Are Your Employees Engaging?
More to the point, are you engaging your employees?
How often do you ask your employees for their input? We’re not talking
about just a suggestion box outside the HR office (although there’s nothing
wrong with that). We mean how often do you ask them face to face for their
thoughts, ideas, observations . . . anything that might improve the workplace as
well as the products you produce?
Do you know where the next big idea for your business is coming from?
Research and development? Well, maybe. But more and more, traditional sources
are being usurped by – you guessed it – employees, as well as customers and
suppliers and everybody else in the company food chain.
It really just stands to reason. Engaged employees like what they do, like
the company they work for, and want to see it succeed. Moving the organization
forward moves them forward too.
Those employees who aren’t engaged are either just putting in the time or
plain just flat out don’t care. Unfortunately, the unhappy ones can poison the
well for even the best ones. And that’s a recipe for disaster.
What label would you assign to your employees? It doesn’t take great
brainpower to determine that engaged employees are going to be the happiest and
the most productive. Not only that, they would certainly be the least likely to
entertain the thought of a third-party coming in and upsetting the
situation.
Creating an atmosphere of involvement means making sure employees know
where to go with their ideas. Telling a friend at work is one thing – and a good
thing – but knowing exactly where to go to share their insight in the
management hierarchy is even more important. Eliminating barriers, whether
physical or mental, opens the door to conversation, discussion and
inventiveness.
Recognizing input is also key. It can be monetary, but it doesn’t have to
be. Internally communicating the suggestions and results made by employees not
only has an extremely positive effect on those making the suggestions, but can
spur others on to speak up and keep the ideas coming.
Every company welcomes new ideas. But have you created an atmosphere where
those ideas are encouraged and acted upon? Engaged employees are generally happy
employees. And happy employees can have a ripple effect throughout your
workplace.
Want some suggestions? Talk to us. We’ve seen the good, and the
not-so-good. Take advantage of our perspective.
Sincerely,
Matt French
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