All successful businesses and leaders acknowledge that people are their organisation’s greatest assets – after all, a company’s worth is determined by its ability to produce results and drive growth. The key to having sustainable year on year (YoY) performance lies in your leadership’s ability to keep your employees happy, engaged and motivated – this is the holy grail of every successful leader.

Recent research on employee turnover identified Australia as last amongst 11 developed countries at 23% for staff turnover within 12 months estimated to cost $3.8 billion in lost productivity, and 59% of leaders agree that turnover negatively impacts organisational performance. There’s a lot of room for improvement as the Netherlands topped the chart with just 4% turnover of new hires within 12 months. It’s time to explore new ways to stay relevant find new ways to create value to the business and its employees.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a mark of success and a major contributor to productivity in any organisation. Highly engaged employees are more productive and less likely to take time off work, or to jump ship to a new employer.

But what does ‘employee engagement’ really mean and how can employees create the best environment to retain their employees? It isn’t about casual Friday’s or beers to celebrate achievements any more. Employees in 2022 want to feel that they are connected with the business, aligned with their values and feel that their contribution is meaningful. The organisations that get the best from and retain their employees, connect the head, hearts and hands of their employees.

The Invitation to Employers

With Millenials and Gen Z and Y moving into the construction industry, there is an invitation for employees these days to ensure the company mission is aligned in a way in which employees want to work today. The link between what an employee thinks on a daily basis about what they are doing and if it is meaningful, and how that relates to the overall goals of the business cannot be underestimated. Doing so will positively affect the company’s bottom line.

Igniting the Fire of Employees

Each employee has their own unique ‘employee value proposition’ (EVP). Whilst some may feel flexibility is crucial, for others it might be career progression or formal training opportunities. Asking employees “How are you connected to the workplace? What make you want to get up and go to work every day besides getting paid? What keeps you coming back?, Go out of your way to share with each team member what is going well and look for ways in which employees can have a victory that can be shared with the team. At all costs, avoid micromanaging employees; rather, empower them to reach their full potential and encourage them to think and operate outside of their traditional role boundaries.

Taking Action

Employers are wise to discover what the EVP of their employees to determine what can be easily achieved, what is part of a longer-term plan, and how to regularly assess what is the baseline and where the opportunities are. Asking genuine questions of team members to learn what is important is crucial. This may need employee surveys to determine what is going well and what isn’t on a regular basis, or some other method of determining where to invest their time and energy.

This shows employees that you are interested in empowering them to reach their full potential, and encourages them to also think about what they need to be fully engaged. It provides an authentic connection with organisation.

Doing It Right

How do you know if you are creating a culture to ensure your employees are valued, validated and empowered? According to Forbes, employee engagement occurs when a workplace is designed around its company values. Engaged employees are “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their workplace”, says Gallup.

Some of the key indicators that you have employees who are ‘engaged’ at work are they:-

• Regularly demonstrate discretionary effort;
• Have higher levels of productivity and make fewer mistakes;
• Have lower levels of absenteeism;
• Have lower levels of on-the-job wastage;
• Contribute to a reduction in costly employee turnover;
• Provide high levels of customer service;
• Deliver more innovation and collaboration;
• Enjoy stronger diversity and inclusion; and
• Suffer fewer workplace issues such as bullying and harassment.

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