy of career support.  A comprehensive Learning & Development programme is at the heart of this. Employees at all levels and across departments can benefit from learning and development opportunities in their field.

Championing personal growth objectives and providing training (both short term and long term) proves to employees that you are committed to supporting their career. Additional ways to support career development can include work shadowing, mentoring and secondment opportunities to provide access to additional experiences and chances to gain new skills.

Create opportunities to give back

A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme demonstrates to employees that your business is committed to wider society and believes in supporting the community. Creating a CSR programme that employees are proud to be involved with can have a huge impact on employee engagement. Simple ways to engage employees in a CSR programme can include forming a CSR committee to drive activities forward, asking employees to vote on which charity and community initiatives to support and creating a calendar of mixed activities (from cake sales to sports events to volunteering) so that the business has a greater chance of appealing to as many employees as possible.

Deliver a wide range of benefits

An employee body is diverse and therefore needs a diverse range of employee benefits. Part of a good employee engagement strategy is putting together a benefits package that appeals to a wide cross-section of individuals. Having extra tangible benefits that make a difference in an employee’s daily life can contribute to their engagement levels and feelings of loyalty to the business. Benefits can include health insurance, holiday buying & selling schemes and gym membership. However, the options can be tailored to suit your business and your employee base.

Promote flexible working

The office environment is continually evolving and the typical 9-5 office based job is no longer the only scenario for success. Employees can feel more engaged and motivated if they feel that there is some level of flexibility in when, where and how they work.  Providing the needs of the role can still be met, offering flexibility such as remote working, job share, part-time roles, flexible working hours/patterns and more can make a huge difference to employee satisfaction and engagement.

Develop a culture of communication

Open two-way communication is essential in having positive, happy and engaged employees. Individuals need to feel that they are listened to and their opinions count. It’s not difficult to make small changes to improve communication. Simple steps like creating a staff forum to feedback on new ideas or issues to be discussed, making use of a staff intranet, creating a feedback box to drop ideas into or setting up regular drop-in sessions or casual team meetings are effective ways to create positive communication channels.

It’s also important to pay attention to how changes to the business are shared throughout the team.  Disseminating information in a way that encourages open communication and feedback and engaging employees at the start of new changes can make a visible difference to a work culture.

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