The UK average employee turnover rate stands at around 15%, although that figure fluctuates depending on what study you look at. That does not sound like a terrible figure – does it? Well, if you consider the average number of employees for a small business is 10, that is 1.5 employees lost a month, so we will round it up to 2. The cost of replacing one employee in the UK is £50,000 – which accounts for their entire first year of employment.

So, effectively, small businesses are spending up to £100,000 because of their ‘employee churn’, a term used to describe the number of employees leaving at a given point in time.

Since employee churn equals costly financial implications, what are they demanding in return for undisputable loyalty? Let us explore.

A Recognition Rich Culture

A study in 2017 found that 81% of people were looking for another job. Interestingly, money is not what it is all about. 74% of employees would take a pay cut if it meant working in their dream job, and 23% do not need a pay rise to take on a new role. What do they need? They need to work in a recognition-rich culture that focuses on employee engagement, which has been proven to boost a business’s profitability by 21%.

There is no better way to improve employee engagement than to look at employee engagement strategies offered by an employee engagement agency. Incentive Smart offers a comprehensive high-reward-based employee loyalty programme that helps to improve communication, provides an area for feedback, and creates a place for positive reinforcement. You can find more on their website www.incentivesmart.com. Working with an incentives scheme agency helps employees to feel energised, motivated, and willing to work.

Investing in Employee Happiness

You can invest in employee engagement, but without taking the time to invest in the happiness of your employees, it will be hard to unlock the true potential of an employee reward scheme. A study carried out by Workplace Insight found that only 46% of employees are happy most of the time at work, and 26% are rarely ever happy.

Happiness and positive vibes are infectious and can infiltrate an entire company. Just look at Google the reviews of what it is like to work there, and you will realise the potential of a happy workforce. How has Google consistently ranked as one of the best companies to work for? Innovation.

Google was one of the first companies to introduce nap rooms to their offices. If you have ever felt that afternoon office slump where even matchsticks would struggle to keep your eyes open, you will know how happy the option of a quick nap would make you. They have ideas and mood boards on the walls, indoor slides, bikes to get around, relaxed clothing requirements, the freedom to come and go as long as work is completed, and the list could go on.

They have broken free from the structured corporate mould and redefined what it means to be a 21st-century brand. And, employees want just that. A space to be creative, open, without pressure, and with flexibility.

Do Not Micromanage

It does not get much more pre-21st-century employee management than micromanaging. Micromanagement is a style of management where an employee is closely observed or controlled, to the point it can feel overwhelming, yet it is still a regular occurrence. Micromanaging happens when there is no trust between the manager of their employees, and it leaves employees feeling stressed and devalued.

The trouble is, 71% of employees say micromanaging interferes with job performance, and 69% of employees would actively look for another role. Find a balance between management and allowing employees to use their own initiative.

Remove the performance pressure unless there is a reason for it, say if an employee is significantly underperforming. If they are, consider a buddy support system with another high-performing employee. It is a less invasive management method and can be highly motivated and educational for an underperforming employee.

Finding the sweet spot that keeps every employee happy and loyal is a tricky skill to master. Fostering a happy and inclusive working environment helps, as well as incentives, company days out, and a general openness to discuss problems. The more time you invest in your employees, the more they will give back.

There are different ways of creating a productive atmosphere at work. Computer games may come as a surprise due to old prejudices about their destructive nature. Adults with this hobby are usually stigmatized as lazy, depressive, and childish people. But all these stereotypes don’t seem to be the truth in reality. Apparently, it’s not about wasting time anymore, but increasing productivity. In fact, allowing employees to get distracted from time to time shows incredible efficiency.

Gaming benefits are underestimated. They make us creative, relaxed, and less violent. Games for employees can have a significant impact on their productivity.

1. Boost Outside-The-Box Thinking

A monotonous routine kills the ability to come with creative ideas. Be it an office or a school class, repeating the same task suppresses talents. And simply bores. To freshen up, try computer games. It’s true, entertainment is their primary goal. But this goes along with a bunch of skills to perfect. Such as decision-making, non-conventional thinking, competitiveness, etc.

The gaming environment adjusts the right mindset. It includes self-confidence, leadership skills, and the ability to focus. According to statistics, 79% of gamers are sure that virtual reality stimulates their mental activities. With this in mind, short distractions will provide employers with a flow of good solutions.

