Employee Engagement

5 Point Plan to Drive Employee Engagement
  • Scott Read
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5 Point Plan to Drive Employee Engagement

5 Point Plan to Drive Employee Engagement 2664 1772 Scott Read

Employee engagement is an ever-expanding marketplace and discussion topic within businesses across the world, but what does it really mean, and do we actually make it a priority?

I’ve worked in this industry now for the last eight years and the way in which so many businesses understand employee engagement is so inconsistent and means something different depending on your viewpoint. It’s not surprising, given that there are more than 50 definitions*

The evolution of engagement itself has been a fascinating journey. Early adopters started to add a number of employee benefits to their offerings, trying to differentiate their packages from the crowd, but is this really engagement, or simply business self-preservation?

We’ve all seen the introduction of staff discounts, employee assistance programmes and access to childcare vouchers being applied to thousands of businesses with a view that those employees who benefit from them will be thankful, and it will enhance their job satisfaction.

We now find ourselves in a situation where employee benefits are, or should be, the norm for every employee with 91% of employees believing employers should offer tailored benefits packages** They are accessible, affordable, easily integrated and they do offer value to those employees who have the desire and energy to use them.

I would argue that employee benefits are an essential component to a business operation, as they demonstrate that you care for your employees and that you want to make their lives better, even in just a small way. It may also be a factor that helps you retain an employee, rather than seeing them leave you to join an organisation for the sake of a few pence per hour, or a discounts scheme, or some wellbeing advice.

Employee benefits Vs employee engagement

As employee engagement becomes an even more popular topic, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Have you made some employee benefits available to your employees, in the belief that this will drive loyalty, appreciation and productivity?
  2. Do you spend thousands of pounds each month/year trying to implement a range of technology, products and services, only to see usage at a really low level?
  3. Are you frustrated that your efforts in encouraging usage are wasted?

If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then you are probably more focussed on employee benefits and not employee engagement.

It’s really important that you recognise this distinction, especially if you really want to engage with your colleagues.

So, what is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a much more difficult and complex project entirely. Genuine employee engagement is a culture, a belief system, a management ethos and it needs to be adopted by every team leader, manager, director, owner and executive within an organisation for it to truly work.

Can you look across your organisation and say that you have nailed employee engagement? I know that I look around our business every day and find a list of things we could do better, should have done better, or differently, and I constantly strive for the perfection I’m looking for.

In reality, I’ll never reach perfection, nor do I want to, because that perfection may also bring complacency. Employees change, their circumstances change, the working environment changes (we should all have seen that since COVID-19 arrived), so we need to be constantly evolving to meet the needs that these changes bring.

Ask yourself when was the last time you really reviewed your engagement strategy; do you even have one?

The creation or review of your own bespoke engagement strategy is essential in helping you stay relevant to your employees, ensuring that they stay loyal and engaged with YOU.

Your 5-point plan to drive employee engagement 

If any of this is striking a chord with you, then hopefully my 5 Point Plan can help you genuinely drive an uplift in employee engagement within your business.

Five Point Plan to Drive Employee Engagement

DOWNLOAD: Your 5 Point Plan to drive employee engagement

Employee engagement is about honesty. Rose-tinted spectacles won’t help you, but an honest assessment and strategy will. With clear objectives and the right management approach, you can transform your business from a benefits culture to an engagement one.

I believe that every business should make employee engagement a priority, not a chore, and not a box-ticking exercise. With a little focus, direction and strategy, the gains on retention, loyalty, profits and productivity that are often banded about can become a reality, but one thing is for certain… they won’t without a plan!

So, don’t play at engagement, devise a strategy and implement it with the same purpose, drive and energy that you would every other project within your business; the rewards will be more lucrative and long-standing than most short-term new-business campaigns that you run.

Scott is a results-driven business leader with an impressive track record of helping employers strategise key business growth.

Scott Read Growth Partners

 

To speak to Scott about your employee engagement strategy, call 07368 474 319 or email scott.read@growthpartnersplc.co.uk

Sources

Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement – IOE

What’s Next for Digital Benefits Administration in 2019 – HR Technologist

Working from home
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7 Tips for Managing Working from Home

7 Tips for Managing Working from Home 1155 770 Growth Partners

There are more people than ever working from home at the moment, with millions of us doing our bit to help beat the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Swapping the office for remote working might be something you only dreamed of a few months ago, but the reality can be very different, with a some finding it difficult to manage and to adjust to lone working.

