Essential Elements of Team Engagement

Team engagement is an important concept to master when it comes to a productive, fulfilled work environment. It plays a role in determining the longevity of your team members with your company. If your best employees can make comparable money with a competitor, what is it that you can do to foster loyalty?

The concept of team engagement has certainly become a hot topic among business owners and operators over the past few years. The fields of sociology, psychology, and economics have converged to reveal incredible insights into what makes employees productive, fulfilled, and more likely to remain with a given job or company. We can now say conclusively that money is rarely the primary driver when people decide to leave a team. As the economy heads toward recovery, this becomes even more important to consider. If your best employees can make comparable money with a competitor, what is it that you can do to foster loyalty?

More than Job Satisfaction

Of course, happy employees are more fun to be around and probably more productive. But what we’re really after is employees who feel valued, believe the work they do is important, and are motivated to help the company be successful. Invite your team to help you define a company vision. What is your company about, besides just making money? How does each and every person on the team play a role in that vision? Once that vision is clearly defined, you have to continually remind your people how the work they do contributes to these larger goals. If your company is small, this responsibility is yours, as the business owner. As your company grows, you need to include this in the training of your managers and team leaders. Establishing a rational, emotional connection with the work we do is incredibly important. It improves not just performance, but retention and morale.

Do the Easy Things Now

Building a highly engaged team can certainly seem like a daunting and complicated task. And that’s fair; some of the work is complex and difficult. But much of it is pretty intuitive and easy to remedy. Ensure your team has all the tools they need to perform the job. Fully functioning, up-to-date technology and software, a workspace that is clean and inviting, convenient parking and transportation accommodations, and learning and development resources. Shortcomings in these areas only breed resentment. Invest in the tools your people use every day. Invest in the physical space they spend 40 hours a week in.

Remember, that what motivates you to grow your business, is most likely very different from what motivates people to work in your business. So listen mindfully to your team and design a vision, processes, and goals that will incentivize them and reward them. Your rewards will flow naturally from theirs.