Employee engagement can be another one of those nebulous concepts that you hear everywhere but might not fully connect with. Engagement speaks to your company’s specific goals and values and how you translate that to your team. Do you think your employees know and share your vision? They should. And if you’re not asking, you should be. Your team wants to feel connected to your brand beyond just collecting a paycheck, holiday party and casual Friday. Engaging your team on a deeper level is vital to their happiness and productivity as well as your bottom line.
The Engaged Team
When your employees share your company’s vision, they are much more likely to be invested in their work. If an employee asks “I could work anywhere, why should I work for you” how would you answer? Employees are demanding more, they want to feel connected and that their work matters. Your team should be packed with engaged contributors who are aligned with your company’s goals and values. This isn’t as rare as it sounds. Your company’s healthy and engaged culture includes lots of communication, acknowledgement and opportunity.
Leadership’s Changing Role
As your company embraces a deeper culture with employee engagement, leaders in your company will also need to embrace their changing role. The day’s of “my boss is a jerk” are over. Managers need to be partners and motivators not just supervisors and drivers. And as the paradigm shifts, leaders need education, support and tools to effectively take on these roles. Correspondingly, leaders should have just as much engagement as any other member of the team.
Investing in Culture
It’s not a fantasy, but it does take time. Investing in your team for the benefit of your company will take patience and the right tools. Imagine if you could give the leaders and managers in your company the means to become supportive mentors to their employees. If your company’s focus could include real goals for your team as well as profits, think about how this small shift could mean big changes for your company. What if over time this led to your company having longevity in employees who become leaders and can continue to contribute to your vision for years to come? We want you to know that it is not a dream. This can happen, and we have helped other companies achieve this.
The Bottom Line
Like any organization you need to pay attention to your bottom line. And likely your next thought could be “how does company culture impact my bottom line.” Good question. If you have engaged and satisfied employees, they are less likely to seek an opportunity at another company. You could realize top line improvements by holding onto good employees. Additionally, an employee that is aligned with their company’s culture is likely to produce a better quality of work. Your strong company culture can create an atmosphere that is lacking in the stereotypical office complainers and full of happy and healthy employees. This can also influence a measurable jump in productivity.
Executive Forum wants to help you cultivate engagement for all of your employees. Get in touch to learn more about our training programs for all employees from your top managers to brand new team members.
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