Small budget? You can still keep your employees engaged!

Small budget? You can still keep your employees engaged!

In my last blog post; Content, Content and more Content! I touched on the fact that the talent pool is shrinking at the very moment demand is at an all-time high. This issue is not industry specific but universal. In response, candidate’s attitudes and expectations are changing.  A great pay packet is no longer enough, they want their work to be meaningful and rewarding.

It is also important to remember that by providing incentives, recognition and challenges will help keep your current employees engaged and boost productivity, loyalty and recruitment referrals. 

Research shows that employees have three fulfilment needs:

Intellectual – do they have a chance for achievement, responsibility and growth? Will they be responsible for challenging projects and tasks?

Emotional - will they proud of what they do? Does the business have real purpose? Can they have a greater impact on others?

Social – is this a community they want to belong to? Do they trust the current leaders and colleagues? Will they be a valued member of the team?

With this in mind, modern day businesses need to ensure that they have an employee engagement strategy in place to meet present and future employee’s needs. You do not need to be cash rich or have a large HR team to have an effective program.

If you want to better attract, retain and engage your current staff and potential employees on a small budget, then keep reading:

· Monthly / Quarterly / Yearly awards based on gamifaction methods for staff excellence. Prizes can range from; gift cards, lottery scratch cards, dress down days, a meal out with senior management., extended lunch for a week, a free day off, paid development courses and weekends away.

· ‘The Voice’ – Create employee representatives and hold sessions in a neutral grounding where internal issues, suggestions and opportunities can be discussed. By having representatives, this should allow employees to have the confidence to be transparent.

· A suggestion scheme that not only rewards for the best idea but that lets the person who suggested take ownership of the project. 

· Coffee Tuesdays; why don’t you treat your team to a coffee in your local shop every Tuesday morning. You’ll be amazed how a change of scenery can reenergize people and supply extra creativity to those projects that need improving.

· Monthly meet ups to discuss the overall performance of the business, by including all of your employees in this information, they will feel a greater attachment and sense of responsibility to the company – get them thinking like business owners! These monthly meet ups will also be a great chance to announce any achievements for the month.

· Have family days out, treat staff members, friends and families to movies nights (this could be in the office with a projector and Bluetooth speaker), picnics and activity days. Remember to hold these special days on a work day, you want everyone to participate and not have to give up any of their personal time.

· Throw a pizza party. Its Friday, you’re staff have worked hard, get some pizzas in and let your employees wind down for the weekend.

These are just some basic ideas of what you can provide on an ad-hoc basis to surprise your employees and create a working environment where people want not only want to stay but join your team. However, there is no need to second guess what people want, speak to them and find out for yourself. You can do this on an anonymous basis to gain a true reflection, this can be done by holding online polls or surveys (I recommend survey monkey).

I’m sure you’re now thinking, this is all great advice but how can I be sure that my employee engagement strategy is having any effect? Perhaps Create an Advising team that speaks with both your current team & target candidates and report on results.

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