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Employee engagement: the dark horse of business success

Posted by Oliver Corrigan on Oct 17, 2017 8:30:00 AM
Oliver Corrigan
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We often hear about self-proclaimed business growth experts offering ‘secrets’ into their tactics. These tactics can be anything and everything from a basic marketing strategy to gaining financial investments.

However, a lot of these ‘experts’ miss out one of the most overlooked steps to business success: building a happy, fully-engaged team.

It may sound overly simplistic, but a satisfied team can make a huge difference to how effective and successful your business is a whole. Generally speaking, the happier your employees are, the more productive they will be.

Employee engagement is the practice of working to build a culture where all members of the team feel happy, valued and committed to the common goals of your business.

The catch here is that creating good employee engagement is neither a quick fix nor a one-time job. Instead, this is an ongoing process which should be a key consideration of your daily processes.

Though achieving positive employee engagement can be a long process, trust us when we say it’s worth the effort. ACAS advise that a workplace with poor employee engagement is at risk of low morale, a lack of motivation, higher absence rates and a dearth of creativity.

 

What are the benefits of building an engaged workforce? 

When your workforce is sufficiently engaged, you can expect to enjoy a wide range of benefits.

These include;

  • Increased motivation; the more engaged your workforce are, the more likely they are to want to work towards the success of the company.
  • Productivity; more satisfied employees get more done in less time. Research by the University of Warwick suggests that the difference is as large as 12%.
  • Creativity; the more productive and motivated your employees are, the more likely they are to share their big ideas.
  • Better morale; this is hugely beneficial as it helps to reduce absenteeism and improve collaborative working.
  • Improved customer service; happy employees will be far better at communicating with customers.
  • Business growth; ultimately, a consistently engaged employee base will drive your business towards greater success.

 

How can you take steps to engage your workforce?

If you want to take advantage of some of these benefits, here are some ideas on how to start working towards a more engaged team.

 

1. Offer employee perks

It’s important to ensure your employees feel appreciated. One key way to do this is to offer perks such as flexible working policies, pension schemes and wellness programs.

The office environment itself is also key here. What kind of space are you providing for your employees to work in? Attractive surroundings with break out and social spaces are an important factor in fostering happy employees.

We take this very seriously at Carrwood Park, offering a wide range of stylish, open, light and airy serviced office solutions complete with ample third space, free parking and easily accessible refreshments.

 

2. Get behind an important cause

Corporate social responsibility is a growing concern for many businesses. There are a number of reasons to look into this if you’re not doing so already, but increased employee engagement is actually one of them.

When a company encourages their employees to get behind an important cause, it can help to foster a greater community feel and remind employees that they are all on the same team.

 

3. Improve your leadership

The quality of your leadership has a big impact on how engaged your employees are. Experts say that compassionate leadership can inspire higher levels of engagement, especially when the leaders in question are authentic, present and fair. Everything starts at the top of the ladder, so it’s essential to set the right example

 

4. Improve your communications

Good, honest communication between management and employees can go a very long way towards improving relations. In a survey, 81% of employees said they would rather work for a company that valued open communication than one that offered perks such as free food, gym memberships or health plans.

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Is it time that your company invested in a more employee-friendly office? If you’re thinking about moving your company to a more team-focused space, why not arrange a viewing at our high quality serviced offices in Leeds?

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