How to boost employee engagement and retain good workers

"Engaged" employees are more apt to stay.

We are not talking about the romantic kind of engagement! We are talking about employees who feel valued and empowered to work in the best interests of the company. In the present business climate of lay-offs and furloughs and other employee concerns, retaining employees when the economy starts growing again can become an issue.

How does a business "engage" employees so they are effective and what makes an employee "engaged" with a company?

Engaged employees:

* Are involved in their job.

* Get satisfaction from their job.

* Are enthusiastic about their job, their co-workers and their company.

How does a company achieve the employee attributes of being "engaged"? It starts at the top. Supervisors and managers can be excellent role models for the workforce. The people at the top of your organization set the tone for how the company values employees. An "open door" policy must be supported by open minds and a willingness to really listen to employees, especially the ones presenting management with difficult questions or different ideas.

How does a company keep their workforce "engaged?" This is the part where the rubber hits the road! It is not easy to do this because consistent actions and time and effort are required. Another necessity is the ability to involve those difficult "devil's advocates" that appear to be the employee from ... well, you know where. Keep in mind that a very large percentage of your employees want to be at work and want to do a good job. Remember how your employees acted the first weeks and months of their employment? Their attitudes were great along with a sense of responsibility and a desire to use initiative in finding work to do once their tasks were completed. What happened to them?

The easy answer is that someplace along the road of their employment they became disengaged with their job, their co-workers and the company. The difficult answer is that most employers have no idea what happened to the employee they spent so much money, time and effort recruiting, interviewing and training.

There may be as many reasons why employees become dis-engaged as there are employees. For the purpose of this short article, here are some suggestions:

* The job did not "fit" the employee.

* Management did not involve the employee, but rather, directed the employee.

* The employee's requirements for working i.e. pay, benefits, location changed.

* Perhaps very simply the key ingredients for the employee to believe in the job and feel valued for doing the job were missing.

How does that happen? It is critical for management at all levels to listen to their direct reports and understand what they need to have in order to do their jobs and to acknowledge their concerns about their jobs. This includes equipment and materials necessary to accomplish their tasks without having to "make do" with unnecessary steps. It also involves fair and consistent performance reviews; not just the annual review but a more user-friendly type of managing performance throughout the year with frequent communication.

Management's main duties are to manage people (resources) and manage the work (product or service). When this is a clear focus for the company, employees are being engaged on a daily basis. It then becomes easier for employees to realize their value to the rest of the employees and their part in making the product or accomplishing the service of the company.

For a company to have engaged employees is neither an easy task nor an accomplishment that can be achieved overnight. It entails absolute commitment from the top decision maker all the way down throughout the organization. Surveying your employees helps to know how they feel about the company and can be an information tool in these difficult times. Remember: Retaining employees usually affects the bottom line in a positive way!

Carol A. Eastwick is the training representative for the Nevada Association of Employers. Contact her at 329-4241 or ceastwick@nae-online.org