As we near the exceptionally busy Christmas period, we look at how business owners and managers can keep their staff engaged, with tips from Paul Smith, joint Managing Director at Citrus Group, a leader in contact centre recruitment.
With the busiest period of the year for businesses well underway, it’s crucial for managers to ensure that staff remain engaged throughout this time to deliver the highest standard in service to their customers.
We see this often during busy times, where staff can increasingly become overworked and disengaged. As such, it’s important to notice this sentiment and address it immediately before it becomes detrimental and impact the entire team.
Here are our key tips for managers and team leaders alike wanting to ensure engagement levels remain high when the going gets tough:
Recognise disengagement: First of all, it’s important for managers to be able to recognise disengaged staff members and address these issues straight away. Being able to jump on the issue quickly will allow you to make the necessary changes before it progressively gets worse.
Check in with staff: In order to recognise disengagement, managers must check in with staff often to gauge how they’re feeling and to assess their performance. By taking the time to do this, you’ll ensure you’re across the highs and lows your staff are experiencing and will be able to manage them accordingly.
Make sure you’re not part of the problem: Of course, staff members look to managers and team leaders for behavioural cues. During extremely busy periods, it’s easy to become caught up in work and completing tasks. Make sure to reflect on your own behaviour to ensure you aren’t perpetuating the problem and are instead setting a great example for your team and those around you.
Share company successes to build momentum: A great way to ensure staff members remain motivated and engaged is to keep them in the loop about company wins. Not only will this make them feel like an integral part of a successful team, but sharing the group successes will instil a sense of pride in their work that they will want to keep up.
Instil a sense of job purpose: A sure fire way to ensure disengagement is for staff to feel that their job lacks purpose. Make sure your staff are constantly aware of the importance of their role holistically, as well as their individual contribution to company wins.
Make the workplace fun: All work and no play can certainly lead to disengagement. Make sure to ‘treat’ staff to some fun perks, as well as fun office rituals. This could be as simple as celebrating birthdays with cake in the office, or team nights out. Making work a fun place to be will ensure staff are engaged and working to their optimum ability.
Related reading:
How call centres can ensure millennials have a good experience