TIPS ON HOW TO ENGAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES

People are every organization’s most valuable assets, and hiring, training and retaining good people are key components to success. Yes, we need to get the right staff on board, and yes we need to train them properly and yes, yes, we need to insure that we keep these good people around. We all know that hiring and training costs a lot of money. Therefore retaining and engaging staff members become integral to success.  How do you and/or your company communicate to your staff member’s their value to you/your company? It comes down to engagement and showing appreciation, and this does not need to be complicated or expensive. 

So here are…

Tips on How to Engage Your Employees

Teambuilding – Teambuilding can come in many forms. It could be hiring an expert to lead an event, a challenge course activity, a team sailing event, a potluck, having drinks after work, and much much more. As mentioned before it depends on your budget and doesn’t have to be over the top or expensive. Staff members appreciate the effort, and if you do have some of those member’s who feel like they are too busy to participate, politely push them to do it. Most typically, they buy in eventually.

Skills and/or Leadership Training – Team members appreciate learning new skills and building on old ones that can help them do their job better.  In addition, by training your staff, it helps your business create a better product and provide better service.  

Branded Corporate Gifts – Employees love branded gifts. The most popular gifts are tote bags, coolers, sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, mugs and fleeces.  We always suggest giving your people gifts that they will use. If you do go this route, make sure you go with a quality company that uses good quality brands like Under Armour clothing and Igloo coolers.

Build Your Own Skills as a Boss – The basis to really engaging your staff and retaining good talent comes from the development of your own leadership and management skills. The bottom line, people want to be treated like humans. Therefore, communicating clearly, showing empathy, providing support, giving feedback and being respectful will help.

In the end, leading, managing and motivating employees is a hard job, so as mentioned, get the right people on board, train them and figure out ways to engage and reward your talented staff members. There are no easy tricks or techniques to make it all better, but if you can do a little of what we have mentioned above, it will make your job as a leader and manager a little easier.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WITH QUALITY GIFTS

Increasing employee engagement is the age-old dilemma every HR department, office manager and small business owner is tasked with solving. According to Forbes, “Recognition has a physiological impact on performance.” An increase in engagement can yield decreased employee turnover, a massive boost in productivity and an increase in morale. Fortunately, achieving this end-goal can be less costly than you think. 

Investing in employee gifts is a budget-friendly solution for increasing engagement. Being presented with occasional corporate gifts offers the reassurance an employee craves. When employees feel content, valued and secure within their role in the company, wonderful things begin to happen to their performance. If you're hoping to achieve these results, below are a few tips for successfully selecting employee gifts. 

Personalized Gifts for Small Teams

The benefit of having a relatively small team is the ability to easily choose gifts based on personality types and personal interests. Gifts that are tailored to the individual employee will create a lasting impression. Consider a golf umbrella or arm band device holder for the sports aficionado. A folding chair or binoculars would be ideal for the outdoorsman. Or perhaps, a BBQ grill set, or portable cooler for the weekend warriors. The extent of employee gift personalization when working with a small team is truly limitless. Customized gifts are a great way to get the most bang for your buck on a small budget, all the while making an impact on the employee.

Versatile Gifts for Large Teams

The benefits of presenting employees with quality gifts that appeal to their specific lifestyles are clear. However, challenges arise when using this gifting strategy with a larger team. When the number of employees increases, not only is it time-intensive, but often far more costly to choose quality gifts that appeal to each of your employees. For this reason, the best approach is to choose more versatile gifts. 

Examples of versatile gifts are custom-made tote bags that employees may use in both their personal and work lives; insulated gifts such as traveling mugs and lunch bags are one of the most-used gifts, as it is likely that a fairly considerable percentage of your employees have a need for keeping their coffee warm and their lunch protected. Custom-made workwear is an additional budget-friendly gift option that is sure to be well-received as it lessens the out-of-pocket cost of the employees' work wardrobe . The key to truly appeal to all employees is choosing gifts that provide both style and function – good looks and even better usability.

Tips for Making an Impact on a Budget

Below are two food-for-thought guidelines to follow when choosing gifts for your employees. 

• Make it about them. Many businesses present their employees with gifts that are of little interest to the employee. If your goal is to boost employee engagement, provide them with a gift that speaks to their needs and desires, not just as an employee of your company, but as a person.
• Place an emphasis on quality. Nothing says “we appreciate you” like a tote bag with a zipper that breaks on the first use. Avoid negating the benefits of employee gifts by choosing gifts that are quality-made.

Often times, employees will relate the quality of the gift to their perceived value as an employee – this does not necessarily speak of the monetary value of the gift – but rather the quality. A well-made item that can withstand the test of time, as well as provides some utility to the employee, creates an overall more positive experience.