A bad manager or simply just a lack of support and training?

A bad manager costs a business money, simple. Sustainable and effective employee engagement fundamentally begins with your managers at every level of your organisation not just middle managers. Most employee surveys and focus groups reveal that manager relations are one of the prevailing reasons employees quit their jobs or if not quit are considering it, actively looking for another job, demotivated or just unhappy in their job.   So what happens if as a manager they just cannot manage well, or worse, they manage badly, alienating people and / or are the cause of low morale, regrettable attrition, or high absenteeism in the workplace. That’s a problem that needs to be assessed and the true cause addressed pretty quickly.

If you’re not sure how much absent employees because of a bad manager or worse lots of bad managers are costing your business or the real cost of staff attrition, try using our cost of employee absence calculator or cost of employee attrition turnover calculator to give you a starting point.  See just how much might be saved if employee engagement, the Employee Experience (EEM) and Employee Relationship Management (ERM) was improved including the general relationships directly between employees and their line managers.

Hang on though, what if their efforts in managing are ineffective or destructive without them even realising they are partly to blame, or even it is simply because they have not been given the support or proper training to learn to manage, positively, effectively and productively? Some organisations leaders, or managers still have a view that a big stick mentality to managing staff is how to get the best from people and there in may lie the problem.

So is the corporate culture and leadership responsible too, and are they indeed actually a bad manager or do they just need guidance, support and training and even a bit of coaching form time to time?  Read more…

Employee wellbeing on the agenda yet? If not it should be

Look after your staff and they will look after you

Whether you’re a small business or a multi-national, employee wellbeing is a must. if you look after the wellbeing of your staff (the entire workforce not just a few)  in terms of physical and emotional wellness, you’ll reap the benefits of a happier, more productive workforce. A lot of companies might be reluctant to implement such programmes, citing costs or time to implement as an issue, but the reality is, those that take a leap of faith, discover that the long-term benefits often outweigh any of the costs. Read more…

It’s not just the what to communicate with employees, but very much the near and how!

Effective employee communications is not just about what is said but how, where  and when the message is delivered.

Today, the demand to maintain and improve channels of communication is overwhelming.  Better ways to engage employees, stronger channels to interact and systems which can expand with the growing capacities of your company’s demands are greater than ever.

Creating efficient and cost effective solutions can be difficult to ascertain but not impossible.  Here’s a brief collection of approaches and tools which can enhance your internal communication platforms and integrate what your engagement strategies seek to achieve.  But remember behind any tool, must be a strong and thorough strategy (and great relevant content always!) which will give you the perfect platform to build from:

Employee communications – Go digital

Social intranets or other forms of employee communications and recognition platforms are not just online hubs to chat and send the latest emoji through they really are great employee communications tools.  Instead, these platforms enable your company to lighten the load in your IT department and provides your workforce with:

• Company and team based announcements as and when they come
• A stronger communication channel/s to liaise and respond accordingly
• An opportunity to reduce endless paperwork
• Updated policies and procedures
• A central hub of information and communication
• Flexible and interaction communication solutions
• Other means to communicate rather than email

Read more…

You got the employee voice power, so use it!

“Without employee voice, value cannot be created. Value is not only created through people, it is co-created through people inspired by a common purpose, working to shared values, inspired and engaged, giving more of themselves to a common and shared endeavour” – Tony Manwaring, Former Chief Executive of Tomorrow’s Company.

Trying to achieve that perfect employee engagement strategy but no idea where to start?

The simple answer is listen and integrate your employee’s voice.

Sound too easy?  Or even absurd?  Not necessarily…

Engaging employees is not just about ticking boxes through periodic surveys or giving them an extra day off for their annual leave; it’s about creating a working environment which offers potential for growth, recognition and longevity.  Consequently, it is the fundamental key in achieving company success and increased productivity. Read more…

Get those employees engaged. Because you and they are more than worth it!

Employees engaged with their employer and role are more productive and happier. That is becoming a clearly accepted benefit of business to those that dig in to the subject to better understand it. Still some leaders and managers may not be quite clear yet as there are so aspects of running a business to consider at the same time it’s not surprising to some it can seem an overwhelming potential initiative to undertake.

It can be a difficult subject to decipher, particularly if you don’t quite understand the value or recognise the overall importance it can have on your company yet.

Firstly, getting employees engaged, or even the term employee engagement, what does that mean anyway? Engaged employees is not just a phrase or metric to report on, and it’ s not just about making your staff happy or satisfied with their role or the company overall.  An engaged workforce is one which encourages employees to commit to you as an employer and to commit to their colleagues too and the purpose that you are all trying to collectively deliver to your customers, whomever they may be.

Secondly, successful and sustainable employee engagement can increase productivity dramatically, if you get it just right!  With that as an incentive, why wouldn’t you want to jump on board and have your employees jump on board too!

Giving employees one-way periodic surveys, beanbags, an extra hour off at the end of the day or cakes in the kitchen, does not counter for an engaged workforce.  In fact, it shows employees that you probably don’t fully realise (or worse don’t sincerely care) to truly value their role and views in the company or the relationship that you have with them. Employees engaged with the business want to tell you as leaders and influencers their thoughts and ideas to improve the business for everyone  inside and outside the business not just for themselves or their own personal gain.

Employee engagement builds a working environment which encourages employees to stay in their current role, or even move to another one within the same company because the company fits emotionally, mentally and physically. It sits with the head, heart and hands if you will. Where purpose and belonging meet development and personal growth. Read more…