PART 3: Employee Engagement: Strategies for Small Business Success (Part 3 of 8) — Benefits of High Employee Engagement

3. Benefits of High Employee Engagement

The advantages of cultivating high employee engagement within a business are manifold and can lead to transformative outcomes. At its core, an engaged workforce acts as a stabilizing force within the company, contributing to several key areas of business performance.

• Workforce Stability: One of the most significant impacts of high employee engagement is the dramatic reduction in employee turnover. Engaged employees feel a deep connection to their work and the company, making them less likely to leave. This stability reduces the frequent costs associated with hiring and training replacements, allowing companies to allocate resources more effectively and maintain a seasoned team.

• Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: Engaged employees often go the extra mile in customer service, handling interactions with greater care and commitment. Their genuine enthusiasm and dedication can be felt by customers, enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering loyalty. Satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend the business to others, driving growth and profitability.

• Increased Productivity and Efficiency: When employees are engaged, they are more motivated to work efficiently and productively. This heightened productivity is not just about working harder but also about working smarter, as engaged employees are more likely to seek innovative solutions to problems that can lead to process improvements.

Examples of Engagement Success:

• Local Retail Company: A regional retail store introduced regular, structured feedback sessions for its staff, encouraging open dialogue between managers and their teams. This initiative led to a noticeable 30% reduction in annual employee turnover, as staff felt more valued and heard, boosting their overall engagement and satisfaction.

• Local Manufacturer: A local manufacturer asked every single employee what was good about the company and what needed changing (from their perspective).  This led the leadership team to sift through the list and make real changes that employees wanted.  This was communicated in a town hall meeting so everyone heard the same message.  This endeavor also led to a reorganizing of the org chart, and the creation of a few key committees for training, safety and preventative maintenance.  

These examples highlight how high employee engagement not only enhances day-to-day operations but also drives long-term strategic advantages, making it a critical factor in the success and growth of any business.

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Contact Information:

Jeff Saari, Workplace Culture Solution:

Email: 1VISIONARY@GMAIL.COM

Phone: 603-762-4866

PART 2: Employee Engagement: Strategies for Small Business Success (Part 2 of 8) — Understanding Employee Engagement

2. Understanding Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is an intricate and layered aspect of a company's culture that significantly influences its operational success and stability. It encompasses several key elements: emotional commitment, motivation, and active involvement.

• Emotional Commitment: Employees with a high emotional commitment do not merely work for a paycheck or the next promotion; they care deeply about the company's welfare and its future. They feel a strong connection to their workplace, often going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the company not only survives but thrives.

• Motivation: This factor drives employees to excel in their roles. Motivated employees are enthusiastic and persistently seek ways to improve their performance and efficiency. Their drive stems from intrinsic rewards such as personal achievement and recognition, as well as extrinsic factors like bonuses and career advancement opportunities.

• Involvement: Engagement is also about the degree to which employees are involved in the company. Involved employees are given opportunities to contribute to decision-making processes, voice their ideas, and be part of the bigger picture. This involvement reinforces their significance within the company and enhances their commitment to organizational goals.
  
  The tangible impacts of high employee engagement are compelling. Research by Gallup highlights that companies with highly engaged workforces see a 21% increase in profitability. Additionally, these companies experience up to a 59% decrease in employee turnover. These statistics illustrate the profound effect that engagement has not only on boosting a company's financial performance but also in stabilizing its workforce. In essence, fostering an engaged team translates directly into enhanced productivity and a competitive edge in the marketplace, demonstrating why employee engagement is not just beneficial but essential for business success.

Contact Information:

Jeff Saari, Workplace Culture Solution:

Email: 1VISIONARY@GMAIL.COM

Phone: 603-762-4866

PART 1: Employee Engagement: Strategies for Small Business Success — INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction

Employee engagement is crucial for any thriving company but carries even more weight in small businesses where each team member's contribution directly impacts the company's success. Defined as the level of emotional investment and commitment employees feel towards their company, engagement profoundly influences both their productivity and overall company performance. In smaller enterprises, the benefits of high engagement include more robust productivity, stronger collaboration, and higher employee retention rates. However, small businesses also face distinct challenges in fostering this environment. Limited resources can make it challenging to match the salaries and benefits offered by larger companies. Opportunities for advancement may be fewer, potentially stifling the career aspirations of ambitious employees. Additionally, the necessity for employees to wear multiple hats can lead to role confusion and eventual burnout if not managed effectively.

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Contact Information:

Jeff Saari, Workplace Culture Solution:

Email: 1VISIONARY@GMAIL.COM

Phone: 603-762-4866

Your Pain Points

In a session this morning my client told me that the reason he has become more effective in his leadership is because he had a 'humbling' experience last year.  This manager almost didn't make it in his organization as his behavior over time had become toxic.  He first came to me after this humbling experience and he and I have done some really great, challenging and fun work together.  The humbling experience was getting 360 feedback in the organization which was largely critical, as well as being put on the chopping block if he didn't turn around.  I like his story so much because it illustrates that 1. we can turn around, and 2. we need to know what our blind spots or pain points are in order to grow.  

