As a manager, you can do everything you can to drive the process and engage with your employees, but in order to be really effective, your staff need to take proactive responsibility for their own goals, aspirations, and career development. If they themselves aren’t fully engaged and willing to embrace all opportunities (and of course challenges), then it’s always going to be a one-way street…
To help, we’ve outlined below a few tips on what you can do to ensure you and your teams enjoy a strong, mutually engaged, and uber-productive, working partnership:
- Allow employees to take ownership of their own career development by setting their own goals and objectives
- Make sure you encourage your team to be accountable for each required step of the journey to achieving their own goals
- Encourage employees to regularly ask themselves questions such as ‘did I do my best to set clear goals?, ‘did I do my best to be fully engaged’, or ‘did I do my best to be happy’¹
- Communication is key, so always ensure that this is two-way and that conversation is not purely directive
¹Marshall Goldsmith
During 2015, we witnessed a few key trends with regards health and wellness within the workplace. One of which was the increasing integration of nutritional programmes into organisations’ wellbeing strategies. The ‘You Are What You Eat’ philosophy is well documented, with a strong link between a good diet (and exercise) resulting in better job performance and lower absenteeism.
But what about mental health? This has been one of the big issues of the past 12 months with employers UK-wide and beyond becoming more aware of the very real impact of mental health issues – such as stress and depression – on an individual and the organisation as a whole. Worryingly, one in five people take a day off work due to stress, but even more concerning is that it’s still considered a very taboo subject, with 93% of those taking a day off lying about the real reason for their absence. We’ve started to see a much greater acknowledgement by employers of their responsibility in ensuring the mental health and wellness of their employees, with many tackling this head-on by not only learning how to identify the signs of poor mental health, but putting more effective preventative measures in place.
With a growing jobs market seeing businesses increasingly competing for the best talent, there is a greater need than ever before for proactive support and a greater promotion of health and wellbeing.
What do you do within your workplace to ensure your teams are happy and healthy? Do let us know – we’d love to hear from you!