A mind-reloading and challenging task in Kill the Buddy is a nice example. Aimed to train your logical thinking, it offers you a puzzle to solve. Overcome obstacles and use a catapult to kill the main character. With a piano. Sounds crazy? That’s the whole point!

2. Create a Strong Community at Work

As a rule, employees don’t have time to form strong bonds in the office. Everyone has their own duties and no desire to deal with someone else’s issues. After all, they’re complete strangers to each other.

However, multiplayer matches may unite people and foster teamwork. Give a group of people an enemy and they turn into a team. It develops a habit to watch each other’s back and synchronize in doing tasks. As a result, workers engage in proactive discussions more often and share challenges. A department vs department is a nice idea to get such a result.  It’s a chance to build these vital connections and develop supportive behavior.

Shell Shockers can help with bonding. Although you shoot each other and cause death, it doesn’t seem violent. It’s a multiplayer FPS where everyone takes on the role of an egg. Make it private by creating your own gaming room. Choose the Team vs Team mode and invite colleagues to join. It’s a tool to get to know each other better. Thus launching a brainstorm of ideas of how to solve them together.

On the other hand, creating competition between employees may influence a challenge at work. If your task is to make them grow over each other. And show the best results. Just pick the game right.

Such activities make social interactions at the workplace stronger. Gaming benefits organizations as a whole. HR managers should really consider that.

3. Increase Job Satisfaction

Another 8 hours of hard and not particularly exciting tasks. Do you know the feeling? It can cause depression and influence your health. But what if you could prevent it? When adults play, it usually happens at home where it’s safe and comfortable. While work is associated with constant pressure and stress.

Build a bridge between the atmosphere of home and not-so-pleasant office. Allow mixing routine tasks with fun. It increases job satisfaction, results in fewer sick leaves, and a better mood.

What exactly makes people happier? It’s down to our nature and anatomy. When we play, our body releases spirits-lifting hormones, such as endorphins or serotonin. They fight depression and form positive emotions.

A couple of rounds in Rush Race are sure to shake you up. It’s about speed, maneuvering, and earning in-game coins for upgrades. Epic car crashes and traffic violations won’t get you bored. They guarantee satisfaction from the process. Which will influence your work mood in general.

4. Mitigate Stress

We spend most of our time doing our job. No wonder that it gets on our nerves eventually and causes depression. Stats show that 46% of employees blame workload. If previously it was taken as something normal, today managers are looking for ways out.

Gaming makes people feel at ease. It lowers the heart rate and blood pressure and serves as an effective stress response. And what seemed too much to deal with turns into a manageable task. Games shake off any symptoms of exhaustion or burnout and improve productivity. 78% of players are sure that virtual adventures cause relaxation and reduce stress.

Pop It Master is a meditating digital alternative to the popular toy. Clicking on the cells and listening to the sound, you relax. And let the stress go away. Several levels and different types of PopIt molds will be a rescue in stressful situations.

5. Develop Attention Span

Have you ever experienced a dramatic decrease in productivity after hours of work? This ability to stay focused longer is like a muscle. It can be trained through gaming.

Just pick any adventure that requires your attention. For example, one of the most played legends is Classic Snake. Eat dots on a pixelated field. Beat your previous results. Find a way to occupy the whole space to end the session. It’s hard because as you grow longer, you risk bumping into your own body. Play it at least once a day to feel the significant shift of concentration skills. It’ll help you at work, school and everyday life.

6. Reset Your Mind

A particularly difficult task can make us focus on it for hours. With no results. Our mind becomes stifled. It does not produce new ideas and has no inspiration to circulating around. One of the best ways out is to break this cycle of non-productive work. Just get distracted.

The Pomodoro Technique suggests dividing the day into working and resting periods. And we’re not talking just about lunchtime. It’s about frequent breaks to switch off from the current tasks. A video game is one of such distractions that can serve you well. Coming back to tasks, you’ll see new perspectives to tackle problems and be more productive. Read about the real-life experience of how workers started to perform better with this approach.

To practice the technique, you need a virtual adventure with short rounds and interesting content. Check out Filled 3 Glass Portals. It’s a puzzle and a great exercise for your mind. Fill a glass with small colorful balls using a system of portals. Avoid overfulfilling it or losing balls. Based on precision and logic, the title offers 30 levels with growing difficulty.

