How engaged are your employees? And why does it matter?

In small businesses where everyone knows each other, it can be relatively easy to keep everyone in touch and engaged. Communication flows back and forth easily and everyone is kept in touch with the business aims.

However, as organisations grow, they can get to a point where business leaders start to realise that no-one is clear about what the goals of the business are any more. When that staff engagement is lost, it becomes painfully clear how important it is. This is why larger businesses have strategies to keep everyone engaged.

Start with an employee engagement survey

So how do you maintain or regain that vital staff engagement? Carrying out an employee survey is a really good way to measure where you are now and help you find out what people really think about the business. If you use tried-and-tested models that are benchmarked externally, you can compare your results with other businesses and track your progress in future surveys.

I recently helped a business carry out a rebranding exercise after it brought several businesses and brands under one single brand. A staff engagement survey showed that its employees several thousand of them spread across numerous depots across the country, were confused by the numerous brands and weren’t sure what others in the business did. Teamwork was suffering and there was a disconnect between the leadership team’s vision and that held by those on the ground.

Respond to the findings

We knew that it was important to act on the feedback, especially since the survey showed that fewer than 30% of respondents thought anything would come from it. Not only that, there were many great ideas generated from the survey that would benefit the business. We presented the findings to the board, who decided which suggestions to take action on. One was to acknowledge the different cultures within the acquired businesses and keep best practices from each. Part of our response included sharing real-life examples of best practice between teams in the business and looking at new opportunities to work more collaboratively.

Keep the conversation going

We also worked on comms to increase employees’ understanding of the business strategy and how each employee contributed to it. At a conference to launch the new brand, ideas were shared on how to further improve the business, as well as an employee awards scheme with all categories linked specifically to the company values. The winning prize was a trip to the USA, which certainly encouraged a lot of participation!

The conference also outlined new people initiatives such as personal development plans, better employee benefits and an improved maternity leave package – all of which were received positively.

Reap the benefits of increased engagement

Over a period of three years, these initiatives helped to create and maintain momentum in staff engagement; subsequent surveys at the company saw the response rate rise by 28%, with an overall increase in employee engagement to over 80%, a rise of 11%. Most importantly, by taking specific actions after each survey, linked to the results, there was a significantly increased belief that by getting involved in employee surveys, the business would listen.

This raised level of engagement, certainly had a very positive effect on business, resulting in greater business opportunities, a stronger and more cohesive culture, and highly engaged employees.  Asa result of many ideas generated from employees, the business continued to expand into new markets.

The impact engaged employees can have on the function and growth of a business is undeniable, and if you would like to find out more about how a part-time People Director can help increase staff engagement in your business, call 0345 646 5201.