If you're a business owner or a company leader, you know this dilemma all too well: You have new hires ready to join your team and excel in their new role, but the environment around the office isn’t where it should be. Your current team members aren’t engaged and turnover has created a revolving door of talent. This creates obstacles for leadership as they strive to not only bring in new talent, but retain their current team members. How do you grow your business if you are constantly working to maintain a consistent workforce?

If you are looking to grow your business this year or in the future, the answer is employee engagement. In a recent article published by The Center for Sales Strategy, findings indicate that companies with highly engaged employees see revenue growth that is 2.5 times greater than those without the same employee engagement. Additionally, these highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their company. This raises an important question: How do you keep employees engaged in the workplace? Check out our list of the top five reasons that employees stay with their company and see how your business can work to retain your current staff. 

1. Work-Life Balance

In the current digital age, it’s easier than ever to stay professionally plugged in at all hours of the day. The problem with this becomes the ability to sustain focus throughout these additional hours. An employee may be working from home or responding to emails through their phone, but that may result in less focus when on the clock. This imbalance has created a greater desire from employees for work-life balance. While this can be confused with a desire for less work, that isn’t necessarily the case. Rather than work longer, employees have been shown to work harder and more efficiently when they have a flexible work schedule.

This could mean having a clear start and end time for some individuals, or it could also mean the option to come in earlier some days so they can pick up their kids from school or stay late one day so they can attend extracurriculars on another. By allowing your employees the option for flexibility, you will find the results of their work to be more effective than they may be when they are bound to an arbitrary work schedule.

2. Growth and Development

All too often, employee learning begins and ends with the onboarding process. But what about those employees who have remained with the company for a year and beyond? These team members are an employer’s greatest asset, as there is an additional level of trust and loyalty already established. By creating learning opportunities and the chance for development, your team members will begin to see that their leadership is invested in their success and growth. This further aids your business as your team grows with the company through shared goals. 

A great example of this is holding one-on-one time between employees and leadership. Here at Zimmer, we believe every employee should have weekly one-on-one time. We pair up every team member with a coach and each week, there is time set aside for questions, feedback, and professional development.

3. Integrity

Every person wants to work for a business with a clear code of ethics. When an employee can trust that their company has a clear mission statement and an established set of values, this develops trust and creates a connection between employee and employer. By enacting these values, a company becomes more like a team than simply a business and this establishes a level of integrity where team members can believe in the greater vision of their company.

Culture is a great way to project company values in a dynamic way that is true to your business. Consider ways you can lead team members to engage with your culture and values. Try hosting company events or giving out employee awards and other forms of recognition. These are interactive ways to create a connection between your team and your company values.

4. Transparency

When it comes to building trust and kickstarting engagement, nothing works faster than transparency. This can take multiple forms, including the one-on-one time we mentioned above. Transparency can also include giving clearly defined goals and celebrating when an employee reaches these. Conversely, employees can only correct wrong behavior when they are aware that it’s wrong. By giving constructive feedback, the right employees will quickly correct their behavior and be on the fast-track to future success.

When employees trust leadership to communicate honestly and consistently, they are more likely to respect the company and feel a sense of loyalty to their employer. This positivity is infectious and the resulting trickle down effect will lead to a more positive and interactive environment for everyone. Here at Zimmer, one of our core values is openness. We believe that the best ideas and the best work are a result of teamwork and the willingness to collaborate. The more transparent that you are with your team, the more comfortable they will be to engage and share their own ideas.

5. Fulfilling Work

Fulfilling work is going to look different for everyone. This could be volunteer work for some, or it could be providing for their family in other circumstances. Regardless of what that fulfillment might look like, everyone wants to feel like they are contributing to something meaningful when they go to work each day. This can provide an intangible qualification for the best employees and it can better aid the hiring process if you find your team difficult to engage. If an employee doesn’t feel that sense of fulfillment, then this creates an obstacle for leadership: You cannot force someone to be engaged in their work if they don’t have a passion for it.

While you can't change what someone finds fulfilling, you can utilize this in the hiring process. By selecting candidates who have an innate passion for your industry or business, this will improve your work environment and the team dynamic. We have a motto here at Zimmer: "Hire for attitude; train for skill." The most talented member on the team can end up being toxic if they don’t have the positive outlook for success. Consider this next time you are hiring for new role: By prioritizing this passion and fulfillment, you will find that candidates rise to the occasion even when their skill set on paper may not fit every qualification.

Are you looking for ways to improve your company culture and create an engaging environment where your employees can grow and teamwork can thrive? Be sure to subscribe to our blog below for even more tips! And if you are looking for a new opportunity where your hard work is recognized and celebrated, check out our list of current job openings here!