{"id":1421,"date":"2020-11-12T18:27:53","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T00:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allabouttrees.com\/?p=1421"},"modified":"2021-07-05T15:22:48","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T20:22:48","slug":"retention-through-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allabouttrees.com\/retention-through-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Retention Through Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"
Below is an article Noel, our owner, recently wrote for TCI Magazine on employee retention through engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n We all know how hard it is to find good help right now. While hiring great help is a challenge, it\u2019s just the first part of building a great staff. Your company is probably a mix of experienced help, untrained new hires and everything in between. Maybe you are still trying to figure out which members of your team you want to retain and which ones you might need to \u201crelease to their destiny.\u201d When do you start to invest in an employee\u2019s long-term future in your company? More importantly, how are you going to retain your best people?<\/p>\n Compensation, security, growth, and management are just a few pieces of the employee-retention puzzle. Another element, and the one I want to focus on most for this article, is engagement. When employees are engaged, it means they are fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work. They are more likely to take positive actions to further the organization\u2019s reputation and interests. Engaged employees feel they can make a difference and want to be a part of something larger than just their own position. Engaged employees are happier and more productive and are connected with each other.<\/p>\n Before I lay out some strategies to get your team more engaged, I must confess that I have failed in this endeavor numerous times in my own company. I have a small team of 13 people, and we have a very low turnover rate. Most of my employees have been with me for more than five years. But on several occasions, I have kept a productive employee around who I was not able to engage in our ethos of teamwork and constant improvement. Sure, they could climb a tree and operate machinery, but their unwillingness to buy in and become a part of our team culture led to other crew members not wanting to work with them and a general negative attitude within the ranks. Employee retention cannot be about keeping every employee; it has to be about keeping and engaging the best people and removing the ones who damage your company spirit.<\/p>\n Some of the basic tenets for engaging your employees are:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Employees who understand their goals and how they relate to the company\u2019s goals are more engaged.<\/p>\n \u2022 Employees who receive regular feedback and rewards are more engaged.<\/p>\n \u2022 Employees who are given opportunities to grow, learn and advance are more engaged.<\/p>\n I know, I just made it sound so easy. But we all know that none of these are as easy as they sound. I will share a few ways we have found to accomplish these goals in our company, with the disclaimer that what works in our culture may not work in yours. Because we are such a small company, we are able to employ many informal practices that may not be possible in larger companies. Engagement looks different in every company!<\/p>\n