Engaged Employees

With these tried and tested tips at your side, you’ll be able to easily boost your engagement and retention levels, have a happier workforce, happier customers and a happier business.
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Why employee engagement needs to be a priority

On a scale of 1-10, how seriously do you take your employee engagement and how important is it for your employees to enjoy work?

If it’s not one of your top priorities, it should be. Employee engagement is much more than a desire for businesses to have; it’s essential, and businesses who ignore how engaged their employees are doing so at their peril. Why? Because businesses who have engaged employees consistently outperform those who don’t and always have a competitive edge over their rivals.


Engaged employees are happier, healthier and enjoy work. But the benefits don’t stop there. Engaged employees will make you more profitable. In fact, according to a study from Gallup, businesses with engaged employees see a 22% increase in profitability. 
Research from Watson Wyatt, found companies with strong employee engagement deliver a return for their shareholders of 64% across a five year period compared to 21% for those with a low level of engagement.

Gallup also found a business with engaged employees scores up to 20% higher on customer satisfaction surveys than their competitors with low levels of engagement. 

And, according to the Confederation of British Industry, the number of sick days taken by disengaged employees is double that of engaged employees. And retention levels are much higher in engaged employees.

 

Did you know?

90% of managers surveyed believe there's solid evidence linking engagement to improved performance, customer service, and productivity.

But more than 80% of employees say they aren't engaged at work.

Chapter 2

Power-up your communication

Let’s start with getting the basics right. Communication is everything. Strong and effective communication between managers and employees is essential in any organisation.

Employees want to feel cared about and a good manager will be able to not only communicate to them their roles and responsibilities in the workplace but also make the effort to understand them as people.


Effective communication leads to improvements in productivity by as much as 25% when employees feel engaged with their work and connected with their co-workers while 84% of Millennials believe an open communication policy is more important than perks in choosing a job.

But with only 15% of employees believing their employer is doing a good job at fostering communication, there’s plenty of scope for all of us to improve.

Encourage staff to talk freely, openly and honestly with each other. This tone is often set by an organization’s leaders and senior management teams.

Remember, listening to someone is just as important as being able to talk to them. From self-awareness through to being able to listen to others, every office culture should encourage understanding between the people who work there.
Employees at all levels of an organization should feel they are in an environment where they can share their concerns or experiences with confidence and without judgment.

To rehash a well-worn quote, the biggest problem with communication is the illusion it’s taken place. Find what works for you and your teams.
Don’t be afraid to use modern solutions either. Sure, it could be a WhatsApp group or a Slack channel but, remember, if you’re using a modern workforce management solution then it can also become your communications hub and the primary channel you use to communicate easily and effectively with your staff.

 

 

Ben Warner - Founder, Benugo
Since we started using a workforce management system, leading restaurant chain, we have had a 50% reduction in the time spent talking with staff about their rotas coupled with a 100% improvement in communication among our employees.
See the case study ›

Attracting, Retaining and Engaging Employees

Discover why happiness at work matters, what you can do to improve it and why it should always be
one of your top priorities if you want to improve your recruitment, retention and employee engagement.
Read the guide

Chapter 3

Develop an understanding
of your purpose

By knowing what your purpose is, you can define the context around it and, from there, give your employees autonomy - which in turn will fuel business growth.

 The power of purpose doesn’t stop there. It’s not just for you and your employees; it’s also for your customers. Defining your purpose also defines your values and beliefs. And, as a recent study carried out by Sprout Social showed, two-thirds of customers are more willing to spend money on brands whose values align with theirs.


Take a couple of examples, clothing company Life is Good to make it their mission to ‘spread the power of optimism’ while popular meditation app Headspace says their one mission is to ‘improve the health and happiness of the world.’ 
By having this clear purpose, and transparency to go with it, you will:

  • Make it easier for employees to buy-in to what you’re doing
  • Help your employees understand the role they play in helping you reach your goals
  • Have a higher retention rate
  • Attract and keep more customers
  • Encourage trust and authenticity throughout your teams
 

Did you know?

By knowing what your purpose is, you can define the context around it and, from there, give your employees autonomy - which in turn will fuel business growth.

76% of Millennials would take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company and nearly two-thirds wouldn't take a job if their employer doesn't have a strong CSR practice.

Chapter 4

Create a culture

Creating a culture, maintaining it and helping it grow is a job that will never finish. It requires constant work and attention from business leaders, senior management teams and the employees themselves.

Culture, and keeping a great culture, is everything in fast moving companies. A successful company will create a culture where there's room for ideas and, more importantly, where ideas are acted upon. They’ll always include their employees and make sure they feel they can speak freely. 

Employees form the groundswell of support which will define how successful corporate culture is. This means they have to be involved in creating it as well as owning it. To do this, listen to their wants and give them a voice. Whether it’s monthly company-wide meetings with the CEO or other clear channels of communication, it’s vital to listen to your employees. Do this and they will immediately feel more valued and, as a result, more loyal.

 

 

Employees want a culture where there are:

Strong connections and a sense of community

Celebrations of success

Honestly transparency

Commitment to their growth

People who aren't afraid to have fun

Chapter 5

Prioritise wellbeing at work

Wellbeing at work can boost both morale and performance.

According to research carried out by Unum, more than 75% of employees believe ‘workplace wellbeing’ is the secret to employee happiness, which then leads to increased motivation, productivity, and retention.

While Baby Boomers and Gen X were consumed with climbing the ladder, Millennials have other priorities, with the quality of their work life being top among them. So much so that many would rather take a pay cut if it meant they were more fulfilled in their role. 

