GiftCard Partners Blog

Engaging your workforce can be a challenge in any situation, but when your workforce is completely remote it can be even more difficult to connect...or so you would think. Based on a 360 degree feedback study done at an investment firm, remote workers are more engaged in their jobs, and here's why:

Employees who feel engaged and appreciated at work are proven to be more productive, more satisfied in their jobs, and tend to stay in their positions longer. So creating a culture of engagement is key to maintaining your organizations greatest competitive edge: your people. Here are 3 quick rules to creating a culture of engagement in your organization.
The Rule of Common Purpose: Iterating and reiterating company goals and beliefs is key to fostering a common purpose among employees. If everyone feels the sense of common purpose, camaraderie and teamwork will grow. Employees will be motivated to work together to reach the common goals of the organization.
The Rule of Selective Membership: Create an atmosphere where membership is a privilege. Unique environments and ensuring employees feel supported and appreciated by the organization will help to attract top talent and retain it for longer stretches. Providing unique perks such as extra time off or gift cards for a job well done, or in-office perks such as free food, or a lounge space can also help attract and retain top employees. Creating an exclusive environment where employees feel "special" as a part of it can promote engagement.
The Rule of Omission: Since people always remember what you don't do, rather than what you do do, make sure that if you want to engage employees and show your appreciation for them, don't deceive or exploit them in any situation. Creating internal practices that would hold up in an external business context will motivate employees to perpetuate that upstanding way of doing business. What core beliefs does your organization promote?
For more information on how to foster an environment of engagement check out this article from Fast Company.

Many organizations take a "grocery shopping" approach to finding talent. They continuously look to cultivate new resources to fuel growth. This approach can and does work, but it may not be the most cost-effective or growth-effective strategy. Challenging both your organization's management, and its employees to dig deeper into their capabilities and potential, given the intelligence of the current human resource pool, and the learning and development provided by the organization, can save your organization thousands of dollars in salary costs. Setting goals to reach a higher potential, whether it is that of a smaller team, or across the organization, will motivate employees to work towards internal growth. A fraction of the potential salary money saved can be used to provide rewards for the group that reached their goal. They can be rewarded with intangibles, such as an extra day off, or they can be rewarded with a small gift, such as a
Cheesecake Factory gift card, so they can enjoy a nice meal with the family, courtesy of their employer. Leading with an internal growth strategy, rather than raising your organization's head count can be a great learning experience for your employees, and a great money saver for your organization. That kind of smart leadership can help you maximize the investment in your employees, while making sure they feel their worth and importance to the organization.
For more information on leading smart, and using internal growth tactics check out this article in Harvard Business Journal.

The infographic below addresses the importance of keeping employees engaged and satisfied at work. Retaining talent is key both to an organization and to its employees. It does not make for a good organization reputation, or for a strong professional profile to have employees "workswitching," or turning to part-time work in search of flexibility and appreciation. Providing flexibility to employees without penalty, and showing appreciation through small rewards such as gift cards, or extra time off can be crucial to retaining and developing top talent. Adding benefits such as professional development training and maintaining an open dialogue between employees and employers is also extremely important to keeping employees engaged at work. How do you engage your employees and ensure that you retain top talent? Let us know and leave us a comment. 

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