INNERGISE!

We all know that engaged employees are more likely to stay within the business if they are engaged with you as a leader, as an organisation and within their role and team. We have the most diverse and demanding workforce we have ever had with generations working alongside each other and people demanding more flexibility, which can make responding to these changes to improve employee engagement and retention even harder.

A recent survey by Hay Group found that of the 300 heads of engagement from FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 companies surveyed, 84% agreed that companies will need to engage their workforce differently if they are to succeed in the future, but only 30% believe that their organization is adapting appropriately to the changes that lie ahead.

Recruitment companies that act positively, stay true to their word, set targets, create incentives and train and motivate their staff will find they not only have a happy and engaged workforce but a high performing workforce.

Often as leaders we think it takes too much time to ensure all our staff are happy, after all they are adults and they would tell you if they were unhappy wouldn’t they? Adopting this attitude can be dangerous, you may be lucky and your staff will have an open and honest conversation with you if they are feel disengaged, but chances are they are just going to find another company who can fill the gaps, whatever those may be for the individual.

Engaging our workforce comes down to some very simple things;

Train your workforce and keep training them – investing in your employees is a great way to show you care about their personal and professional development. Achieving increased results through training you have provided them will give them a sense of pride, achievement and keep driving up their results.

It’s true we may invest in individuals who then go on to leave the company anyway – we just have to accept that it might happen and move on. If we are letting our employees know their professional development plans based over three/five years and are sticking to those plans at intervals, we are encouraging employees to invest with us over those years to fulfil these plans and reduce early leavers.

Communicate company goals – it is important that you communicate regularly the company goals and how they play their part in achieving those goals. Without this communication to feel like part of the team and the big plan all they see is their boss driving to work in a new car and they loose their feeling of working hard for the company to achieve the goals.

Set individual goals – employees want to take responsibility for their own achievements and goals. Setting realistic goals on an individual level that they can relate to the company goals (as mentioned above) will let them see how their day-to-day efforts can make a difference. These goals aren’t a chance to discipline, any goals that haven’t been achieved are an opportunity for you to understand why and what you can provide to overcome this – it may be they are weaker in certain areas and these need to be trained and developed.

Think about the working environment – the working environment can play a huge factor in in how an employee feels about coming into work. Have you created an environment that will allow employees to feel comfortable voicing their opinion? Do you encourage communication across teams and allow all employees to have time to knowledge share? These seem like simple changes but this gives your employees the chance to really feel like part of the whole team – segregating teams and individuals can automatically put a barrier up between your team.

Provide incentives that suit all – after all the hard work it is great to provide some fun and relief from the day-to-day work by rewarding your employees. Incentives can vary greatly and it is a good idea to provide a mix of activities to allow all your team to take part in something they really enjoy.

These are just a few ways you can increase levels of engagement across your business to retain recruiters.