Gaming and productivity are interconnected. Don’t give up gaming if you like it. And if you can do it at the office is a good sign. You work in a good team. The one that has a progressive approach to workspace organization and overall staff wellness.

And if you are a top manager or HR, you should really give it a try and see the results. Games help relax, open new doors for creativity and benefit the company. It’s a useful tool in any organization or educational institution.

Meeting one-on-one with employees is never easy. However, it’s necessary to solve problems, boost engagement, and put out fires before they ignite.

What’s the best way to conduct one-on-one meetings with employees and make the most of these key conversations? Here are tips from some of the best managers in the business.

Schedule for Success

How often should employee meetings occur, anyways? Every company is different, and today’s managers are more willing to rethink the old way of doing things.

“Quarterly reviews used to be the norm, but that’s no longer considered best practice for the fast-paced modern workplace. Schedule shorter meetings every few weeks to keep the communication flowing and avoid stagnation.” – Dylan Arthur Garber, Co-Founder of Audien Hearing

“I am all for scheduling more frequent one-on-one reviews, but I also advocate an open-door policy so that employees can keep the conversation ongoing at any time. Now that everyone is so seamlessly connected via technology, you can be more flexible.” – Aidan Cole, CEO of HIDE

“More managers are embracing an as-needed approach to employee meetings, which allows for more honesty and transparency in the workplace – always a good thing.” – Jeff Goodwin, Vice President of Direct to Consumer and Performance Marketing at Orgain

Be Ready

Without a plan in place, your employee one-on-ones will only waste time. Show up prepared and accomplish far more in a shorter time frame.

“Having regular one-on-one meetings with team members is incredibly important to not only an efficient workplace, but in building team morale. That said, no one likes to have meetings just for the sake of it, so it’s important to be prepared in advance. Send over a few talking points to your team members, and give them an opportunity to add their own. That way, you’re both prepared to deal with any questions or situations that need to be discussed. ” – Marc Atiyeh, CEO of Pawp

“If you aren’t ready for the meeting, what message does that send to the other person? The least you could do is take five minutes ahead of time and organize a little file with all the key points you need to address.” – Seb Evans, Co-Founder of Banquist

“Part of preparing for a one-on-one meeting is being transparent with the other person. Nothing should be a huge surprise or come out of left field. That’s anxiety-inducing for everyone. Great managers make these meetings feel like an everyday convo between friends.” – Lori Price, Co-Founder of PixieLane

“As the manager or supervisor, you’re the one leading the conversation from the start, so have an agenda in place to get things moving. Use real facts and figures to support your points. From there, you can open up the floor and allow the meeting to flow more organically.” – Tyler Hayden Read, Founder of PT Pioneer

“The structure of your meeting is important because you don’t have all day for meandering conversation. Discuss performance, offer constructive critique, ask for feedback, and leave a few minutes for extra dialogue. Don’t overcomplicate it.” – Lucas Nudel, Founder and CEO of Pride Palace

Courtesy is Key

Just the thought of a one-on-one meeting can cause employees to stress. Ease the tension by being cool, calm, and courteous.

“I like to keep meetings casual with open-ended questions like ‘tell me how things are going?’, or ‘how can I support you on this project?’. It’s less abrasive to ask something like ‘where are you struggling at the moment?’ instead of openly criticizing people.” – James Meincke, Senior Marketing Manager at CloserIQ 

“Trust allows you to give people direction, get everyone aligned, and energize them to go get the job done. Build trust in employee meetings first. Trust enables you to execute with confidence and produce extraordinary results.” – Douglas Conant, Former CEO of the Campbell Soup Company

“Be more accommodating when it comes to setting up employee reviews or meetings of any type. Allow them to have some input rather than demanding they show up at a certain place at a certain time. It makes things way more comfortable for everyone.” – Jeff Meeks, VP of Sales and Marketing at EnergyFit

“The toughest part of any one-on-one meeting is addressing issues with performance or production. Nobody wants to talk about it, but it’s a must. Don’t worry about looking like the bad guy. Be honest and speak the truth, then start talking about real solutions.” – Mike Pasley, Founder of Allegiant Goods

Look to the Future

Before the meeting concludes, be sure to set some “next steps” so everyone is on the same page moving forward.

