Employee Engagement 101

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Employee Engagement 101

Today Terry and I are going to be talking Employee Engagement 101. And since Terry has more experience dealing with a production floor full of employees, I’ll be asking the questions.

Let’s start with this. What’s the #1 most important thing an owner or manager should focus on when it comes to dealing with your employees.

• Communication – Expectations
• Talk about your business, goals, aspirations
• Who knows more about making things better in your business than the people doing the work day to day?
• Pizza! OK, I’ve talked about buying pizza a lot. Do Jimmy Johns instead.

Do you have any specific examples of poor communication?

• “Yeah, I’m gonna need you to fire that guy.”

I think we all hear owners and managers complaining about their employees. What’s you take on this?

• Nearly every employee wants to come to work and do a good job
• If you complain about your employees attitudes, work ethic, quality of work… look in the mirror
• If you end every bit of praise for a job well done with the work “but”, you’re a micromanager.
• The personality of your business, the attitude of your employees, the way customers see your business is a reflection of you as an owner or manager

Let’s talk motivation

• Focus on success, not failure
• Small rewards can be the greatest rewards

How about that one employee that you see in the break room and you just keep walking through the other door like you were going someplace else?

• Is one employee a black cloud?
• According to state or province law wherever you run your business, a crappy attitude is not a protected class

We can’t do this without talking training – SKIP?

• 1st of all, you have no secrets, so get over yourself
• 52/15

Tell us one thing an owner or manager can do to change their work environment and level of stress

• If you can’t leave your business for a little vacation, or for lunch, that’s on you, not your employees. It all starts with trust and the willingness to allow employees to make mistakes.
• “What would you do to resolve this problem?”