the 12 steps to employee engagement

The employees you already have can change everything for you.  Each person who already works for you has so much value, and so much to offer, and you can bring that out.  You can have happy, motivated, high-performing employees, who are engaged at work and help your company to become legendary.  You can have happiness, fulfillment and high performance in your own role. 

And what it will take is deliberate, planned action from you.  It will take creativity, positivity, resilience, compassion, courage and consistency.  And continuously reminding yourself that your company is its people and that this is the most worthwhile investment you can make for it.

Here’s your plan:

STEP 1:  Give your employees great leadership.

And that means this all starts with you.  So you’re going to purposefully take care of yourself and look after your own happiness, so you have the energy to be at your best for your employees.  You’re going to work at increasing your confidence in yourself.  You’ll spend time regularly on your own learning and development.  And you’ll help other leaders in your company to do these things too.

STEP 2:  Let them know you care.

During this step you’ll get to know them, do what you can to help them, smile and greet them, and be happy to see them.  You’ll take an interest in and do what you can to look out for their health, happiness and well-being.  And you’ll find out what they each need, and you’ll remember the things they tell you, and you’ll look for the good in each of them so it’s on your mind whenever you’re around them.

STEP 3:  Give them recognition.

You’ll be purposeful about looking out for the good things they do and achieve, and letting them know you’ve noticed.  You’ll find ways to show some of those things to others in your company, to clients and to the community.  And you’ll help them to feel pride in their work and their process – even when projects cancel or plans change. 

STEP 4:  Give them appreciation.

During this step you’ll make sure that sincere “thank you-s” from you are passed around like candy, and you’ll keep them valuable by looking for all the things you truly appreciate about each person there.  You’ll find ways to regularly thank your employees for specific actions or behaviors, and you’ll do what you can to show appreciation on a bigger scale by giving back to them where you can.

STEP 5:  Give them progression.

You’ll invest in their personal and professional development, to give them growth and satisfaction, and to keep increasing their value for you.  You’ll also help them to prevent stagnation in their positions, by finding ways to evolve their roles over time, setting goals with them, and making plans for their future with the company wherever you can.

STEP 6:  Give them effective motivation.

Since we are all motivated by different things and in different ways, you’ll take the time to learn how each of your employees is motivated, so you can tailor your language and style when you speak to them.  You’ll find ways to make their work interesting, challenging, and fun, and give them variety where you can.  You’ll also find out what each person wants in life and from his/her job, so you can help deliver those where and how you can.

STEP 7:  Keep them safe.

During this, you’ll put things in place to make your company a place where each person feels safe, confident and respected.  You’ll help them to get over their fear of rejection, risk and failure.  You’ll help them to feel good about sharing their experiences and ideas.  You’ll help them to celebrate differences and see the value in various backgrounds and points of view.  You’ll help them to trust in you and in each other.  And you’ll throw in a good program to keep everyone physically safe (in whatever way that means for your industry) while you’re at it.

STEP 8:  Give them a higher purpose.

This is where you’ll find ways to give back to the community and contribute to good causes with your company.  You’ll do what you can personally, and you’ll invite your employees to get involved.  You’ll also give them opportunities to share information on causes, needs and organizations they’re passionate about, and you’ll find ways to contribute where you can.

STEP 9:  Help their jobs to connect with their personal values.

Everything you’re already doing will help with this, but now you’ll be more purposeful about learning the principles that each person holds as most true and important in life.  Then you’ll find ways to help each person’s job to align with those more, and to help everyone feel more of a connection between their work at your company and their own personal values.

STEP 10:  Give them ownership.

During this step you’ll help each employee to feel personally invested in the success of your company.  You’ll help each of them to understand how their role impacts each of the others, the company as a whole, and the community you all serve.  You’ll welcome their ideas and give them opportunities to shape and grow the business, so they can have pride, excitement and passion about what they’re creating.

STEP 11:  Give them great people to work with.

Since we all know great people want this, you’ll deliver by making sure that when you’re working on each of these steps, you’re including everyone.  You’ll have a plan for helping employees through a slump, helping them to overcome discouragement, and for making tough choices when required.  You’ll make it your mission to look for and reward people who show kindness.  And you’ll send everyone on a treasure hunt for good deeds, so you can have a company full of people who care for and look for the best in each other.

STEP 12:  Give them personal goal achievement.

Since each person there has a dream that has (seemingly) nothing to do with this job, you’ll find ways to help their positions positively impact their personal goals.  You’ll help them to recognize all the opportunities their jobs give them already, and give them ideas for taking advantage of those.  And you’ll think of any ways you can help their jobs to evolve, to serve them even more.

I’m continuously working on content that will go into each of these twelve steps in depth.  You can find them on my blog, in the TO EMPLOYERS, MANAGERS AND HR playlist of myYouTube channel, and in my book, AS ITS PEOPLE. 

Please feel free to email me with your questions, challenges, experiences and goals for your employees.  It will help me to know what topics will be most helpful for you and what to prioritize: joanie@elmoregroupinc.com