Influence – a great way to encourage staff engagement

Over the past years, companies have gone great lengths to get their employees more motivated. Staff engagement has become a buzzword. Businesses spend lots of money on bonuses, gifts, events as well as benefits.

Now here’s a controversial question: do these things engage employees or only appease them? If the second is true, then all these bonuses, gifts, events and benefits are just like drugs. They hype the team up for the moment and once that feeling is gone the employees demand more, better, more significant. Businesses who only do this to motivate their staff will soon find, they opened a bottomless pit that gave them zero return on investment and a staff team addicted to the programme.

The other question we need to ask is whether employees are looking for these motivational programmes in the first place. Superficially, yes. If you’d ask them if they want to have more money, more benefits and more events, they all shout yes. However, these things do not satisfy the heart, because they do not feed our longing for a purpose in life.

So what can I do to engage my staff?

At the first stage, the answer is straightforward, and it does not cost you a penny of cash.

Give them influence. (Reflect: Have you just understood authority or power? If yes, that is not what I mean by influence.)

Many managers and business owners think that empowerment means giving power and authority. I’ve met a manager who told me that he dislikes corridor conversations as he found them harmful to the business and his position as a manager. I said to him that I like them. Why? Because once you removed all the emotional rubbish, these conversations are full of potential, innovation, and valuable knowledge.

As soon as you give these conversations a place to be heard you give people influence. I suggested creating a place where staff can communicate their problems, ideas and solutions. We made sure everyone understands we would not implement all suggestions but that all input is much appreciated.

This approach uncovered the real heart of some of the employees, and some fantastic suggestions and solutions changed the business and the culture. People felt more part of the company and were more satisfied because we gave them a voice. Corridor conversations became more purposeful and less emotional. There was more #LoveForTheCompany in the air.

The manager hopefully learned that no one was after his job and that his team can complement his weaknesses and therefore make it a more productive team.