Keep your staff engaged and committed

Everyone agrees that finding and retaining good staff is essential to a successful business. If, like us, you have spent the Christmas break making plans for your business for 2008, we hope you will find the following thoughts on ‘keeping your staff engaged and committed’ valuable. If your organisation is still in the process of developing a ‘staff engagement plan’, why not make 2008 the year that it happens?

What are the benefits of staff engagement?

Keeping your staff both engaged and committed to the organisation delivers endless benefits. For example, you will enjoy lower staff turnover, less operational disruption and improved productivity to name but a few.

What is staff engagement?

An extensive study from the USA of over 12,000 employees has identified nine factors of employee engagement.* The researchers believe that, if managers can follow best practice in relation to these factors, they are likely to enhance employee engagement.

1. Alignment: Employees should be encouraged to recognise, accept and buy into the organisation’s vision and strategy.
2. Equity: Employees should be made to feel a sense of equality in the way they are treated, recognised and rewarded.
3. Integrity: The organisation should be seen to be fair and respect people, regardless of status.
4. Consensus: Management should seek to develop relationships based on mutual understanding and support.
5. Achievement: Individuals are motivated by pride and satisfaction in the quality and performance of their work. Achievement should therefore be recognised and rewarded.
6. Rationality: A systematic approach to problem solving and communication in the organisation encourages an environment in which people are honest, consistent and open, which creates greater trust and therefore engagement.
7. Development: Individuals should be made to feel they operate in an environment which enables them to grow.
8. Teamworking: Team spirit and co-operation encourages managers to get the best performance from each group member.
9. Belonging: Managers should aim to be role models who take pride in what they and their co-workers achieve together.

People are an organisation’s most important asset. As specialists in finance and accountancy recruitment we are dedicated to helping all our clients recruit and retain key members of staff. We see the benefits firsthand so why not share those benefits in your organisation? Make 2008 the year of staff engagement!

With best wishes to you all for a happy and prosperous year in 2008.

Regards,

The Team at Sue Rees Associates

February 2008, Issue 2

*Source: recruiter magazine July 07