Small Steps for Staff Engagement

The happier your team members, the more productive they will be in the office and the higher your employee retention. They will be less preoccupied with themselves, more focused in their work and more willing to take on new challenges.

Keeping happy people happy goes beyond pay raises and bonuses. There are many factors that contribute to happiness, and while a pay raise may increase happiness at first, this is short-lived, and team members will begin looking elsewhere for workplace satisfaction.

How do you keep your team members happy? Throughout my working career, I have used many health, happiness and wellness strategies that encouraged my team to connect, engage and grow. Begin by dedicating a little bit more time and money into team initiatives that will improve connectivity, engagement, health and wellness. It doesn’t need to be big but it needs to be impact driven and of course, needs to start leveraging the opportunity created. In my experience usually celebrating birthdays with colleagues do just that.

Celebrate birthdays monthly

If you have a small to medium size set up with many full time and or casual employees, it will be difficult to celebrate every person’s birthday. That is why I suggest holding celebrations at the end of each month for everyone who had a birthday that month. You can choose a different cake every month, exchange cards and get together to sing Happy Birthday. It’s not bulletproof when it comes to managing emotional balance, but it is a lot less controversial and generally acceptable celebration across most workplaces.

A single end of monthly celebration saves money and time and still makes team members feel special. These celebrations don’t need to be complex or involved; they can be as simple as passing a birthday card around for everyone to sign, or letting the birthday person choose what cake is ordered. Make the recognition more special by adding subtle personal touches that make it feel more like a celebration than an obligation.

Give them the day off

Birthdays are special moments, so your team members may want to spend the day with family and close friends. Offering a personal day for your team members is something they will appreciate and might even go a long way when ownership and recognition matters.

Birthdays, if not important, are feel-good celebrations for many people, so make them happy by including these ideas in your workplace. It’s easy and only generates positive energy. It will help team members feel valued, both as an individual and a team member, and will help you establish a happier, healthier team of people who are inspired to perform at their very best.

Making an effort to come together and celebrate as a team is a strong way to spread some happiness around the workplace. While it is challenging to make unhappy people happy, or consistently keep staff members engaged at a workplace but you can definitely do is nurture an environment where people can be happy or engaged if they choose to be.

Continue reading Amjad Khanche’s staff engagement lessons in Part Two, Small Steps for Staff Engagement Continued.