As a leader at your business, you have considerable impact on employee engagement, and whether that engagement remains sustained or not. Because employee engagement is so critical to the success of your business, affecting such areas as communication, development, contribution and employee morale, it becomes a necessary responsibility for all leaders.
Businesses with engaged employees benefit from having fewer absences, excellent customer service (acknowledged by their clients), stronger internal communication and employees who are generally more enthusiastic about their jobs and, thus, more productive. To help you create the sort of dynamic work environment that team member engagement generates, check out these tips below:
Talk to your team. Communication is a two-way street, but someone has to put the keys in the ignition and get the car started, and that someone has to be a leader. If you want your team members actively communicating with one another, you need to lead by example. Throughout the day, talk to them about what is happening in the business, about work in the team and about their personal interests.
Get to know your team. Developing a rapport with your employees works in tandem with talking to them. By genuinely getting to know your team members — their likes, dislikes, passions, and goals — you will gain a better understanding of what makes them tick, and in the process help them feel like unique individuals as opposed to human-shaped representations of their job function.
Make time for your team. As a leader at your business, it is important that you are available to the members of your team when they need you. If you come off as unavailable or detached from your team, you will create a barrier between them and you. This will lead to a serious disconnect and inevitable breakdown in communication, directly affecting your business’ success.
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