To successfully scale your business you need the right people on board – and ensure they love coming to work. We know that performance is intrinsically linked with how well your team gels and communicates as problems are dealt with and new ideas are brought to life.
We spoke to author, writer and speaker Eric Stone who spent 26 years with Enterprise Holdings about how to do this well. As part of the company’s story from its infancy, he became one of the most decorated Regional VPs in its history so he’s a good authority.
He shares with us the five key factors of employee engagement along with practical examples of how they work in the field.
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Ensure everyone has a strong relationship with their manager
‘The number one reason people leave their employer is dissatisfaction with their manager’, Eric tells us. ‘And they’re the person who has a leading role in their health over their physician.’ In other words, when someone chooses their health and wellbeing over a preventable manager problem, your growing business will miss out on the talent it needs.
A concept is only as good as its practical application so Eric introduces us to a method called ‘30 minutes of fame’. It’s an intentional in-depth 1:1 opportunity that encourages a full two-way information flow, where parties can talk about what leadership style suits them, how they demonstrate company values in their behaviour and what they’d like their next career steps to be.
Everyone feels seen, heard and valued. Remember if the only time grievances are honestly aired and listened to is the exit interview, you’ll be losing your best people and your best opportunities for growth.
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Clearly communicate goals and expectations
Eric tells us that as many as 60% of employees aren’t sure of what it takes to succeed. How do we overcome this?
The answer is a holistic, wide-ranging but detail-focused approach.
‘Look at your key three to five priorities and work out how often you talk about them and in which settings’ he says. Take for example compliance, cross-selling and customer retention – at each level, in each department these conversations will look different. By tying all these conversations together, we’re able to build a bigger picture so everyone knows where they fit into it.
Their role becomes part of a larger whole and they see the importance of the role they play.
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Everyone has the right material, equipment and information to achieve the desired outcome
How relevant is your training and development programme? When was the last time you did a needs assessment? Do you know where your knowledge and skill gaps are? Eric recommends doing this at least once a year, twice if possible to keep up with changes in the organisation.
He relates how years ago a new pattern of complaints kept making their way through to him. Eager to find out what was behind it he investigated and found there was an empathy gap in their leadership training. By activating the listening process, taking this insight to the think tank and then implementing new materials, they were able to rectify the problem.
The approach was both systematic and human-focused.
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Encourage personal and professional growth
‘I find organisations don’t set personal goals so they don’t know what Eric Stone as an individual wants to do personally… like what am I trying to achieve?’ This builds a fuller picture of the individual, what matters to them and where they fit in the organisation.
This naturally leads into career mapping and where they can best serve in alignment with their interests and goals and those of the company. By putting the right people in the right places, we’re able to maximise the talent we have and encourage them to do their best work.
What if it’s time for someone to move on? Eric reminds us that you’re not letting anyone down and by holding on to them too long, you’re doing yourself and them a disservice.
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Recognise and reward top performance
Eric mentions two areas for attention. First, look at how many things you reward and recognise. ‘It shouldn’t be seventeen and shouldn’t be two,’ he says.
Secondly, look at how diverse your awards are. By making them more than just sales or customer service-focused, they can be a helpful tool to map the values that your company espouses. When we reward things like efficient record-keeping and mentorship, for example, we embed underlying helpful behaviours.
Also, give some thought to what people want to be rewarded with. Some may value a day off with their family, money or a certificate but we can’t assume that everyone is going to want the same thing.
Holding it all together
There are a number of aspects underpinning each element of engagement but there is one that stands out: culture. It’s the thing that allows your organisation to execute its strategy to the highest of levels and it’s the true shock absorber during difficult times. Characterised by the way that everyone acts when management isn’t in the room, it carries your values, ambitions and goals through the actions and choices of everyone in the company.
But how do you duplicate yourself and embed this culture as you scale your business? This is one of the natural anxieties most people face when they’re eager to grow.
Eric’s advice is straightforward and it involves what he calls the ABC of communication. To find out more about this and a myriad of other practical tried-and-tested techniques, tune into the conversation across two idea-rich episodes on the Sparks by Ignium podcast. Or search Sparks by Ignium on your favourite podcast platform.