ENGAGING WITH EMPLOYEES

You’ve bought the franchise, you’re paying appropriate wages and meeting all compliance requirements. But are your employees truly engaged?

Ways to share the passion with your staff.

Let’s look ahead to those early days in your new business. While your staff may not be as committed to the business as you, it’s important they share the passion.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

A simple definition of the term would be, how connected staff feel to your business. Are they passionate about work, having forged an emotional connection to their place in the company?

Employees can be competent and content without loyalty or being truly engaged. No matter the size of your business, staff engagement has the potential to greatly influence your industry presence.

EFFECT ON BUSINESS

Research continually shows disengaged employees translate into loss of revenue as a result of lower productivity, increased days off and decreased staff retention. Overall, that’s a substantial impact.

Employees who feel valued and empowered are generally more engaged. But how do you achieve this? Determining the best way forward can be difficult, especially if feedback is minimal.

GENERAL WAYS TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

Frustration, mistrust and overwork equal a toxic work environment. Listen to what staff are telling you about the situation.

Ideally, feedback facilitated through an HR program can be channelled into a targeted strategy for ongoing increases in employee engagement. In the meantime, there are key areas that can be examined for general improvement:

• Define vision and values so staff can emotionally and ethically engage, believe in upper management’s lead, and feel comfortable in the culture of the business.

• Offer ways to improve skill set that span training opportunities, but also involvement in events that allow for networking and industry recognition.

• Listen, and compromise to avoid a resentment-fuelled us-versusthem dichotomy between staff and management becoming entrenched and normalised.

• Understand money isn’t everything and embrace flexible working hours, reward through time off, or offer recognition with work-from-home days where viable.

• Prioritise community, within and without by encouraging team-building, including involvement with charities and environmentally-conscious office practices.

• Consider employee health and wellbeing by initiating steps that address stress and anxiety in staff, whether arising from a personal or professional source.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

Listening to your employees is important but is sometimes easier said than done. While you can ask for honest commentary, reasons employees hold back may include: • not wishing to appear critical of the

company

• unwillingness to complain about

management

• avoidance of addressing problematic

team dynamics

• hesitancy about bringing up personal

wants and goals

• worry that feedback may impact

promotional opportunities

• workplace culture does not support or

implement suggestions

• apathy or sense of disconnect from business has set in.

The choice of feedback system matters.

Communication is easier if trust is present, and feedback also needs to be part of an ongoing strategy. Questions must enable responses that offer helpful insights.

There are many ways to research employee engagement, often through human resources.

Find out what tools and systems your franchisor might have to help you with this.

You’ll want to have programs that consider both long-term and short-term goals for increased employee engagement.

ACTING ON FEEDBACK

Feedback itself is only one step. Once the collated data offers insight into what could improve your staff’s workplace experience, it’s time to decide on a path and introduce changes.

If a business ignores feedback, employee engagement will worsen. But changes that only benefit one group may increase resentment. Feedback-based initiatives need to be carefully considered.

WHEN THE CORE OF THE ISSUE IS

STRUCTURAL

Employee engagement will always be impacted by ineffectual management. Frustration, mistrust and overwork equal a toxic work environment. Listen to what staff are telling you about the situation.

If feedback highlights an issue such as ineffective management or understaffed departments, and the need for change is obvious, an HR team can help with any company restructuring.

HOW HR AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

ENTWINE

Does the franchisor create strategies and programs that address employee engagement, from sourcing regular feedback to suggested avenues of response? Employee health and wellbeing may also require attention. Providing affordable support services positively affects employee engagement and many franchisors are now offering employee assistance programs.

Pia Engstrom is managing director of HR Dept Australia, and director of HR Dept Western Suburbs Perth.