Employee Engagement and Happiness - A Recipe for Success?

So, Masterchef returns tonight and it will be fascinating to see the new creations. Over the last few weeks I’ve been observing emerging themes in the world of employee engagement, and I’ve come up with a recipe. Tell me what you think in the comments – have I left any ingredients out and what would you add? After all many people have their own variations to recipes don’t they?

• Take one well designed and bright workspace, and first start with one or more leaders who care about the wellbeing of their employees. Choose those who are interested in their employees as people, and not just as workers, because this means they will quickly spot if something isn’t right.
• Then work on your culture, decide what you want it to look like and what you need to do to achieve that. What ingredients do you need to include to make your employees happy? What works for your business?
• Take one competitive salary and add in a sprinkling of employee benefits. Why not ask your employees what “flavour” they would like? It’s more likely to make them appreciate your recipe if they’ve been involved. Include healthy options to promote physical and mental health, and to reduce absence. Make sure there are no secret ingredients that the employees don’t know about as it’s important they value and understand your “dish”.
• Mix in some flexibility if you can as this is usually a popular ingredient.
• Work on providing opportunities for learning and personal growth so people can progress and develop.
• Keep checking other people’s recipes and see what is working for them. It’s competitive out there for the best employees and you want them to like "your dish" the most, so they choose you and stay with you.
• Make sure you share your recipe with the outside world. Publish it on your Website, on job adverts and on social media. Have an attractive and compelling menu of what you offer.

Hopefully the recipe will turn out well and you will attract happy, healthy and motivated employees who never want to leave you. Happy and engaged people = productive and profitable businesses = a recipe for success.

#everyonebenefits