The Real Cost: Investing in Employee Engagement
How connected are you with your company? For today’s security executives, encouraging workplace connections may be a vital element in company success. Retaining satisfied employees is a major concern at a time when the cost of recruiting, training and onboarding new employees poses a major financial risk.
The good news is, the Society for Human Resource Management has identified what companies can do to keep good workers around.
According to SHRM, job-seekers are looking for companies that acknowledge the importance of a strong community culture. Company standards, core values and employee outreach initiatives are key elements to worker success within a business. However, investing company dollars into your team activities isn’t just a company picnic or picking up donuts for your staff – it takes thoughtfully planned team building efforts by security companies to encourage a strong community culture.
Employee Engagement
Angela White, co-owner of Central 1 Security, shares the story of her company’s success with employee engagement beyond the office walls and the benefits of a cohesive team.
Chris Tolliver, a long-standing salesman at Central 1 Security, has rallied the team together with one unexpected activity: race car driving. As a venerated driver, Tolliver takes his passion to the track and competes every weekend. The family of Central 1 supports several employee racers and has been dedicated to Tolliver’s racing dream.
The company even put the Central 1 logo on his race car and sponsored each of Tolliver’s races, supporting his pursuit of achieving gold. His dedication for providing the best in security solutions for local families resonated with the community and the company recognized his efforts.
The employees of Central 1 bonded over racing and encouraged Tolliver every step of the way. To show their appreciation, the team hosted a surprise company outing to one of Tolliver’s race days, where he had the opportunity to race with the support of his colleagues lining the race track.
But Central 1’s commitment to community culture doesn’t stop there.
“His children decided to go-kart race as well. The company decided to sponsor and attend their races in support of Tolliver’s hobbies,” says White,
“Employees like Tolliver are hard to come by. Invest in and protect the ones you have.”
Central 1 Security believes the fundamental concept of employee satisfaction boils down to connection and relationships at each employee level. A 2017 Employee Satisfaction and Engagement survey by the SHRM revealed that 61% of employees rated trust between employees and senior management as a very important aspect in job satisfaction.
The main goal of the employee engagement initiative was to improve employee satisfaction within the company. With the initiative, Central 1 found the conditions affecting engagement and overall satisfaction were a positive workplace environment, employees’ connection with their work and colleagues’ connection with employees’ work. By creating and maintaining a positive workplace environment, the company increased employee satisfaction. With the increased employee satisfaction came increased productivity, reduced turnover rates and improved quality of work.
Employee Satisfaction
The company also found an increase in employee advocacy as a result of the increase in overall employee satisfaction. Tolliver’s connection with Central 1 motivated him to advertise the company completely unprompted during an annual 4th of July parade. With a logo on his truck, Tolliver paraded around the town and handed out candy to the residents of his community. As an advocate of home security, he showcased the human side of Central 1 Security.
“There was no reason why he should’ve felt compelled to put the magnetic Central 1 Security logo on his truck, he’s just that passionate about the company,” says White. “There was no ulterior motive. It’s a give-get back. He does it to show his passion for the company and his dedication to security.”
Taking employee engagement one step further, Central 1 Security continued to cultivate a community culture by investing in its employees’ goals outside work. During ESX 2019, White took Tolliver and the salesforce to Indianapolis, IN to discover the power of the electronic security and life safety industry. During the trip, the group took part in the Indy experience and brought Tolliver and the team to the Indy 500 track. The team “Kissed the Bricks” and raced around the track in an official Indy pace car. In doing so, the Central 1 team made a dream come true for an extraordinary salesman.
“When you engage in your employee’s goals, it’s bigger and better than anything else,” says White. “The emotional benefit turns into a financial benefit in the end.”
Empowering your employees’ passions generates connections between all employee levels. Creating employee outreach initiatives could better connect your teams and provide a support network for each employee. So, if you need an increased overall work ethic, production rates and sales revenue, supporting your employees’ passions may be a boost to your company’s success.
We’ve created a members only resource to help you conduct your own employee engagement survey.
