The Impact of Employee Engagement on Your Brand Reputation
7th December 2018
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Employee engagement is something that as a leader, you need to stay on top of every single day of the year. It may sound obvious, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who forget that the performance of their staff is directly related to their happiness.

 

To give you plenty of food for thought, let’s take a look at a few ways in which employee engagement is indelibly linked to your brand’s reputation, and therefore to the success of your business as a whole.

 

‘Engaged employees’ and what they mean for your business

When an employee is engaged they feel motivated, empowered, and committed to the long-term success of your business. This should be the dream of every supervisor or manager, as it means that their team is as invested in the success of the company as they are.

 

All too often members of the team will feel disenfranchised and disconnected from the overall direction of the business. This is a phenomenon that occurs not only in large corporations but also in small businesses with less than half a dozen people on board. What you need to do, is to recognize the benefits of an engaged group of employees, and then take the steps necessary to make such a mindset the status quo.

 

Shareholder return is increased by engaged employees

The goal of any business is ultimately to make money. The problem you will often face is that for the employees there is a disconnect between their efforts and their wages. Whilst the profitability of a company hinges almost solely on the output of your team, they can fall into a negative mindset in which they think they will be paid the same irrespective.

 

What you need to do, is to incentivise your team so that they feel invested in the success of the company as a whole. That way you’re guaranteed to get the best out of them, and your brand will benefit as a result. Here are 3 ways you can do it:

 

-    Create friendly competition between different departments within your business

-    Set up an employee of the month award, and announce the winner at an all-hands meeting

-    Ask your employees to rate how happy they are between 1 - 10, and ask for suggestions for improving things

 

Negativity spreads faster than positivity returns

Negativity is never a good thing, and eventually, it rubs off on your brand. Get your team thinking in a positive manner, and they’ll come to work every day, proud to be part of a brand that does some amazing things.

 

A can-do attitude is a perfect antidote to the stress of a looming deadline

If we could tell UK businesses one thing, it’s never to underestimate the power of a can-do attitude. When you have deadlines approaching, a large number of customer queries, or a new product to launch, having people in the right mindset is essential.

 

You want to be able to give your customers nothing but your best, irrespective of the circumstances. That way you’ll know that you can always get the job done in a way that reflects well on your brand, and puts you in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

 

Enthusiasm spreads like wildfire and goes from the top down

An enthusiastic member of staff who’s fully engaged will be able to go a long way to lifting the spirits and sharpening the focus of the rest of your team. As a leader, you need to really home in on these individuals and learn what it is that’s allowed you to connect with them so effectively. Once you understand it, you’ll be able to replicate your approach across your business, whilst adding those key pieces of people management that will allow you to break down barriers and connect with everyone.

 

Here are 3 ways you can lead from the front:

 

-    Adopt a can-do attitude when discussing looming deadlines and difficult periods in the calendar

-    Never pass responsibility up the chain in front of your team, make it clear that you’re fully behind whatever it is you’ve been asked to do

-    Talk about getting things done for the company, and about how the success of working somewhere that’s going places will rub off on the whole team

 

No one likes to work somewhere most people are unhappy

If your staff are unhappy, they won’t want to come to work. When they don’t like to come to work, they won’t think much about cutting corners or giving a lot less than their best. When this happens it’ll be your customers that are some of the first people to notice.

 

A bad reputation will spread like wildfire and is something that can be hard to recover from. So often reputations aren’t so much about the quality of a product, but about the quality of the customer service that goes with it. An engaged team will always go the extra mile to aid your customers. But a disengaged team will simply be looking at the clock, following what you say to the letter rather than thinking on their feet to resolve situations as a matter of urgency.

 

Your customers can spot an authentic service from something that’s forced

If you want your customers to recommend your business, then having a motivated and engaged team of people on board is absolutely key.

 

A customer is an especially discerning individual because they’re parting with their hard-earned money in exchange for your goods and services. This means that they’re constantly weighing up how you compare to your competitors in terms of value for money. If your team isn’t sufficiently engaged to fully buy-in to what the core business is trying to achieve, then this will manifest itself in a less than satisfactory customer experience.

 

In many areas of business, you won’t get a letter of complaint or a negative review that highlights something needs to be done. People will simply vote with their feet and go elsewhere next time. 


All content provided and published courtesy of Daniela McVicker

Author’s bio.

Daniela McVicker is a passionate digital marketer. Daniela is interested in everything related to SEO and blogging.

She collaborates with Top Writers Review and other websites where she shares her experience and helps marketers make their name in the online world.

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