Even at the best of times, we can struggle to separate work and home life, so when they both happen in the same place, it throws up even more challenges than usual. Whether it’s not logging off until later than normal, working through your lunch break or on the contrary, not working a great deal at all, it’s easy to see why remote working can start to impact business and our health.

To combat these challenging times, here are a few things you can do to try and effectively work from home, while being productive and continuing to maintain a happy, healthy household…

1. Get changed out of your PJs

It’s too easy to slide out of bed, head downstairs and start work all within 2 minutes, but it won’t set you up the same way it would If you were to shower, get dressed and get ‘ready’ for work. Having the same routine as if you were going into the office not only gets you in the right frame of mind, it also avoids any embarrassing situations when your boss video calls you!

2. Create a desk or dedicated workspace

Sitting on the sofa with your laptop on your knee and Friends on in the background might be how you imagined working from home to be, but in reality you’ll soon be feeling lethargic, distracted and aching from poor posture. Instead, set up a dedicated place of work, whether that’s a desk in the spare room, a space on the dining room table or an area of the kitchen. Having a zone that is dedicated to work, with a firm upright chair, will help get you in the right mindset and be more productive while supporting your back and shoulders too.

3. Keep a structure to your day

The beauty of working from home is the flexibility. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl – if you can, adjust your hours accordingly to when you’re most productive. Once you are ready to work however, try to keep a similar structure to the one you would normally have in the office. If you usually have a break at 10am and lunch at 1pm, do this even though you’re at home. It’s easy to lose track of time and work longer than normal, or oppositely, get distracted by home jobs and end up working less. Keeping a structure to your day will ensure you’re putting in the right number of hours while still being productive.

4. Keep in touch

One of the hardest things that home workers face is being alone for a long period of time. As humans, if we don’t communicate with others, we feel lethargic, negative, less able to manage stress, have higher blood pressure and much more. It’s therefore essential during this time where we’re not able to socialise in person, to connect through technology. We’re lucky to live in an era where FaceTime, Skype, social media and WhatsApp are all part of our lives, so it’s easier than ever to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Try having a team call once a day to check in with one another, see how everyone is feeling, and what everyone’s working on, with a family video call later on as well. It’ll help in more ways than you think, both in your personal and work life.

5. Keep active

We clock up more steps than we think in a day at the office – our commute, the walk to the toilet, going to make a cup of tea and so on. Which is why when we work from home, and everything is a lot closer and on hand, we drastically reduce the amount of movement we do in a day. Aim to move every 90 minutes, even if it’s just to walk around the house or to make a cup of tea – getting up and stretching your legs and back will help you focus when you return to work.

6. Get some fresh air

We might be restricted to our homes at the minute, but it doesn’t mean we can’t get outside. If you have a garden and are able to, try and spend 10 minutes in it, pull up some weeds, hang out the washing or even just sit with a cup of tea and take some deep breaths. The fresh air will improve your mood, wellbeing, energy and clear your head ready for you to get back to work. If you don’t have a garden or are not able to go into it, opening the windows in your house or apartment has a similar effect and will improve the air quality throughout your home.

7. Keep a structure to your diet

According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Britons eat on average 800 – 1,000 additional calories per day without even knowing it! If this takes them over their required intake, it could lead to an increase in weight and blood pressure over a year. Mindless eating is one of the biggest culprits of weight gain, so it’s even more important while you’re at home (and close to the biscuit tin!) to be careful how much you put in your mouth. Keep a structure to your diet, eating at regular mealtimes with a few healthy snacks throughout the day. Not only will it help with the scales, it’ll also help improve your mood, productivity and energy.

We’re all in a very surreal and scary situation at the moment, which none of us are familiar with. Working together, working remotely and working on steps to avoid the spread, while keeping ourselves and families safe, are the top priorities for all of us. Helping to make life run as smoothly as possible is essential, so we hope these tips enable you to get the work-life balance you and your family need during this difficult time.