From an employers point of view, simple things like providing free fruit or holding regular lunches or breakfasts for all staff can have a huge impact on employee health and wellbeing. Not only does encouraging healthy eating to have a positive impact on employee performance, but it also demonstrates the business actively cares about its employees.

From breathing exercises to showing gratitude, there are many ways to create a culture of mindfulness in the workplace. A deep breath can be a wonderful cure for many stressful situations. And practicing breathing, whether through activities like yoga or meditation, can have a huge influence on how healthy our minds are.

You should also encourage your workforce to be active. A healthy body and a healthy mind go hand in hand together. Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. This doesn’t mean everyone should spend hours on end at the gym, simply that staying active promotes wellbeing.

 

 

More than 75% of employees believe 'workforce wellbeing' is the secret to employee happiness. Why not try encouraging the following:

Practiece mindfulness by encouraging employees to try yoga and meditation.

Encourage regular physical exercise.

Make healthy snacks available to employes.

Make sure employees know they have someone to talk to if times are tough.

Chapter 6

Focus on strengths

Alongside developing understanding, focussing on employee strengths will provide a substantial boost when it comes to engagement levels.

Research from Gallup found focussing on employees’ strengths rather than highlighting their weaknesses is far more effective when it comes to improving engagement and performance. The research found “a strengths-based culture is one in which employees learn their roles more quickly, produce more and significantly better work, stay with their company longer, and are more engaged. When managers help employees grow and develop through their strengths, they are more than twice as likely to engage their team members.”


Put simply, this translates to getting the right people doing the right thing. Employees who do the jobs they enjoy are going to be better at it and do it more quickly. Play to your strengths, and your team’s strengths, and reap the rewards this brings.
 
Companies who implemented strength-based management practices saw a:

  • 10%-19% increase in sales
  • 14%-29% increase in profit
  • 3%-7% increase in customer engagement
  • 9%-15% increase in engaged employees

 

Chapter 7

Have clear objectives & rewards

In a competitive market place, it’s essential to offer attractive compensation packages.

In a competitive market place, it’s essential to offer attractive compensation packages. Obviously, this includes the salary but also bonuses, paid time off, health benefits, pensions and all the other perks that can distinguish one workplace from another. Every employee should have a full understanding of all the benefits they receive from your organization.

20% of workers say increased recognition from their boss for their work and the contributions they make would make them happier in the workplace while nearly a third say lack of recognition is the biggest reason they leave a job. This backs up research from Forbes which found employees who don’t feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to leave their job in the next year compared to those who do feel recognized.

You can make employees feel engaged by celebrating successes with them. There are so many ways to do this from a simple congratulations when a target is a hit or celebration when a milestone is reached. It could be an employee profit sharing scheme where the success of the business has a direct impact on the employee in a financial sense. 

 

 

Did you know?

20% of UK workers say increased recognition from their boss for their work and the contributions they make them happier in the workplace.

Employees who don't feel adequately recognised are 2x as likely to leave their job in the next year compared to those who do feel recognised.

Michelle Truss - London city airport
Employee engagement has doubled since London City Airport began using Quinyx to communicate with their staff. We now send out their annual employee survey through Quinyx and have seen an 80% response rate - more than double the number we had before Quinyx
See the case study ›

Chapter 8

Create awesome schedules

Your staff want consistent schedules, they want them in advance and they want them to be fair and reasonable. Here’s how you can do it…

Employees are demanding; they will have set hours they want to work, they’ll want to know these hours in advance and they’ll want to change them if they don’t work for them. To avoid time spent changing the rota, speak to your staff and find out what hours they want to work. Work with them to find a solution that benefits both them and the business. This will ensure your staff are happier and, through enjoying work, they’ll be able to deliver more. Staff wants consistent schedules, they want them in advance and they want them to be fair and reasonable.


Rarely do shift workers have control of their schedules and, more often than not, they only get, on average, three days notice of the next week’s schedule. This can have a huge impact on their lives outside of work. It makes it highly challenging for them to plan their lives, with everything from family commitments to leisure time affected.

Use a scheduling model that’s automated and gives employees choice and control while empowering them and engaging them. The most advanced business optimization tools and workforce management software will allow you to create bespoke rules for your business, so you can always ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time.

Giving your employees choice and control over when they work, especially when it comes to shift-work, is one of the single biggest things you can do to improve your retention and improve their happiness. The simple act of being able to manage when they work, managing their leave and seeing the hours they’ve worked (especially when it can all be done through an app) is empowering for staff who have, historically, felt like they haven’t been heard.

 

In a recent study carried out at GAP in the US, 95% of part-time workers strongly agreed that using an app makes it easy for them to adjust their schedules in order to fit their needs.


Chapter 9

Final thoughts

If we enjoy work we’re better at it, we put more of ourselves into it and customers inevitably get a better service.

If you work for 50 years, over a third of your waking life will be spent working. And this is the same for all of us. So the simple questions is, why not do everything you can to ensure you, your staff and your colleagues enjoy it?

With the tools we have at our disposal, from software through to research on the benefits of promoting wellbeing in the workplace, there aren’t any excuses for not trying to improve employee engagement and, as a result, retention.

Throw the excuses out of the window because the time to start is now and we hope you’re going to take the next step and join us on our mission to create a smiling workforce.

If you like to find out ways you can start doing this with better workforce management software, we’d be delighted to help. Fill out the form below to book your free demo and step into the future of workforce management.

 

 

Take the next step.

Discuss your Workforce Management needs with our product experts, and see how Quinyx can help.