Employee Engagement: Why It Pays to Mix Business with Pleasure
According to a June 2012 study by The Conference Board, only 47% of Americans are happy at their jobs. In fact, to find the last time that a majority of Americans were satisfied at work, you’d have to go all the way back to 2005, when 52% of US employees reported being happy in the workplace. All that unhappiness comes with a serious price tag for employers. Sharlyn Lubin of consulting firm ITM says that, “Gallup estimates that the cost of employee disengagement is approximately $300 billion in lost productivity”. Organizations also have to factor in turnover costs – replacing an employee ranges from 16% of annual salary for the lowest-level jobs, to a whopping 213% for high-level executives. As you can see, it pays to keep your workforce engaged – and having fun at work is a good place to start.
Believe it or not, there are actually companies out there who provide “entertainment-focused services” to put fun back in the office for organizations and their employees. One such company is Plum Benefits, whose Director of Client Relations, Michael Civello, notes that, “Times have changed. In the past, fun was looked at as frivolous from the employer level”. Civello says that nowadays, employers recognize that fun is not only acceptable, but an important tool for increasing morale and decreasing turnover. Here are Civello’s top suggestions for bringing fun into your workplace, and reaping the benefits of improved employee engagement.
Get Outside the Office. Many employees are still fearful of being seen as “not serious” if they have fun at work, so try offsite activities like a happy hour, food tasting or cultural event so that everyone can truly relax and enjoy themselves.
Activate Your A-Team. Identify which of your employees are thought leaders amongst their colleagues, and bring them onboard in the engagement efforts. Having them act as “ambassadors” can help bring along co-workers who are followers, and hopefully even those who are the most unhappy.
Manage Management. Employees will take their cultural cues from the top, so efforts will definitely fall flat if top executives are not involved. Make sure that management not only approves of, but participates in, the activities.
Crank Up the Competition. Internal contests can bring workers together. The best competitions use interdepartmental teams – this increases social activity across the entire company, and teaming up with employees from other departments can even help resolve any existing territorial issues.
Establish Some Excitement. Take a page from your sales and marketing teams, and create some promotional momentum. Spread your effort across multiple communication channels, from email to posters in common areas to in-person networking.
Got some great ideas for engaging your IT employees? Chime in below. And if you’re looking to recruit or retain top IT professionals, contact the technology employment specialists at Triumph Services today – we’ve got some great ideas of our own!
