How to Get Your Employees to Care More
I hear the following from business owners all.the.time:
“How do I get my employees to care more?”
“I wish my team cared about my business as much as I do!“
Have you ever had this same question or felt this way before? It’s an age-old mystery. How exactly do you get other people to care about your business as much as you do. Well, I’m going to rip the bandage off real quick (cause it’s gonna hurt) – are you ready?
No one will ever care about your business as much as you do. #hardtruth It’s not because they don’t like you or your business.
It’s simply because this is your business. You’ve poured your heart, soul and reputation into it. And you’re the only one in the world who can love it like you do.
That’s not a bad thing. And it’s not wrong. It’s just reality.
Once we understand this, however, we can move forward in a more positive direction instead of wondering why everyone doesn’t feel the same way we do.
The good news is that we can get our employees to care – and care deeply – about our business. And I’m going to show you how!
3 Ways to Get Your Employees to Care More
1) Share your vision
One of the best ways to get your employees to care more about your business is to share your vision for the future with them.
Exceptional leaders paint a vision for the future that is compelling and inspiring. And they share it with their teams.
However, a 2017 survey by Gallup found that only 15% of employees strongly agree that the leadership of their organization makes them enthusiastic about the future.
This means there’s a lot of room for improvement!
Most employees (heck, most humans!) want to be part of something bigger than themselves. When they know that there’s more on the horizon, employees will care more, become more invested in the business and take more ownership of the job they’re doing.
But you have to do your part and share that vision with them first before they can go along with it.
A great place to start sharing your vision with your team members is during their New Hire Onboarding Experience. They’re already pumped up to be joining your team. Now all you have to do is make sure to keep the excitement going!
2) Get them involved
It’s not enough to just share your vision of the future with your team, however – no matter how compelling it might be.
You need to get your employees involved if you want them to care more.
This looks like being able to tie what your team members are doing with where your company is going.
In addition, encourage them to share their ideas and contribute to the team.
When employees feel like what they’re doing is just busy work or doesn’t lead anywhere, they’re much less likely to care. So get them involved, provide them with meaningful work, and listen up if you want your team to care! (And don’t forget to show them how much you appreciate all that they do, too.)
3) Create opportunities
One thing that Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z all have in common is their desire for career opportunities. These opportunities might come in the form of a promotion, additional responsibilities, or being assigned to a special project.
They want the opportunity to learn, grow and try different things – to contribute in meaningful ways. No one wants to be stuck in a dead-end job forever.
I know what you’re thinking, “What does this mean for me? And how exactly can I create opportunities for my employees as a small business?” Emphasis on the word “small.”
I work with small businesses every week on this very thing. All it takes is a little bit of strategy and a sprinkle of creative thinking!
Consider these ideas:
Hire someone for an entry-level role and help them grow into a more complex role. Then, backfill the entry-level position as needed.
Create tiers for various positions in your company. As the employee learns new skills, they can move up (or be promoted!) to a higher tier.
Assign an employee to a special project, where they get to exercise different skills and learn something new.
It’s not hard to come up with new ways to challenge your employees, help them learn and grow with your company, and keep them engaged and loyal.
If you don’t, they might not stick around. Which means high turnover for your business and living in a constant cycle of hiring and training new team members, which is a super expensive way to run your business.
Did you know that 90% of millennials (born between 1982–2000) would choose to stay in a job for the next 10 years if they knew they’d get annual raises and upward career mobility. Amazing, right?
If you’re not providing opportunities for your employees to learn and grow, then they won’t hang around long-term. And it’s smart on their part to seek out a job where they can continue learning, developing skills, and advancing in their career because they have a lot to offer this world!
Keep your folks engaged and growing and they will care more and stay around for a long time to come!
Final Thoughts
Think about a time when you were really excited about the work you were doing and consider the following:
Did you understand the vision for where the company was going?
Were you working toward an exciting goal?
Was the work you were doing meaningful?
Were there opportunities for you to learn and do more?
Did you have the chance to give input or feedback?
Tap into that feeling of excitement and get creative with your ideas for how to encourage your team to care – more. When we allow things to get stale in business, that’s when employee motivation drops off.
Keeping things fresh and exciting by sharing your vision, getting your team involved, and creating opportunities will encourage your team to do more than just care – they’ll thrive and so will you!
Authored by Ashley Cox, PHR, SHRM-CP