The question of whether or not there is a single recipe for creating a happy, high performing, engaged workforce is one that employers constantly ask themselves. But, it’s the great employers who actually turn this question into action and a reality that can carry an entire workforce. While there is no one magic tip for inspiring a workplace, there are a few key elements that do spark employee engagement and overall accomplishment.
Great employers all share several common key elements. Let’s take a look at a five:
Great employers keep involved, curious leaders on their team who constantly seek self-improvement. Leadership set the example and tone of a company. It’s their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that trickle down through an organization and directly affect work culture.
Great employers have stellar HR teams. The best HR people have a knack for influencing, teaching and holding leadership accountable. They help managers learn to bring out the best in their employees’ natural capabilities.
Great employers ensure their employees are equipped with all of the necessary resources they need to succeed. An employee will commit to almost anything a company aims to accomplish so long as they know exactly what is expected of them, have all of the information and tools that they need to do their job, have been well placed in their position, and know that their managers have their backs.
Great employers support their leadership teams and hold them accountable. The best companies inspire and encourage their mangers by relentlessly providing support, building up their capabilities and resilience, and holding them and their teams accountable for the cultures they create.
Great employers have a decisive, straightforward approach. The companies that see the highest engagement achieve that because their leaders know how to use recognition as a powerful incentive.
It’s not enough to simply prioritize the easy, sugar-coated toppings of a company, like having a hip office space or providing beer and a free gym. The elements that really strengthen a workplace are those that build emotional ties and connect employees to their teams on a deeper level.