Staff who are committed to their work and to the purpose and goals of the business are willing to go the extra mile and deliver improved business performance. Research has repeatedly pointed to a relationship between how people are managed, their attitudes and behaviour, and business performance.
“Staff engagement has to be business specific. What makes people tick, what gripes they have, the challenges to and opportunities for fostering staff engagement will all vary with culture.”
There are four key drivers to engaging staff:
How could you apply it to your business?
Embed clear business goals and objectives throughout the business.
Identify and develop leadership and management skills of staff with line management responsibility
Encouraging staff voice and participation through seeking out, listening to and acting on staff views.
A practical first step in fostering staff engagement is to assess staff attitudes.
Definitions
Leadership: is about aligning people to the vision that means buy-in and communication, motivation and inspiration.
Management: is a set of processes that keep a business functioning. They make it work today – they make it hit this quarter’s numbers. The processes are about planning, budgeting, staffing, clarifying jobs, measuring performance, and problem-solving when results did not go to plan.
Vision: a clear unambiguous description of the business ambitions over a period of time, supported by clear long-term goals and short-term objectives.
Values: a set of guiding principles that encourage individuals in an organisation to make decisions based on the businesses stated beliefs and attitudes.
Goals: establish where you intend to go and tell you when you get there. They help improve your overall effectiveness as a business — whether you want to increase your share of the market, for example, or improve your customer service.
Objectives: the specific steps you and your business need to take in order to reach each of your goals. They specify what you must do — and when.
Culture: the sum of all the behaviours that define how things get done and the customers’ experience of them
Engagement Review: a review of the extent to which staff feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the business, and put discretionary effort into their work
Communications: the collection and dissemination of information through appropriate methods e.g. written, spoken and IT based
Staff Voice: the participation of staff in influencing business decision making.