There are many factors outside the walls of your organisation that can affect your ability to engage and retain your employees. A competitive jobs market, an unstable economy, and rising costs of living are all influencing the career decisions of professionals across every sector.
However, there are things that you can do to keep your employees engaged while making sure that your team (and their skills) stay within your business.
Workplace consultants, Gallup have released their latest advice for employers. Here are 7 tips they offer employers to help keep teams engaged and happy.
7 tips to engage and retain your employees.
Weekly check-ins.
It’s advised that managers should have weekly ‘connect’ conversations with team members each week. By setting up weekly reminders on your calendar, you’ll get to know how your team’s feeling and get a feel for their morale.
Look for burnout.
Gallup advises that the top cause of burnout comes from the failure of managers to identify and address the workload of their team. Managers should be aware of the workload and help employees prioritise and manage their tasks, energy, and time.
Employers should consider the distribution of the work and the working style of the team before identifying those who may be most at risk. Those individuals can then be asked what support or help they need.
Wellbeing.
Since the Pandemic, well-being at work has become more and more important to professionals across the UK. When thinking about well-being, employers should consider that it looks different for everyone. Employers should take time to discuss well-being with their teams and focus on the 5 different areas that make up well-being:
- Career
- Financial
- Social
- Physical
- Community
Include employees in decision-making.
A top-down structure has the potential to have a negative impact on engagement and retention. This is especially true around decisions that directly affect the working lives of employees, such as hybrid working patterns. Where possible, employees should be consulted in the setting of employer expectations based on business needs.
Employers should learn the preferences of employees around hybrid working and try to accommodate them. Where this isn’t possible, employers and employees should come together and try to find a solution that is workable for everyone.
Focus on strengths, not weaknesses.
Traditional review methods have come under attack for being too focused on the areas for improvement, rather than what employees do well. Employees agree. Gallup found that one of the things employees want most at work is to do more of what they do well. Employers should take time to find out the strengths of their employees and help them to apply these qualities across different areas of their role.
Have ‘stay’ conversations.
Many employees say that their exit interview is the first real conversation they’ve had with their employer about their job. Organisations are advised to have regular stay conversations with employees to discuss how they can be supported in their work and how the employer can help them reach their ambitions and career goals.
These retention interviews are invaluable to employers. They help to ensure you’re doing all you can to keep your people within your organisation. For our thoughts on retention interviews, read our blog here.
Encourage friendships.
One of the main ways in which employees find meaning in their work is through their professional relationships. In these times of hybrid and remote working, employers will need to intentionally cultivate these interactions. Digital coffee breaks, in-person get-togethers, and meetups where work chat is strictly off the table are a few ways in which employers can help to build trust, respect, and friendships between colleagues.
Looking for more?
For our thoughts on how remote work affects company culture, read our blog here.
Are you the business leader of an SME? Read our recent blog about how SME leaders can boost employee morale and engagement. Alternatively, you may be interested in how you might create a culture of engagement that nurtures buy-in from your team.
Or perhaps you are looking to read more about retaining your MVPs? Here are our top tips.
For more employer advice head over to our blog.