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Low workplace engagement costs the UK £340 billion per year, according to figures from UK PLC. Hence, as a business owner this productivity problem remains high on our HR checklist.
It is believed that one way to curtail the drain on UK businesses is by improving engagement, however a study from the University of Warwick has revealed that happy and engaged staff are 12% more productive, while unhappy staff are 10% less productive,. Another statistic states that worldwide productivity is at a measly 13%. These statistics show not only a problem for engagement in the UK but also globally, and the potential impact on business is enormous.
It may be time to change the way we think about engagement in order to solve the problem that businesses are continually facing. Companies today want to move away from traditional approaches to employee engagement, and so the following steps could give you some insight into what can be done to break the cycle.

1. Engagement is a Simple Choice
One of the biggest factors affecting engagement is the environment provided for employees, which is a leading element in supporting and sustaining employee engagement. Sometimes it is easy to believe that engagement is something that can be imposed upon an employee but this defeats the purpose of productivity. Engagement comes from within and once this is unlocked by your staff, productivity may become endless.

2. Behaviour enforcing Engagement
Normally the attitudes of staff members can be a key focus when it comes to engagement; however behavioural patterns can be an even bigger indication. Key behavioural patterns that are linked to engagement include:

• Active participation
• Accountability for work/performance
• Genuine passion and fun
• Creative idea cultivation
• Curiosity and willingness to challenge the norm
• Exchange of feedback

These behavioural patterns can be linked back to my first point regarding the workplace environment.

3. Rewarding your own Performance through Engagement
It is a well-known fact that the effort put into your work is directly related to your output, and this process is a key factor when it comes to ensuring employee engagement in your company. Whilst good performance is most commonly rewarded financially, it goes without saying that the next best thing is the positive endorphins released from receiving praise from a client. Following this thought process; engagement can be considered a reward in itself, which leads to a positive cycle of creating effective results that will keep employee engagement high. Most employees will feel proud to be able to pass on an example of their outstanding work.

So, how can I better measure and improve engagement?
Employee engagement is a personal responsibility which will hopefully lead to an improvement in staff mentality and a more positive input. Asking questions such as “How can the team collaborate to improve in certain areas?” gives a two level approach to engagement, both personally and as a group.
Engagement can be measured in various ways, including the most obvious responses like work being completed to a higher standard or increasing overall business output. We can also measure staff engagement through surveys that encourage staff to think about their role and responsibilities. This method will also give employees the opportunity to review their position in the company and become more conscious of their next task.
This approach also encourages everyone to get involved, helping employees identify their role in creating and maintaining a high performing team, which in turn creates a united “this is how we do things here” attitude towards work in your company.

Overall the process of engagement needs to become a constant dialogue, exchanging information related to performance between staff and management level. I previously highlighted the concept of feeling more engaged when succeeding and so it is important to remember that if you are succeeding as a manager, your staff will succeeding in their role.  

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​Regardless of what your company builds, invents or sells, you can’t expand without people. Leaders from all over the world know that maintaining a focused and hard-working team is the secret ingredient needed to keep a business moving forward. Here are some ways to make sure this aim becomes a reality for your company:
Build Ownership: It’s important to ensure that your employees feel comfortable in the workplace, so giving your staff responsibility will help them feel valued. Try and make employees feel that they are involved in running the company and not just working there to benefit the boss. A good way to inspire individuals is to have each one become familiar with tasks their team members carry out on a day to day basis. This allows employees to bring their own ideas to the mix and will result in varied inputs across each sector. Depending on the type of company, you could have staff members switch roles occasionally.

Another way to build ownership in the business is to keep employees in the know. As the leader you will have a clearer perspective of what’s happening in your company than your staff do. However, try and not keep everything confined as top secret information as it pays off to share.

People want to look forward to getting back to their place of work on a Monday morning and feel satisfied in their job, so offering weekly or monthly performance feedback sessions is highly beneficial. Praising them whenever needed is a good way to make them view their job in a positive light. It’s also vital for you to be respectful of employees at all times: listen, implement their ideas and encourage them.

Mix It Up: Not many employees feel satisfied doing the same roles over and over again. So try and give them different responsibilities from time to time. This will enable them to develop skills while gaining more confidence. Not only this, but it makes them feel an asset to your company which will increase your rate of employee loyalty. Even though some leaders may feel that allowing their workers to try new things will bring a risk to productivity, it is more of a risk for people to become bored in work, so lessen the chance of them leaving by giving them new tasks.   

Offer Benefits: Offering workers an attractive benefits package will entice them to stay whilst also increasing motivation. Benefit packages usually include flexitime, life insurance and gym memberships. Training is another main attraction for employees as it allows them to increase their skillset and confidence. Offer a variety of training methods, such as training sessions, mentoring, teamwork and presentations.     
Presenting benefits like flexitime enables employees to strike a good work/life balance. This is something that is important for people, especially if they have a family that they will want to spend quality time with. For example, if an employee is constantly working day in and day out, they will not be able to see friends and family. This will result in a stressed and unmotivated worker, so make sure you are giving employees the chance to work flexible hours before they go to another company which does. It’s also a good idea to provide small rewards for a project finished well or if an employee has achieved a set target, as workers will appreciate you rewarding their efforts.

Schedule Regular Meetings: Having meetings on a regular basis with your employees will allow them to get anything off their chest that might be bothering them. A quick morning meeting everyday or weekly will make employees feel more confident in their work and they will appreciate the opportunity to speak out and ask any questions.

As well as meetings, it is a good idea to organise events every so often to help your team get to know each other. Many leaders are aware that having a workforce who are friends as well as colleagues will make them feel happier coming to work every morning, giving a high level of job satisfaction.

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