The importance of employee engagement

The importance of employee engagement

For many business owners, employee engagement is often considered one of those ‘wish list’ qualities which there is never actually time to get to grips with. But a happy and engaged workforce is a more productive one – which means business is better for you too. 

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There are so many reasons why you should engage with your workforce, whether you run a large company or a much smaller SME. However, employee engagement is not always talked about within small companies. This might be due to a lack of resources, a fear of getting it wrong or not liking what you might hear about the impact it can have. 

As a small business owner, I certainly think it’s important to remember that if employees feel connected to their team or to the business, they will go the extra mile because they really believe in what they do makes a difference. And this, of course, means your business will excel too. 

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For example, research by the Government’s taskforce, Engage for Success, has previously shown that companies with engagement scores in the top quartile achieve twice the annual net profit and 18 percent more productivity than those in the lower quartile.  

Having worked in a corporate environment and now running an SME, I really believe in engaging with colleagues, whatever the size of a business and whatever level they may work at. It’s about providing the right environment where your colleagues are listened to and making sure that any advice or ideas they have are acted upon, and their success (or lessons learnt from any failures) are shared. 

Engagement is about helping your employees be the best and achieve all they can. Your workforce is one of your biggest assets and by engaging with them, you’re investing in your collective future.

In a smaller organisation, it’s easier for leaders to show their support for engagement initiatives because they don’t need the resources of a huge HR department or a communications and engagement strategy - it is more about the reality of how things are done, how people are managed, and whether they feel listened to and rewarded. 

Job satisfaction stems from employees being interested in their work, motivating them to go the extra mile to get the job done. Larger organisations may find it more difficult to offer flexibility and variety around the kind of roles available. Running a small organisation means I need team members to be involved in a wider range of tasks, which not only expands their skills but also keeps them interested and engaged. 

On the other side of the coin, in smaller businesses, it is easier to see when people are becoming disengaged. This in itself is a blessing in disguise because it provides an opportunity to find out what can be done to reinvigorate their interest and productivity.

Another key aspect of engagement comes from employees being able to see the end product and how their efforts have contributed to helping the business succeed.  Being part of a smaller business means your employees are likely to be involved in various parts of a project, process or service and the satisfaction of seeing a task through to its end binds the individual and the business together. Engagement helps to build a sense of pride in what they have helped their team and the company as a whole to achieve.

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So, does your organisation engage well with its staff? If there’s room for improvement, why not put some of the ideas in this blog in place so that both you and your organisation can reap the benefits.

Julie Gordon is the Managing Director of cHRysos HR Solutions, a Doncaster based HR training and consultancy company providing CIPD and CMI accredited qualifications nationwide, as well as HR Consultancy to SMEs. Contact cHRysos HR on info@chrysos.org.uk or call +44 (0)1302 802128.

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cHRysos HR Solutions are a UK wide HR training and consultancy company offering CIPD accredited qualifications, Apprenticeships, Training and HR Services to SMEs. For more information about how cHRysos HR can help you or your teams successfully achieve further qualifications, contact us on info@chrysos.org.uk or call 03300 562443.