Engaging and Energizing Employees

Better Boss Bureau's last blog post, Covid-19: Communication Crisis, emphasized the importance of establishing regular, organized, and open virtual communications amongst your team. In this blog, we're going to elaborate on employer/employee communications and how to cultivate healthy and honest working relationships. The success of your company is reliant upon your employees' performance. According to a 2021 survey conducted by Great Place To Work, less than half of U.S. employees feel engaged with their work. How can you engage with your employees and energize their motivation to produce the best results for your company?

A key factor of any working relationship is establishing trust. Trust empowers your employees, builds teamwork, decreases hostility and increases loyalty. Building trust in a working relationship isn't necessarily difficult to do, but it's a little complicated. Trust goes both ways, and in a working relationship, this means that your employees trust you have their best interest in mind and you trust your employees have your company's best interests in mind. So how can you, as an employer, set the foundation for trustworthy working relationships amongst your team? You have the critical responsibility to remain ethical in how you conduct business and interact with employees. Taking an ethical approach shows your employees that you can be trusted to handle workplace issues in fair, reasonable, and appropriate manners. Your employees will feel comfortable approaching you with their concerns, ideas, and questions as you establish your trustworthiness as their employer.

Demonstrating that you care for your employees on both a personal and professional level is another extremely important factor in a working relationship. Get to know your employees and coworkers by actively engaging in open and honest communication. Regularly check-in with them, invite them to share their opinions, and inquire about how they feel regarding their roles and responsibilities within the company. Start an open discussion on what can be improved, or what you can do to help them advance in their skills or careers. Listen to your employees' perspectives, reflect on their ideas or concerns, and implement any necessary changes to increase positivity and productivity in your workplace. 

Recognition and appreciation for accomplishments is a universal motivator. Are your employees receiving the credit they deserve for their ideas and work? How are you showing your employees that they are appreciated? If your employee is producing outstanding work, you need to let them know that! Studies show that there are many psychological benefits from receiving praise for your work. Receiving recognition raises your dopamine levels, therefore decreasing stress and increasing your motivation. Incorporating gratitude into your company culture will also help your employees show their gratitude to fellow team members, cultivating a strong and positive work ethic amongst all employees. 

Of course, there will be times that you must reprimand an employee who has made a mistake in the workplace. This can be a daunting task, but if you've established some level of trust or understanding, you can handle the issue in an effective and appropriate manner. Reprimanding an employee should always be done in private and should result in a positive learning experience from said employee rather than a negative one. Allow them the space to explain themselves, reflect on what led to their mistake, and offer them the opportunity to participate in resolving this workplace issue. It's not just a learning experience for them as an employee, it's also a learning experience for you as an employer and allows you the opportunity to create new guidelines or procedures to avoid similar mistakes in the future. 

Ensuring that your employees are engaged and energized to work for your company will surely secure your company's success. Incorporate compassion, honesty, ethics, and open communication into your workplace and watch as your employees rise to their full potential. Happy employees means higher productivity, and higher productivity makes a happy boss!