Keeping employees engaged

By their very nature, independent health stores usually have happy, fulfilled staff. Here’s how to make sure it stays that way.

Lee Biggins is founder and MD of CV-Library

According to our research, 84% of retail workers have hit a slump at some point in their career, in which they felt that their work was no longer fulfilling.

This is concerning news for the retail sector, which is currently feeling the strain of ongoing economic uncertainty. Therefore, it’s more important than ever that retail businesses are able to hold on to talented staff.

Employers need to keep their workers engaged if they hope to minimise the chances of them leaving; here we discuss in more detail how you can do this, and offer practical advice on implementing it in your business.

Provide managerial support

Holding regular ‘catch-ups’ with your employees can help you to find out if there’s anything that’s troubling them. Discussing their progress and opening up the time for honest communication can pinpoint problems within your team early on and address these issues before they get worse. After all, if an issue isn’t addressed properly, it could start to have a bigger impact on your business.

To show that you’re supportive, promote an open door policy in which employees can come and talk to you at any time if something is troubling them. Make sure you listen to their concerns and take the appropriate steps to find a solution.

Use courses to boost skill sets

Training and progression is important to retail workers. In fact, lack of progression (28.6%) was listed as the key reason why workers in the sector were likely to face a ‘career slump’.

Send your staff on courses run by organisations such as The Heath Food Institute, if you haven’t done so already. These courses not only cover general retail training, but also health and well-being physiology. In addition, make sure you offer other training to give your employees the opportunity to learn more.

Training courses can enhance your employees’ skill sets and help them to feel more confident and motivated. In turn, they will be able to put their new skills into practice, which can increase productivity for the business – it’s a win-win!

Create a brilliant company culture

Your company culture plays a big role in employee happiness. You need to ensure that you create a happy and positive work environment where employees feel valued and important. Do this by recognising hard work through schemes such as ‘employee of the month’ or even organising team lunches.

What’s more, why not offer perks to show that you’re giving back. UK professionals told CV-Library that their most desired workplace perks were:

Seasonal bonuses (45.5%)
Staff discounts (33.3%)
Extra holiday (30.3%)
Paid time off on your birthday (30%)
Flexible working (27.3%)

These rewards are a small cost to you, but in return can have a positive impact on your company culture. So think about how you could implement these in your business. For example, it may not be practical to offer flexible working, but a birthday half-day may be more realistic.

Summary

Keeping your employees engaged is important for your business and can minimise the chance of them leaving, helping to create a productive, happy workforce. Therefore, you must invest in your workers and ensure you create a positive work environment.

As part of this, you need to provide employees with the support they need and give them the learning opportunities to progress. Follow the advice above and you will soon see the results.

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