Welcome to 2020! The Holidays are officially behind us, the kids are back in school and it’s time to get back on a schedule. Following the craziness of December, do you find that your employees might be stuck in a post-holiday hangover? Being from the Northeast, we are hunkering down for freezing temps, snow, and days that get dark before 5pm. As the leader of your team, it will probably fall on your shoulders to get everyone motivated again. So how do you truly get the buy-in and the extra effort from your crew to start 2020 like a Ferrari instead of a 1995 Toyota?
I’m encouraging you to make 2020 all about your employees. Employee engagement strategies should take priority and if you’ve been lagging behind, there is no better time to start than now. We all know the benefits of high employee engagement – increased productivity, unparalleled company culture, and higher employee retention. Despite all the data and resources supporting the notion that employee engagement is of paramount importance, why has the percentage of employees who are engaged at work flatlined at 33%? Let that sink in that for a moment… only 1/3 of all employees are engaged at work! Let’s be optimistic, since you are likely above industry average, let’s say that 50% of your employees are highly engaged. My question to you – what are the other 50% doing to your business? Perhaps bringing employee morale down, maybe wasting time which results in lower overall productivity, not treating your clients or patrons well, or heavens forbid, deteriorating your company’s reputation within the community – the reputation that you have worked so hard to build!
I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage – “If you think good employees are expensive, try bad employees”. If you have ever struggled with high employee turnover, you know how costly that can be to your business – most HR professionals agree that the cost to replace an employee is roughly 20-30% of their annual salary. That can add up fast and never helps the bottom line.
So that leads us to the million-dollar question, “How do you increase employee engagement?”. My easy answer is invest in your employees by creating an objective employee engagement strategy. I’m always amazed when lecturing throughout the country and I ask the questions: “How many of you feel employee engagement is important for your business?” every hand in the audience goes up. My follow-up, “What do you budget annually for your employee engagement strategy?” …crickets… If there is one thing to do in 2020 – set a budget and initiate a concrete employee engagement strategy. You won’t regret it!
If you are looking for more ideas on how to start an employee engagement strategy, check out my additional blogs at www.employeesfirstconsulting.com
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