How to keep valuable workers engaged and motivated in tightest labour market
This is branded content for RSM Australia.
Business advisory director at RSM Australia in Albury, Jason Croker, shares strategies that can help ag businesses attract, retain and motivate staff at a time when the industry is experiencing critical labour shortages.
As we have moved out of the pandemic, and with agriculture going through a significant growth phase, hardly a day goes by where we don't have a conversation with a client who needs more workers.
It goes without saying that employees who are engaged and motivated significantly outperform those who are not and are also less likely to leave.
Anyone who has gone through the process of losing a good employee will attest to the costs, both money and time, of finding replacement.
In the tightest labour market anyone can remember, it has become critical to retain good staff.
So how do we engage and motivate staff?
Researchers from Harvard Business School came up with four drivers of employee engagement motivators:
1 Achievement
This is largely met through how we pay and reward staff. In the current environment, it's a given that we pay our staff competitively, but employers should also differentiate good performance from average or poor performance and tie-in rewards.
Business owners managers who do this well:
- Set clear expectations by which performance is evaluated
- Demand high performance
- Ensure their staff receive rewards and recognition
It's important to spend time with staff and find out what motivates them from a reward perspective.
This is likely to be different from one employee to the next.
2 Belonging
This is usually reflected in the culture of the organisation where an organisation fosters mutual reliance and friendship amongst co-workers, values collaboration and teamwork and encourages sharing of best practices.
Business owners managers who do this well:
- Make employees feel a part of the team
- Are people orientated
- Care about their employees on a personal level
Prospective employees will look for organisations with values that match their own.
3 Challenge
This is ensuring that each job has an element that gives the staff member opportunities for learning, problem solving and some creativity. It's also important that the employee understands their role and how important it is to the organisation.
Business owners managers who do this well:
- Empower team members
- Give staff challenging tasks
- Assist staff to learn grow.
No matter what industry, providing employees with opportunities for continuing education can be highly motivating.
4 Depend
This is reflected in the staff member feeling safe and knowing they can depend on the organisation to look after them fairly.
Performance management is a key part of this so that any concerns/issues can be handled with transparency and fairness.
Business owners managers who do this well:
- Create a psychologically safe environment
- Treat all staff fairly with dignity and respect
- Encourages staff to speak up and listen to what they have to say.
Embedded in this is that business owners managers need to normalise asking for help.
Summary
When even a slight improvement in any of the above occurs, overall employee motivation shows a corresponding improvement.
It's when all parts are enhanced together that staff show the greatest improvement in motivation and ultimately performance.
The upside is that engaged and motivated staff are more likely to stay and be advocates for your farm business and attract other staff, which is gold in a competitive environment.
Source: Groysberg Abrahams. "Keep your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated", Harvard Business Review, 8 October 2020
Having grown into one of Australia's leading professional services firms over the last 100 years, RSM Australia is committed to enabling clients through a greater understanding of what matters most to their business. Find out more about our services at www.rsm.com.au
This is branded content for RSM Australia.