Just as in the body pain points need to be identified and then released through manipulation, heat, rolling on rollers, etc., our psychological/emotional world need the same.  With coaching this manager was able to roll out the kinks in his emotional reactions and intellectual disturbances by learning skills and looking at what he wanted to create.  Instead of solely focusing on what isn't working, we started to use appreciation, relationship building, skill building and team building to create a better leadership and team experience.  I have seen many pain points that leaders either know or get to know when I am on their watch.  

I have documented many such pain points/blind spots that I believe as leaders (or anyone) gets more intimate with, they can become less and sometimes obliterated.  Here is a non-exhaustive list.  See if any fit for you, deep inside.  See if you can identify one or two or (heavens-no) all of them and say them out loud: 

• Getting through to a defensive manager/managee
• Fear of conflict
• Figuring out capacity
• How to say no
• Letting go of control and let others help
• Too much in the weeds
• Holding others accountable; pleasing others
• Work/life balance
• Vague projects/procrastination
• Speaking up/self-advocacy
• Unaware of impact on others
• Trusting your gut
• Lack of systems
• Delivery too brash
• Lonely at the top
• Dealing with change
• Inspiring a vision
• Managing friends
• Managing other’s employees
• Lack of org chart clarity
• Turnover
• No leadership training
• Assessing when to fire someone
• Co-managing an employee
• Getting people committed
• Getting annual reviews done

Can you see yourself in any of these?  Are there others?  I would love to hear about your pain points.  As you self-identify (or have others identify them for you!) you can look at how you want to address it/them.  I can think of nothing better to do than to become a better manager and thus person. 

Positive and Negative Thinking

There are many people out there that think positive thinking is the holy grail.  There's nothing wrong with that per se, but we can't live up to the ideal of not thinking negatively can we?  We all have negative thoughts, judgments, and feelings from time to time; some more than others.  And then we have positive times.  Hopefully you have more of the former, but this isn't the main event.  My mentor Robert Fritz once told us some years ago in a workshop that what actually matters is what you want to create.  The creator wants to create the creation just because it wants to be created.  I think there is a place for negativity and I am sometimes stricken by its hold.  There is great power in negativity because it is showing you that something is awry with what you are trying to create.  It helps us, or can help us, focus back on what it is we want and then keep the actions going to get it.  We never know if the creation will pan out or will be good or received well by others, but that is again not the main event.  Creating for creating's sake is the name of the game.  So the next time you are betwixt with a negative (or positive) mindset, don't overload it with some pithy ideal from The Secret, acknowledge your dismay and turn its eye onto what it's telling you to bring into existence.  So talk to your challenging co-worker, clean out that office clutter, get to the gym.  Not because you have to, but because you want to. 

Wellness of the Whole — Inputs and Outputs

I have been thinking lately about a 'well' life.  For some reason inputs and outputs, or debits and credits, or payables and receivables come up for me.  With my clients sometimes we are talking about such things like happiness, balance, well-being.  I think most of us professionals are striving for the good life, where you have a lot of good things going on:  money in the bank, a fit body, learning, nice things, pleasurable experiences, sound relationships, solid community involvement, etc.  There are so many avenues to pursue that it can become sheer overwhelment at times trying to understand if we are reaching the balance/well-being or not.  

Inputs and outputs can be shown in a myriad of ways.  Eating 'right' is one avenue to explore.  What are you putting into your body on a daily basis?  Is what you think is healthy actually healthy?  Do you tend to have patterns of stressful eating?  Are you pursuing understanding how food becomes mood?  For instance, alcohol is a depressant.  Now I'm not averse to a drink here and there.  But when you see how drinking affects your energy, mood, body even the next day, this is a case of inputs and outputs.  You have to pay into the system.  If you are eating lots of inflammatory foods and have ailments of certain kinds, you are taking a hit from the inputs you are putting in.  It's basic science.  

In the emotional or mental world it's not so easy to assess.  Thich Nhat Hahn, Zen Master says that watching media and reading tabloids, etc. can create an unruly mind, or agitation.  This can be very subtle but again, taking in negativity can lead to the output of negativity or negative states of mind and feeling.  

For wellness to occur, I believe we need to assess the various areas of our lives to see what is working and what is not working.  A good coach or friend can help you sift through this quagmire.  Putting the various pieces of your life out on display, even if it is just on a sheet of paper you can begin to see how you are doing and what is off kilter.  Of course I am presupposing that you want to create a life of balance and well-being, mindfulness and health. I talk to clients everyday about some things that are out of balance.  I love these candid talks.  Nobody really wants stress and I believe it can be controlled by controlling the inputs into the system.  Take care of what you read, what you ingest, what you choose to focus on, etc. and you will see an enlightening turnaround I'm sure of it!