Employee engagement can be misinterpreted as both employee happiness and employee satisfaction by even the most successful business owners. We can’t blame them for this mistake, but it is time that we correct it.

The true secret to boosting employee engagement - which leads to efficient business process improvement - is ensuring that you and your whole team are all equally in on the HR strategies of your operations. However, before working towards a forming a highly engaged workforce, you first need to make sure that you know what employee engagement truly is.

Forbes defines it as the emotional commitment the employee has to the organisation and its goals. This emotional commitment is also what drives excellent customer experience when dealing with your business. Ultimately, this leads to better sales and business process improvement - two things that all businesses seeking success and growth aim for.

Long-term success starts within your business. So how exactly does employee engagement happen?

The Australian Public Service Commission identified 10 components of engagement that fall under 4 business process elements.

JOB

• Workplace Challenge

Brilliant employees are almost always seeking for challenges to overcome in order to improve both the business and their own personal skill sets. However, it is important that the positive challenges that the workplace provides to each employee outweighs the negative ones. Ensure that your employees have:

• The chance to be innovative and to utilise and develop their skills
• Interesting work provided—in the middle of all the serious job delegations

• Job Identification

It is highly important to make sure that your employees are delegated to jobs that are parallel to their skill sets and level of expertise. As the business grows, make sure that each employee is given a job that allows them to grow and progress in their careers as well. Employees enjoy effective job identification when they have:

• A job that allows utilisation of skills, knowledge and abilities
• A job that invokes satisfaction and a sense of personal accomplishment

TEAM

• Team Behaviour

Professional relationships within teams are essential in ensuring business processes are always running smoothly and with efficient collaboration and work delegation. Engagement is driven even further when team members inspire and motivate each other to excel both for the organisation and their personal growths. Some of the questions you can have your employees answer to assess team behavior are:

• Does my team cooperate well and share job knowledge and advice with each other?
• Are my team members honest, open and transparent in all business operations?
• Do my team members treat each other with respect?

• Job Recognition

For employees to believe that their work is important and has value, it is important to inform them that their efforts are being recognised and rewarded. Make time to celebrate their accomplishments by offering incentives to employees who constantly excel at their jobs. This keeps them motivated to give their best to the organisation.

SUPERVISOR

• Supervisor behaviour

Leaders who demonstrate competence and passion in their work are critical to employee engagement. Inspire your staff to produce high-quality work by producing high-quality work as well. Regularly check in on them by understanding their goals and challenges. Find out how you can provide assistance and advice. Help create an environment where you and your team can all thrive and collaborate seamlessly.

Other elements, such as Workplace Conditions (one that falls under Supervisor behaviour as well), Agency Leadership, Development, Agency Behaviour and Agency Identification are for businesses who are on the verge of massive expansion. In order to reach this level of growth, you must first ensure that your business has already covered all the other elements mentioned above.

Remember, your employees’ outlook and behaviour towards your business processes determine the success rate of your business. Focus on them before you lose track of the real foundation of a successful business.

Find out how your business processes are doing and determine where you need to invest in for further improvement. Take our TRUST Assessment now. You can also contact our team of experts and professionals at myCEO to receive assistance and advice regarding your business and employee concerns and queries.