Worker Engagement is Key to Business Success

Engaged employees are passionate about the company they are a part of – they will go out of their way to make sure the company is successful because they see their own success as tied to that of the company. Engagement is so much more than other business buzz words often thrown about, such as employee satisfaction, vision, commitment and motivation. These other traits are most certainly valuable qualities you want in your staff and they are key aspects of engagement, but these qualities can exist in a workplace without a thriving engagement – these qualities are not mutually exclusive. When a company has a high level of employee engagement the staff takes on a sense of ownership and they are willing to go above and beyond to ensure the product or service they provide is superior in every way.

As an employer you want to foster an environment and culture that creates engagement amongst your staff. Engaged employees stick around and are willing to weather the inevitable storms that are bound to hit from time to time. High employee retention means you can build a strong and reliable staff – you will rarely or never have to let people go or loose good, solid staff to other companies. When you lose staff you also lose their skill and knowledge and you are forced to start over training new employees. Retaining engaged employees means you have an educated and informative staff that is prepared to handle whatever comes their way and you can rest easy knowing that your company is a well-oiled machine that delivers dependable service and a quality product at the hands of a very capable staff.

With these facts in mind it is not too surprising that there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and financial performance. Engaged employees will make certain that the products or services your organization provides are top notch, nothing subpar will slip by. In the rare event a flop gets through to a customer an engaged staff will do whatever they can to satisfy the customer and not just remedy the problem, but make sure that customer is willing to conduct business with your company in the future. Customers understand that sometimes accidents and mistakes happen and when a company takes ownership of such an error and offers to correct the problem that shows the customer that they are valued and in turn can create a loyal customer following. The loyalty that is felt by the staff is almost contagious and can make the customers happy and excited about the brand and product, too.

Tips On Keeping Your Staff Engaged

A great vehicle towards employee engagement is bringing your staff into the conversation when certain decisions need to be made. Surveys are a fantastic tool to keep your staff in the loop and make them feel like they are helping guide the business down a path to success. Employees need to see a direct connection between their work and contribution and the end result to feel valued and this sense of value translates into engagement. An added benefit of surveys is that some really great ideas can result and a simple suggestion can morph and evolve into a new protocol or process that makes a positive change and further deepens employee loyalty.

Consider sending out a survey to your staff asking for suggestions on how to make your company go green. There are so many worthwhile causes to get behind and the advantage of environmental causes is that regardless of an individual’s background and political and religious beliefs just about everyone can find common ground in environmental issues. Taking a stand on environmental causes in the office can have some serious financial benefits like switching to low energy light bulbs or making the switch to reusable utensils and dishware in the company kitchen instead of going the disposable route, but going green is about so much more than your bottom line. Depending on the nature of your business your company’s carbon footprint can reach far beyond your community. Making an effort to ensure chemicals are handled in a safe and responsible way or limiting the amount of non-biodegradable trash created by your organization shows your employees that you care about more than simply turning a profit – you can concerned about the community and the impact your business has on both the local and global ecosystems. Bringing your staff into this discussion can produce some great and fruitful ideas, but it can also make your staff feel valued and important. You care enough to not only ask their opinion and thoughts, but you see value in their suggestions, so much so that you may make their ideas a reality. This will help keep people on board because they understand that they are valued and they see the company as on opportunity to make some positive changes. You staff will become even more engaged.

Reusable Bags Help the Environment and Your Brand

Taking a stand on environmental issues clearly shows your staff that your organization is concerned about more than business. Environmental awareness and changes to procedures to ensure materials are properly disposed of and handled establishes your company as a thoughtful and concerned member of society. Your company is not just concerned about your staff, but also their families and homes and the entire community. In many ways you need your staff to be fully involved and engaged in order to successfully implement a green strategy. Going green is not difficult, but it requires some changes and since the responsibility to make these changes fall to the employees it is pivotal that they be included and part of the process early on. Reusable shopping bags are an eco-friendly way to promote your company and do right by the environment. A customized reusable bag from Factory Direct Promos will get your brand name out there and reduce the need of disposable plastic bags thusly reducing the amount of trash heading for landfills and wreaking havoc for animals and their habitats.

A great way to pull your staff in and get their input while keeping them in the loop and engaged is to launch a contest to design your company’s custom reusable bag. Check out our Factory Direct Promo Bag Design Guide to get the specifics, but essentially you can pick the size, material and colors for your bag. There is a large selection of options, but what is so great about FDP is that you can customize your bag beyond the stock options available (completely custom jobs require additional production time and while the finished product is well worth the wait, factor this extra time in when placing your order). Think about making the gusset and handles match your corporate colors or add snap closure or pockets or adjust the length of the handles to get a stunning and unique bag. Ask your staff to submit ideas for the design printed on your company bag – this will make them part of the process and allow them to feel involved.

Reusable bags are not only great to hand out at trade shows, but they also make great gifts for staff members and they get your brand noticed. Having reusable bags made up to give to staff whether to mark the launch of a new product or a meaningful event is a small gesture that does bring an expense; however, the rewards can easily compensate for this cost. Each time the bag is used it will get your branding message noticed and help familiarize people with your corporate message.

Ongoing Effort and Benefits Pay Off

Keeping your employees engaged is good for your staff because it allows them to find balance and happiness in the personal and work lives and these feelings will transform in loyalty and ownership of your corporate brand. When your staff is engaged they will treat the brand as their own and make decisions as if they owned the company – which means they will do what is in the best interest of the organization and be aware of the brand.

A high level of engagement means you can enjoy a low rate of turnover and this translates to a direct financial benefit. The longer an employee is with an organization the more trained and prepared they are so the more valuable they are to the organization and the better job they do. Successfully engaging your staff is really a win-win because employees are happy, customers are satisfied and the company is profitable. Ensuring your workers are engaged is on ongoing challenge and there are countless ways to make this happen.

Make sure to not become complacent and look for new ways to keep your employees involved, whether it is through surveys or various contests, like designing promotional items such as reusable grocery bags or activities like cleaning up nearby neighborhoods. Engagement is an ongoing mission that when executed properly can turn your company into a top notch employer people love to work for.

To learn more about the connection between sustainable practices and engaged employees check out http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/09/22/why-sustainable-companies-have-more-engaged-employees/.