3 Ways to Reward and Engage Your Workforce

Talented employees are the leaders and the future behind successful companies. To keep your top employees and optimize their skills set, employers need to engage and reward their employees consistently. When your top workforce loses engagement or feel undervalued, they begin to seek other opportunities. Whether your workforce consists of skilled labor or unskilled labor, here are some things that you can do to keep them happy and moving forward within the company.

Offer Internal Opportunities

Fostering growth is essential in creating happy and productive employees. Ensure that your best talent is retained by providing them with rewards and promotions for exceeding or meeting goals. Meet with your employees regularly and set goals together. This builds trust amongst your workforce and allows them to envision opportunities to move forward. When employees feel that they can no long grow within a company, they begin looking for other opportunities where there may be more room for growth.

Engaged employees demonstrate a strong performance and contribute to a positive working environment. More importantly, key employees who understand the culture and vision of the company and who exhibit talent and strategic thinking are few and far between – and often, they are the most difficult to retain. Paying attention to your relationships with these employees and ensuring that exciting opportunities exist for those who earn them are all critical in fostering a strong team and reducing employee turnover.

Keep Things Personal

We all get busy within our own jobs and responsibilities and often times forget to check in and communicate with our colleagues. But, not doing so can be a huge mistake. Employees that feel out of the loop or overlooked are more likely to become dissatisfied and disengaged. Check in with trusted and valued employees once a week by grabbing coffee or lunch. Be sure to ask them about their ongoing priorities, problems and any road blocks. Setting up one-on-one time in a casual setting is the best way to build more trust and also receive candid feedback. When employees feel that their concerns and needs are valued and heard, their job satisfaction increases.

Leave Room for Autonomy

A healthy check-in schedule is important, but make sure to leave enough space for your employees to feel independent and autonomous. Most employees respond positively when they feel trusted and are given ownership over their own projects. Employees who feel they have a sense of ownership and that the project they are leading is truly their own, and they are free to build it out as they see fit tend to work harder and enjoy their work more.

Whether you are looking to hire a temporary or full time employee, make sure to follow these practices in your daily routine. Not only will this increase your employee’s job satisfaction and reduce employee turnover, it will also give your company a great reputation that will allow you to continue to attract top talent in the future. For more information, check out our recent blog on 8 strategies to reduce employee turnover.