SMART Employment
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How SMART Employment is Changing the Game for UK Businesses

How SMART Employment is Changing the Game for UK Businesses 1182 770 Growth Partners

Some companies have it so easy. Engaged employees, high retention rates, increased productivity and most importantly, increased profitability.

You may look at them enviously, wondering how exactly is it that they achieve this outstanding balance without breaking their bank accounts? But what if we told you it was one of the easiest solutions you could make in your business. By becoming a SMART employer, you yourself could become the company you aspire to be.

Having everything in one place, easily accessible and efficient for all those employed.

But what is this SMART employment model that is benefitting so many? And how can you become a part of it? What is it?

What is the SMART Employment model?

SMART Employment has been around for a while, you just haven’t noticed it. Unlike traditional HR outsourcing companies, SMART Employment takes an aggregated approach to business support, handling all HR and employee-focused functions such as Payroll, Benefits, Recruitment and more.

Essentially it takes away all the laborious admin tasks that are related to the basic HR functions, combines it with some amazing employee benefit tools, to make a one-source function that employers can use to improve their overall company strategy. Employers will have more time, money and energy to focus on their employees, making sure they are getting the best out of them whilst ensuring a good work-life balance.

Why it works

Would you rather pay a bunch of separate costs for different services, that may or may not work together, or where one is more engaging than the other – and you still do admin work just to get them all organised for your employees to use? Or would you rather pay one cost, for one platform where all the services are already integrated and work in harmony?

The latter is why the SMART Employment model works so effectively. We aggregate all services so it’s one easy fee for multiple services.

It’s been found that employees who are more engaged are 27% more likely to demonstrate ‘excellent’ performance. This work ethic will then directly affect your profitability in a positive way.

So why wouldn’t you get involved in SMART Employment? It’s the obvious answer to many decision makers’ problems and will improve overall productivity and performance in the business in the long run.

Why our portal is the best

Being one of the leading providers of SMART Employment, we can confidently say that we have everything running on a tight ship and know what we’re talking about. We provide our clients with a single sign-on app where the employees can access everything wherever and whenever they want to.

On the app, you can get access to;

As well as this, employers will also be provided with HR Support including occupational health, legal advice and support on recruitment.

Like to know more about how SMART Employment can grow your business? Contact Growth Partners today on 0116 340 3116 or book a free consultation here. Additionally, you may have some questions regarding payroll… If this is you, our payroll specialists at Growth Partners have provided an FAQ post which answers 14 most asked questions when it comes to understanding payroll.

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Is your business working too hard?

Is your business working too hard? 1500 770 Growth Partners

Good is fine, sure. It’s safe and nice. Static, unexciting. Great though, ‘great’ is all about mounting potential. Moving on up. In today’s current climate, where reports of the economy going down the pan are as rampant as they are conflicting, it can be difficult for small businesses to find adequate support to reach this higher tier of potential.

“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”

Or so the old saying goes by the epitome of success, John D. Rockefeller himself

Last year, the number of businesses that survived dropped by 27,000, making it the first year-on-year fall since the year 2000 (BEIS). It’s the prevailing worry of any responsible entrepreneur looking to kickstart a business venture: timing. When’s the best time to capitalise on a good idea, to take the plunge, and with the political climate being in its current shape, it seems the worry is as prevalent as ever.

But taking the plunge doesn’t have to be a gamble. The SMART Employment model, new to the UK, is changing the game for business owners looking to grow. If you’re a small business trying to get ahead, it might sound strange, but now is the time to pause. To take stock and review. Running headfirst into the storm you plan to create is never smart strategy. Especially if you’re carrying last year’s baggage.

As with Rockefeller’s opening line, the leap from ‘good’ to ‘great’ demands that you first work out what’s holding you back. What is your business baggage? What functions take up more time than they’re worth, cost more than they should?

A recent report by Sage revealed that the average small business spends 120 hours a year on admin and 5.6% of staff time wrapped up in back-office tasks. If this rings true for a business like yours, the question to ask is how to cut back on wasted energy and productivity lulls? If you’d be in better shape without the burden of the paperwork-heavy must-dos like Payroll, Pensions, the HR remit tasks, then why hold onto them?

Like to know more about how SMART Employment can grow your business, contact Growth Partners today on 0116 340 3116.

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