“Setting clear goals and benchmarks for the future is one of the best ways to take your employee reviews to the next level. It gives them something to work towards and get excited about. Plus, the next time around, you know exactly what’s on the docket.” – Michael Jankie of Natural Patch

“A lot of employees are eager to advance within the company or get more involved, whether it’s to get a promotion or just expand their repertoire. If you think they’d be good in a specific role, why not bring it up during a meeting? It may spark their interest.” – Ryan Rockefeller, Co-Founder and CEO of Cleared

“A one-on-one is a great opportunity to reflect on the past in the short-term while looking towards the future. Employees love talking about their plans and aspirations, so be open to discussing all possibilities for advancement.” – Dylan Trussell, CMO of Culprit Underwear

When done correctly, one-on-one meetings can be productive, constructive, and even enjoyable. Take these tips to heart and make your next round of meetings a success for all involved.

Shared lunches, team outings, and birthday celebrations have one thing in common: they happen together. But with people confined to their homes as offices are slowly opening up, the workplace scene is likely to be quite different.

Employers have to rethink their employee motivation and engagement approaches because what probably worked before COVID-19 may no longer be feasible, especially since you have to encourage your employees to maintain adequate social distancing and follow all precautions even at the workplace. 

Shared lunches and team outings may not be as enjoyable as earlier because you would want to limit the physical interactions. 

Amidst such a scenario, employees’ motivation level goes into turmoil, and lack of motivation reduces employee engagement level, thereby impacting their productivity and decreasing employee retention. 

In this article, we will discuss a few ways to keep your employees motivated after they return to the office. 

7 Tips to Keep Your Employees Motivated in a Post Lockdown Environment

According to a report by Gallup, only 36% of employees are engaged in the workplace. With this statistic in mind, companies need to take employee motivation seriously. Here are seven practical ways of achieving it:

1. Focus on employee wellbeing

With studies showing that a wellness program can provide a return on investment, overlooking could be the difference between engaged and disengaged employees. 

Wellbeing isn’t just about physical health. It’s more about how your job, duties, stress level, and environment affect your employee’s overall health and happiness. It entails mood, cognition, and factors like a sense of purpose. 

Your employees spend most of their waking lives at the office, so businesses must prioritize employee wellbeing to foster employee satisfaction and productivity.

That’s why companies worldwide focus on providing wellbeing initiatives like health, financial and professional social, personal development, and work-life balance.

Considering the specific needs of your office location, exploring reputable commercial cleaning services in Phoenix could be advantageous if your office is set up in Phoenix.

From making lunch break mandatory, reinforcing the benefits of taking sick leaves to starting employee recognition programs, and planning regular team-building activities, these initiatives will go a long way to create a motivated workforce in such an unprecedented time. 

Interesting fact: 86% of employees prioritize health initiatives from their company, and 24% expect 24/7 access to health care professionals.

2. Offer counseling sessions

With more than one year of staying indoors and working from home, your employees will find it challenging to get back to their old schedule. 

In such a situation, it’s normal for employees to feel left out, feel demotivated, and lose interest in their work due to a changing work environment. Furthermore, with the pandemic far from being over, employees may be hesitant to join back. 

To answer your employee’s questions and eliminate their apprehension regarding joining back, it’s advisable to conduct counseling sessions. Also, work-focused psychotherapy is likely to help employees return to work, remove their fears, and prepare them to cope with the challenges they might face. 

Counseling sessions are a great way to motivate employees and help them cope up with workplace dynamics. 

Interesting fact: With every $1 a company invests in treating common mental illness through counseling and other medical processes, a company gets a return of $4 in improved employee productivity. 

3. Offer financial help

COVID-19 has made life difficult for the families of 24% of employees because these employees witnessed a reduction in their income. When returning to work after the lockdown, you would like to ensure that your employees are supported in every possible way to keep them motivated and engaged. 

That’s why providing financial assistance to your returning employees could be one of the best motivation factors. From offering debt counseling to assisting with money management, you can train and encourage employees to help them financially get back on their feet.

 Interesting fact: With one in four workers reporting that financial worries adversely affect their ability to perform their duties, providing financial guidance and help can reduce stress and increase the happiness index of your employees. 

