Why employee engagement is so important

What do you consider the greatest asset of a business? Most business owners can point to a series of items that help define its success: the inventory stored in warehouses, a business’ real estate holdings, its accounts receivable, or the annual revenues that it earns through its customer base. But that list leaves out what I would argue is the single biggest asset of every company: its employees. And companies who fail to understand that basic concept do so at their own peril.

You are reading in this newspaper the stories of businesses which have been named among the state’s “Best Places to Work.” Congratulations to all who earned that distinction. The companies who have earned this recognition understand just how important employees are to the well-being of an organization.

Our manufacturing/design facility in Roselle serves clients across the country and the world. We’ve been at it for more than four decades, and we couldn’t do what we do without the right team in place. At the center of our beliefs and values is that a company’s greatest asset is its people — not the product or service that we provide. That isn’t to say that the products and services aren’t critical. Of course they are — but a company with happy and satisfied employees does better work and is better regarded in the marketplace. And in today’s market, attracting the right team to a company is important (if at times challenging), followed by the equally important challenge of keeping that quality team happily employed.

To retain talent, it’s important to know what employees want in a career. It’s not just the paycheck, or the benefits that accompany it. Those are important, but often not enough to keep the right people staying in place on your team.

Here are a few things that also matter to employees:

1. Purpose: A Forbes article makes the interesting point that employees want purpose at work. And 70% of workers say that their sense of purpose in life is at least in part defined by their work.

2. Advancement: 92% of employees surveyed think that having career advancement opportunities is critical.

3. Recognition: A very high number of employees (more than 80%) believe that recognition improves employee engagement. Employees value being recognized for their contributions. Studies also show that failure to recognize employees can result in higher turnover.

4. Engagement: Employees want to feel connected with the company’s purpose — and have a chance to be involved in decisions made about the company.

The ongoing mission for every small or medium-sized business owner must be to keep employees engaged, happy and motivated.

Think of this mission in the same way that a coach might, in getting the football team ready for a big game. Every day should be game day at your company, and every employee should feel like an integral part of the company’s operation.

It makes good business sense to empower employees to be involved in the company’s success. And doing so means being open and transparent, and encouraging employees to contribute to the company’s mission and purpose. The new generation of workers seems attracted to companies with a value-based community and a purpose that invites them in. They want to contribute and know the details of the business.

Does your business do this? Do you educate employees on how the business works? Do you empower employees to help improve the business? Do you engage employees by rewarding them for exceptional performance?

If you do, that’s great! If you think there’s room for improvement, there are a number of resources that might help guide a business in the right direction. Check out Great Game of Business which believes we need to do more teaching people about business. Another valuable resource is EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System), which provides the framework for issue processing, meeting pulse, goal setting, long-term planning, core values and getting the right people in the right seats. Then there is Small Giants, which works with business leaders to help train emerging leaders in their organizations, connects them with like-hearted peers, and teaches them how to run a values-driven business. We practice Open Book Management (OBM) at our company, which has definitely made us a better company and I highly recommend it. We incorporate OBM, EOS with other frameworks to what we call “The Cherry’s way.”

We all want our companies to be a “best place to work.” Good luck to all as we continue to engage and support our employees and have them support our missions.

· John Costello is CEO of Cherry’s Industrial Equipment, a manufacturing and engineering facility in Roselle, which solves workflow problems and safety issues and creates ergonomic solutions across a wide range of industries.