January 3rd, 2011
Keys to Engaging Your Employees – The Ten C’s
Most employers desire staff who are enthusiastic, productive, and reliable. What are you doing within your business to develop these characteristics in your employees? Is there a struggle to find and keep employees that represent the best of your business?
If you are experiencing issues with employee retention or are looking for ways to improve your employee relations, the TEN C’s of employee engagement may offer some insight into effective employee management. The Ten C’s of employee engagement, is a good way to gauge employees’ personal values within your business and offers keys to improvement.
Connect: Employees thrive when they feel sincerely valued by their employer. Share your company’s mission, strategies and initiatives with your employees and link how their actions tie into the success of the company.
Career: Most employees thrive with challenging and meaningful work. Assign stretch goals to your employees and hold them accountable for their progress, while at the same time instill confidence that they can meet these goals. Ensure that your employees have the resources and the knowledge available to them to be successful in reaching the goals.
Clarity: Success in essence is achieved by the amount of clarity we have on what it is we want to achieve. Have you communicated a clear vision of what your company’s goals are, their importance and how they can be achieved together as a team?
Convey: A good leader conveys their expectations and provides positive and constructive feedback to each and every employee. On a daily basis help your employees improve their skills, and create small wins. Your team will perform at its best.
Congratulate: Society in general focuses mostly on what is wrong, what we do wrong. How about focusing on what we do right? Offer praise and recognition on even the littlest ‘right’. You will boost your employees’ self esteem, they will respect you more as a leader, and they will work more effectively.
Contribute: Employees need to know that their work matters and that they are contributing to the company’s success. Implement simple measurement systems to track how well you are doing with your employees and customers. Share the results with your team and relate their contributions to the overall results.
Control: Employees value having control over the flow and pace of their work. As a leader do you consult your employees regarding their needs? Do you involve employees in the decision-making process, in setting goals or milestones, especially when employees will be directly affected? Involving employees creates an environment of trust and a culture where employees will take “ownership of problems and their solutions”.
Collaborate: ‘There is more strength in numbers.’ Create a strong team environment, an environment of trust, cooperation and mutual respect.
Credibility: Do you reflect positively or negatively on your business? Do you live by your word? Employees will either be proud to work with you or embarrassed to work for you. It is all up to you.
Confidence: A good leader helps create confidence by maintaining “high ethical and performance standards”. Lead by example. Your employees are watching your every move. They will follow your lead if your actions are congruent with your words and they believe in you.
Flowers wither without constant watering. Practise the Ten C’s consistently and watch your employees and your company’s success flourish.
Note: The principles of the Ten C’s can be modified and applied to families as well as friendships. They do work.
Source: “What Engages Employees the Most, or The Ten C’s of Employee Engagement”, Gerard H. Seijts & Dan Crim, Ivey Business Journal, March/April 2006
Can’t find the answer to your human performance or health & wellness-related questions? Just Ask Sandra via email at scorrado@nextlevels.ca. The answer to your question may be featured in future blogs.
Sandra Corrado of Next Level Consulting is an independent Human Performance Specialist & Health & Wellness Facilitator. She is a Board Certified Hypnosis Trainer and Master Coach. www.nextlevels.ca.