What people aspects can set a business apart?
bailey
19-06-18People are not machines, they like to be engaged and when individuals are part of a well led engaged team, things can really start to happen. A business can have strategies and procedures but if it does not have a culture which people align with then it will always struggle. During recruitment, consideration should be given to “do they fit?†Someone who likes detail and processes, is unlikely to be happy in a creative work environment. Fit is vital both at recruitment stage, as an organisation changes or someone’s outlook changes and must be considered carefully.
There are four elements to having an engaged workforce.
1. Have an engaging purpose for the organisation.
An engaged purpose details the transformation you are aiming to create. For example, the Body Shop sets it’s self apart with the aim “to enrich, not exploitâ€. Which for them, “means enriching people as well as our planet, its biodiversity and resourcesâ€. Every organisation should have unique purpose, its what sets it apart and attracts the customers and staff who share the same disposition.
2. Engaged owners.
The owners of SME’s should be passionate about engagement within their organisation. If the owner doesn’t care, why should anyone else? Becoming an engaged Owner requires going the extra mile so the staff, suppliers and customers can see it.
3. Engaged leaders.
Engaged Leaders communicate regularly with the staff. These people play a key part in turning the Engaged Purpose into reality, motivating and energising their teams to do the same. Leaders are essential to the creation of the final crucial piece of this puzzle: Engaged Employees.
4. Engaged employees.
The Fsb reports that our jobs have a big impact on our health and well being. The Labour Force Survey found that an estimated 442,000 individuals in Britain believed that they were experiencing work related stress at a level that was making them ill. Much of the stress can be related to being dis-engaged. But engagement is important for other reasons.
In most businesses, employees are where engagement meets the outside world. Without Engaged Employees, you will never have an Engaged Organisation. Staff engagement comes from motivation. When they join an organisation, ideally, they do so because they believe in the purpose of what it does. Once employed, maintaining motivation is complex and can be derailed easily. Reasons people leave are complex, but often fall into these main headings:
- Pay is the first hurdle. It must be fair. Equity with others in and outside the organisation can be the first reason someone leaves.
- Job descriptions and organisation charts. Clarity of their role is important. They need to know what their leaders expect, and be stimulated by the tasks they are given. Confusion about this is another reason people leave.
- They are not getting, or believe they are missing out on opportunities to better themselves.
- They don’t have the respect of their leaders or recognised for their efforts.
Brave business owners are willing to find out what the staff really think. If you want to reset your business so everyone in it has the same passion about it as you, start by answering six questions in the following survey. Only brave business owners need try, but they will be the ones taking the first step to reap the reward of a more engaged workforce in 12 months, by knowing where they are now, and creating an action plan to engage the staff better.
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