In an ever-changing workforce, one aspect that seems to be changing a lot is the number of employees who would consider themselves engaged in their work.
According to a recent survey, only 21% of Canadian employees described themselves as being engaged, 14% below their American counterparts.
Any business owner or manager will tell you that their success is only as good as their employee engagement. That’s why it’s vital to discover ways you can boost your company culture and with it the morale and engagement of your employees.
At Liberty Staffing Services, we are passionate about finding employers quality staffing solutions that will thrive in a positive company culture. Looking to make some shifts to your culture to get the best from your employees? Here are our best ideas to get started.
1. Recognize Progress and Success
Employees don’t want to feel like a cog in the machine. They want to feel like their presence and contribution at work are personal and meaningful. That’s why it’s important not to wait for the next employee recognition day to show appreciation for the progress and professional goals your employees are reaching.
Recognizing employees could be as simple as a personalized card in their mailbox, a shout out in the company newsletter or lunch for the team when they hit a milestone. Find ways to recognize your employees that will be meaningful to them.
2. Communicate Clearly and Often
You can tell a lot about a company by the way employees and employers all communicate with one another. You should find ways to facilitate and encourage communication on all levels. Employees should always feel comfortable speaking up with their ideas or asking questions if they need to. Communication from the top should give all employees a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
One effective way is by conducting one-on-one check-ins with each employee to keep channels of communication open if employees have problems they need to address or ideas they would like to provide.
3. Ask for Feedback
All too often the only people getting feedback in the workplace are the employees. However, companies that truly value and take the feedback of their employees have a workforce that is more satisfied and motivated. By feeling heard, employees are more likely to feel meaningful within their company and feel like their voice and ideas matter.
Establish routines to gather employee feedback whether informally during one-on-one check-ins or more formally through a survey program. The insights your employees provide during these opportunities could take your company from good to great in many aspects.
4. Value Balanced Employees
The idea of work-life balance isn’t a new one, but over the past few years, more of a focus has been drawn on its importance. Promoting this type of balance and keeping it as part of your company culture is one of the surest ways to boost morale among employees.
Wherever possible, offer flexibility to employees whether that’s through flexible scheduling or remote work (if possible). Encourage your managers to focus not on the hours punched into the time clock, but on the productivity of their teams. Finally, lead by example. Limit your after-hours emails and model the importance of taking a break once in a while.
5. Invest in Your Employees
Investing in the personal and professional development of your employees is really a win-win situation. Through opportunities to develop and refine their skills, you’re giving your employees the capacity to rise through the ranks and be more confident in their work. In the meantime, you’re not only improving the quality of the work your employees are producing, but you’re building and nurturing a leadership pipeline within your company to ensure your managers and directors have all been trained and developed to be their best.
If recruitment is also a concern for your company, creating opportunities for growth and development is a great recruiting tool for attracting prospective employees as well.
6. Organize Team Building Activities
Some may have the opinion that team building activities are “cheesy,” but the fact remains that positive morale is closely connected to how we feel about the team we are working on. Organize events and activities that your team will enjoy like special lunches or happy hours. Buy a bank of seats at a sporting event or find special ways to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries for your team members. Better yet, ask your employees what kind of activities they would like to participate in to get to know their team better.
Keep Your Company Thriving By Partnering With Liberty Staffing
With the right company culture and more engaged employees, you can take your company to the next level when it comes to employee satisfaction and retention.
Liberty Staffing Services can help you keep your workforce well-staffed with our best quality job candidates who are well trained and ready to be part of your team. Contact us today to meet the newest members of your workforce!
