Staff Engagement: The Key to Business Success

I was recently asked by a client “what do you do to get such great staff engagement”. Having been the CEO of a company that had recently achieved 3rd best place to work by BRW, I guess it was a fair question to ask of me. No doubt they were after some nuggets of wisdom, a few silver bullets as such, to implement in their own business or espouse to their clients on how to engage their staff, including the infamous Gen Y.

I told them that our focus at SiDCOR was providing a clear career path for all staff, making the environment the best it could be, opening communication and providing a clear set of values that we actually live by. Staff also needed to get more than a pay check out of their experience at work, and clearly see how they were contributing to the business as a whole, its vision and their own personal ‘why’.

Yes, thanks for that, I’ve heard all that before!

Did I mention the table tennis table?

The reality is that you would have heard all these strategies, but implementing them is a whole other beast. There is no silver bullet. I have always found staff engagement to be a fluid thing. When we did the BRW survey, 100% of our staff rated SiDCOR as a great place to work. I was appropriately chuffed at that response, however it doesn’t mean that everyday since we have not had to work on trying to keep it there, because as quickly as you can achieve that kind of response, it can just as quickly dissipate, and you can never take it for granted.

Staff engagement for me is simply a commitment to provide success for your employees. My philosophy has always been to support an employee to be successful in their role in the business. If that does not align to what the employee ultimately wants, then I look to see if there is another role in the business that I could support them to be successful in, one that more aligns to their ‘why’. If we still don’t have alignment, I help them be successful in another business or field. The employee has a choice, but whether they are here for a long time or a short time, putting their success first and supporting them in achieving what they want from their life I have certainly found to be the most engaging path. Put your employee’s success first and you will not only have an engaged workplace, but the business success will follow.