Businesses: use the 'power of thank you'

An HR specialist is urging companies to properly engage with staff in order to make improvements to the business.

Nicola Mason, HR consultant at Napthens solicitors, is warning of the importance of employee engagement for making a business a success.

She explains that employers should consider how to properly engage with their staff, in order to give them a real ownership of the job and an understanding of business objectives.

Nicola said: “It is crucial to create an organisation that people can really engage with, helping staff understand how a business has arrived where it is, where it is going and how they, individually, can make a difference.

“Giving people autonomy and control over their own career paths, taking their ideas on board and helping them understand there is a clear growth path within the business all play a part in employee engagement.

“It may be that promotions are not possible – particularly in smaller businesses – but there may be opportunities for training or cross team working to help people become multi-skilled. There is no need for staff development to simply stop.

“Too many businesses underestimate the power of simply saying thank you to staff, demonstrating people are an important part of any business and recognising their contributions is key to engaging your employees in your business.

“Finally, reward good behaviour but make sure rewards are fit for purpose. It’s no good presenting a staff member with a bottle of champagne if they don’t drink for example! “Lines of communication between staff and employers are vital to any business, helping staff contribute properly to the success of a business, and really get behind business objectives. With a few simple changes this can make a real difference.”