Business owners invest in many different products and services for their businesses including computers, insurance, utilities office space, advertising, onboarding, training, taxes, 401k matching, health benefits, disability, phones printers, computers Office supplies, shipping services… the list is endless.
However, if you’re not investing in the development of leadership and teambuilding in your current workforce, you’re missing a huge opportunity to ensure the company’s future growth and prosperity.
The work force is currently experiencing a huge shift in the workforce during the pandemic’s recovery. Companies are struggling to fill empty positions and retain employees.
However, while people are quick to point their fingers at COVID-19 or unemployment benefits, the reality is that employers were struggling to retain their employees prior to the epidemic hit.
Gallup reported that millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 1996 are known to be frequent job-hoppers, much more so than previous generations have ever been. This trend could have been exacerbated by the COVID disease however it’s not new.
Gallup’s report, titled How Millennials Like to Live and Work found that 60 percent of millennials are willing to explore new job opportunities, as opposed to the non-millennials who are 45. In the average, millennial turnover cost an economy U.S. economy an estimated $30.5 billion annually.
With millennials replacing older generations of workers and the post-COVID efforts to recover shine a spotlight on employees frustrated with being underpaid and undervalued retention rates are set to remain a major issue for many companies.
One easy solution – investing in current employees to ensure they’re willing to stay.
The benefits extend far beyond simply retaining employees. By investing in your employees it can make huge impact on the financial results, as well as even the long-term future for your company.
The time taken to invest in leadership development and team-building exercises will help you:
1. Engage employees more
The retention of your employees isn’t enough. If your employees don’t like their job, then your business isn’t performing at its highest efficiency.
Gallup’s study revealed that just 29% of millennials are working at a high level, which means that 7 out of 10 employees of the generation millennial don’t feel enthusiastic about their work. The alarming figure is 16%. millennials are actively disengaged at work, which can lead to negative consequences for businesses. The others are nonengaged and are merely clocking in for the paycheck and that’s it.
Engaged employees can enjoy a variety of benefits, such as:
Healthy work environments: Happy employees are content at work. They’re more likely to be proactive as well as assist others, and they’re less likely to suffer from work-related burnout.
Accountability When employees are motivated with their work, they feel proud of their work. They want to do well, and if they make an error, they’ll strive to fix the issue quickly and efficiently.
Employees who are engaged typically are self-sufficient. They don’t need to be constantly monitored, which then frees up a supervisor’s time for more important tasks.
Confidence: Actively engaged employees are open to learning and self-improvement. They feel more confident at work, which can have an effect on their confidence at work also. Success both inside and outside of the workplace can be a recipe for a happier life.
Word-of mouth praise: Happy employees often tell their friends how much they love their work. They can also help attract talented professionals to your company.
Bottom line: An employee who’s passionate about the work they do will have a higher productivity rate over someone who’s there to collect a paycheck or, perhaps, who resents being there at all.
Get in touch with the experts at Inner Leader when searching for leadership team development.
2. Establish trusting relationships
The importance of teamwork is part of most jobs. Rarely does an employee act as a solo wolf and not interfere with other people’s tasks and deadlines.
If you want your team to be efficient you must have trust in each other to rise and fulfill their duties. This trust level takes a while to develop during the daily activities of work.
But, putting aside specific times and activities for group building can significantly speed up and deepen the trust among employees to ensure they’re operating like an efficient, well-oiled machine in no time.
3. Reduce workplace violence and enhance Conflict Resolution
The strengthening of relationships between team members comes with the benefit of reducing conflicts. Not only are team members less likely to experience significant conflicts, they also have better prepared with the ability to solve problems.
Team building allows employees to better comprehend their resources and feel more comfortable confiding in each other. If there is a problem which employees are unable to resolve on their own then they’re more likely seek help from a supervisor or human resources.
4. Develop Leadership Skills
Your company requires committed and skilled leaders to ensure long-term growth. Instead of looking for outside talent for posts in leadership, you can make an investment in developing leaders within the company.
Employees are more likely to trust in leaders who started in the lowest position and then rose to the top with hard work and dedication more than they trust an outsider who comes in with no knowledge of employees or company’s policies.
Allowing your current workforce to remain and grow is an encouraging message to people who want to grow. It’s a great method to motivate leaders in stewardship who lead with faith over fear.
5. Invest in Long-Term Professional Growth
The high turnover rate drains money time, resources, and money away from your business. It is not a sustainable growth method. Over time, these types of businesses end up having unengaged or actively disengaged workers as well as a lack of competent leadership and a lot of wasted expenses and resources trying to fill open positions, and then lose the workers within a short time.
As per the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) the average cost of replacing an employee with a salary is between 6 and 9 months the salary.
It’s not necessary when you’re willing to invest in your team, to improve their skills and teamwork skills, and establish the ability to lead your teams. These actions will set your company up to be successful in the long run.
Take the Steps Toward Building the team you want to succeed
Group-building activities are among the most effective ways to motivate your employees to meet, socialize, learn about each other, enjoy themselves and be a good team and build collaboration, communication and teamwork abilities.
The rewards are well worth the investment in a more effective, more positive and engaged team of employees.