All good business owners should be aware that the employees you have on board are one of the most important parts of the whole business. After all, it is they who actually carry out the work and keep the business afloat in a daily basis. The quality of your employees determines the value of your business. And very often, the quality of your engagement with your employees is what determines their quality. This is why all business owners need to have a strong ability with engaging their employees. You need to know how to best talk to them, keep them happy, and make them want to do their best work for as long as possible. Let’s take a look at the essentials of employee engagement.
Onboarding
This first step is one of the most important, as very often it sets the tone for all subsequent actions and interactions. When you take an employee on board, the way you handle them says a lot about your business, about you personally, and about what they can expect from the job in general. You should make sure to follow a detailed new hire checklist, as this is a great way of ensuring that everyone gets the same treatment right from the start. Do everything in your power to make your newcomers feel welcome, and already a valued part of the team. You might be pleasantly surprised at the power of this simple approach.
Training
You can’t reasonably expect your employees to pick up new skills immediately, especially the new ones. Having a decent training program in your business is really important, as it is a way of acknowledging that your employees are people and need treating well. As long as you are doing everything you can to properly and fully train your staff up, however, then you should find that they are perfectly capable of doing everything that you need them to do – and probably a lot more, given the chance. Work on keeping your training regular, professional and as thorough as possible.
Appraisal
At some point or another – hopefully not too far down the line – each employee can really benefit from hearing some appraisal of their work. This is another area where it really pays to be fair, direct and encouraging. In your appraisals, you should tell no lies, but you should encourage your employees to see their genuine successes and celebrate them for what they are – and to acknowledge their failures too, so that they know where they need to improve. This is a fair and honest way of ensuring that everyone knows exactly what you expect of them, so that the whole business can work as a well-oiled machine.
Progression
Finally, remember that it is hugely important to give your employees each a fair chance to progress in their career. As well as having them on board to help your company, you should also see yourself in a service role, helping each individual to get where they need to go in their personal career. This approach will lead to some happy staff and a dedicated workforce.
