The old adage of ‘pay peanuts, get monkeys’ has always rung true. But there’s a lot more to getting the best from your staff than paying them well. I’ve been with the same employer for well over a decade. Why? Because the company really understands what their staff cares about, and how to boost employee engagement. Sure, a wage increase wouldn’t hurt, but a pay-check is not the only reason I turn up for work.
There are several ways to get the best from staff from making their work meaningful to providing good training. Good companies understand the value of a good learning management system and how LMS pricing comparison makes a difference. More on that in a minute. If the following isn’t already happening in your company, it’s time to implement some changes.
Flexibility
One of the open-secrets to increase employee engagement is creating flexible working arrangements. That might be having a work-from-home strategy, flexible hours or providing child-care. Each organisation is different and will have different needs. Speak to your staff, find out what will make them more productive and remember, it’s a two-way street. You give a little, they give a little and everyone wins.
Training
Some employees are not interested in mentoring, training or further education and as a result, everyone loses. Any kind of training programme shows your commitment to helping staff do their job better and helps them fulfil their own work goals. A learning management system (LMS) is a terrific way of furthering training and is a proven method that boosts employee engagement. From short modules to full-time courses, there are many ways of implementing an LMS in a company and the results can be significant. Be sure to check an LMS pricing comparison before you start.
Alignment
Make sure you have the right person in the right role. This seems obvious yet many companies labour with a poor combination of position and talent. You probably don’t have to let anyone go either – more often than not, realigning responsibilities around the company resolves blockages and enhances the work experience for everyone.
Be Meaningful Engaged employees do meaningful work and have a clear understanding of how they contribute to a company’s strategic objective. Don’t make the mistake of hiring great talent without having a clear role for them, otherwise they’ll soon become unsatisfied, unproductive and leave.
Say Thank You
Remember what your mother taught you. Showing appreciation for your staff’s hard work is not just a nice thing to do, it’s one of the fastest ways to increase trust in the workplace. By letting people know that their effort is valued and makes a difference has an immediate, positive effect on their wellbeing and productivity.
None of these ideas are complex nor ground-breaking, but they must be prioritized if you really want to boost employee engagement. Companies that get this right will have a happier, more effective workforce that wants to come to work. They prosper, the company prospers.
