The companies who engage with their work force are the companies which excel at profit improvement.
This is not to say pay must be increased, but the Directors need to support the staff in times of despair, such as the current cost of living crisis. Directors and shareholders must look to the future must look after the staff as Sir Richard Branson states
“looking after your staff means the staff will look after the company”.
Directors need to lead from the from the front, not be reactive sitting in their offices just sending out directives, working with the staff means encouragement.
When I worked in very large business, employing 4500 staff in the manufacture of luxury tobacco goods, I wanted to improve staff engagement, however I was not encouraged to do so. On my first day as the CFO I saw there were tremendous challenges due to the division of the workforce, the directors and senior manager always ate in the directors dining room, and never mixed with the staff in the canteens, and they were shocked and somewhat appalled when I did so.
In the areas where I had influence within one year the staff engagement increased from 15% to 80%. The reasons for this improvement in staff engagement were that I established a no blame culture, I began spending time with all staff members – I was leading from the front, it certainly help that I established quarterly dinners at a restaurant of the staffs choice to celebrate performance, this generosity in truth cost the company nothing as the costs were offset by the increase in productivity.
One day as I was learning about the business I asked one of the ladies, in the handmade factory, to teach me how to roll cigars. This 70-year lady allowed me to sit with her and learn, and also engaged with me and shared her thoughts about how to improve the business she told me that there was a lot of waste and that she had an idea to save and resell it, the outcome by listening to this 70 year old cigar roller was a saving of $50 million.
This is what happens when senior management listen and act. And if the rewards are fairly distributed the increase in engagement goes from 0% to 90%.
The lesson of this account is by listening to your staffs ideas you increase engagement, that leads to increased productivity and increased profits often by simple adjustments.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, encourage the flow of ideas, feedback and knowledge and share the savings with the people who do. It doesn’t take a degree to have a good idea or to be knowledgable. So don’t bark orders – listen – observe – and learn from the experience of your staff and when your business improves remember to share the success with those who made happen regardless of their position in the hierarchy.
Too many senior managers do not take the time to engage with those who do on the manufacturing floor, just one idea could completely revolutionise the business, the secret is listen, five minutes spent listening could save 1000’s of minutes of manufacturing time.