4. Provide timely recognition

One of the easiest ways of engaging and motivating employees after the lockdown is by providing timely recognition of their work. You can also gather valuable feedback through avenues like employee satisfaction survey questions to understand how employees feel about recognition practices and ensure that they are motivated and appreciated.

Employee recognition doesn’t have to be delivered in a fancy way. Saying “Good Job” for a work done exceptionally in front of everyone is a great motivator and enhances the employee’s morale.

When you appreciate employees for their efforts, they feel worthy, and it instills a sense of gratification and belonging. Interestingly, this sense of gratification fills employees with joy and happiness, which eventually translates into the zeal to achieve more. 

Also, timely recognition of work may act as an inspiration for others. This can motivate them and inspire their team members to give their cent percent at work. 

Interesting fact: Timely employee recognition can increase employee productivity, performance, and engagement by 14%.

5. Provide a flexible work schedule

As your employees are probably returning to the office after more than 18 months, they are used to enjoying a flexible work schedule and maintaining a healthy work balance. Expecting your employees to come out of this comfort zone within a few days of joining back is unrealistic. 

Whether you like it or not, most of your employees would find it difficult to catch the unlock wagon. This is because they fear infection or are apprehensive about leaving their family at home or simply because they enjoy working remotely more than traveling to the office. 

So, to motivate your employees to join with full enthusiasm, consider offering a flexible work schedule like remote work for two days and three days at the office. 

Flexibility allows your employees to settle into their old work schedule faster and without facing any issues. These efforts from your end would gradually scale up their engagement levels. 

Interesting statistic: 40% of employees want flexible work hours, and three in five workers prefer to continue remote work post-lockdown.

6. Provide a safe environment

Another important way to boost the motivation and excitement level of an employee returning to the office is by providing a safe environment and removing their paranoia of getting infected while at work. 

If possible, describe how you plan to make the workplace safe to work. Above all, your employees have to feel safe physically and mentally. 

Apart from physical considerations, work towards creating a culture where employees don’t face the repercussions for expressing their feelings about heading back to work. 

You can achieve this by creating a safety initiative policy and communicating it to your entire team. Your policy may include details regarding physical distancing, symptom checks, PPE requirements, testing, and enhanced cleaning and sanitization of the workplace.

Some other ways to make your employee feel safe and engaged are:

• Creating a COVID-19 response team for your office
• Frequently disinfecting common areas
• Installing hand sanitizer throughout your workplace
• Arranging for safe transportation medium like providing cabs and buses for travel
• Checking temperature of employees daily       

Such safety initiatives from your end will motivate employees to return to a safe environment. They would no longer worry about the pandemic and concentrate more on their work. 

Interesting statistic: 51% of employees expect social distancing requirements, and 45% of employees want detailed cleaning protocols when returning to work.

7. Provide your full support

Parents and guardians are trying hard to blend work and home remotely. They expect companies to provide child care benefits upon returning to the office in a post lockdown environment. 

Providing a child care benefit may prove a costly burden initially but would deliver fruitful results in the long term. A child care benefit can become a motivating factor for employees who constantly fear the well-being of their children while they are at work.

To motivate your employees and increase their engagement level without levying a dent in your financials, focus on providing these child care benefits:

• Offer child care subsidies
• Foster a culture of flexible work schedule
• Provide a company-sponsored child care facility near the office
• Include backup child care assistance to deal with issues like school closing, a spouse getting sick, or other unprecedented events
• Offer a flexible child care spending account

Interesting fact: The job performance of 60% of employees who don’t receive child care benefits would increase if their company provides these benefits to them.

Motivating your employees

Returning to work after lockdown will be unusual, strange, and probably new. The sooner your employees adapt to this paradigm shift, the more engaged they will be at their work.

Interestingly, highly engaged employees are not those who come and leave the office on time.  They are employees who feel good about what they are doing and perform to their best capabilities to finish a task as per expectations. 

Such positive vibes will make your employees happy and replenish their motivation level. 

That’s why companies worldwide never hesitate to invest in employee engagement programs, as it does more good than harm. 

These seven strategies are a good place to start with and get back your employees in your old 

form. 

How are you planning to keep your employees motivated and engaged?

Share your thoughts with us!

Author Bio:

Priya Jain is a professional copywriter with 8 years of experience. She has an MBA and engineering degree. When she is not writing, you will find her teaching math, spending her day running behind her toddler, and trying new recipes. You can follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter.