Employee Engagement: Lessons from a Perfect Smile

When thinking about the health of a business, there are many lessons that we can learn from the world of physical health. Specifically, the likelihood of good health can be improved with two fundamental practices; daily active maintenance behaviours, and regular checkups (feedback).

Take, for example, the simple pearly white smile. From a young age, we are taught that we need to brush and floss twice daily (active maintenance behaviours) and visit the dentist for checkups regularly for good dental hygiene. The results of failing to maintain a daily brushing schedule are obvious, and the consequences of not following through can be severe – the build up of unwanted bacteria, destructive cavities, and pain. Also, few would argue that the longer you leave it between trips to the dentist, the more likely it is that a cavity (or two) will be found the next time you go for a checkup.

Moving back to the business world, healthy businesses are built on the efforts of engaged staff. Engaged staff are fully committed to their organisation’s goals and values, and work hard for results. Leaders with engaged staff get the two fundamentals of healthy business right:

Daily Active Maintenance Behaviours – These leaders provide clarity about overall company goals and how individuals’ work contributes, offer genuine praise when a job is well done, and timely constructive criticism when improvements are needed. They ensure that staff have the right tools for the job, and genuinely attempt to include staff in decision-making processes.

Regular Checkups: Teeth are tougher than most teams – While an annual visit to the dentist may be sufficient for good dental care, good leaders know that a once a year survey is an insufficient measure of team health and engagement. These leaders survey often, and keep it short and to the point using weekly pulse surveys. Also, good leaders always always always make following up on the results and taking meaningful action a priority.

If you are a leader looking to take charge of your workplace culture HR Business Direction can assist you to build the two fundamental habits of healthy business, and boost staff engagement. Contact us here.

Alistair Kerr MPsychOrg; PostGradDip Psych; BPsych
Organisational Development Strategist | Psychologist
alistair.kerr@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au