Building Employees' Involvement

Every employer's dream is to have employees who care as deeply for the success of the business as they would if the business were their own. While you may never get employees to care that much, you can build a sense that what's good for the business is good for them. Here are some steps to building that type of commitment and involvement:

• Identify any problems that might stand in the way. Again, the types of problems that lead to absenteeism, turnover, and generally low morale will be barriers to developing the type of commitment to the business that you're seeking.
• Share your vision and the mission of the business. As the leader, you need to have some goals for the business. If your goal is to have the best reputation for customer service, for example, employees know what to strive for and have a goal. Getting them involved creates ownership of the business's vision. If employees understand why the goal is important, they will feel personally responsible for making it a success.
• Give some power to employees. If you want employees to care, you have to give them some responsibility and some decision-making latitude. Employees have to believe that the decisions they make and the work they perform has a direct impact on the product or service you provide. This may be easier to achieve and demonstrate in a small business than it would be in a larger one.
• Encourage risk-taking. Let employees experiment and try to find new ways to help the business reach its goals. Don't create a culture where employees are afraid to try anything new because if they fail they will be punished. Allow a certain amount of failure, and reward people for trying.
• Use reward systems. When your employees do well, reward them. Tailor your reward systems to specific accomplishments. If you have one employee who sells 25 percent more than everyone else, but everyone gets the same bonus, your star sales rep. isn't going to be particularly motivated to excel in the future.
• Plan social and athletic activities. These types of activities allow people to interact with each other on a level that can build stronger professional bonds. If your business is small, perhaps just an annual dinner or picnic somewhere is enough. If you have several employees with a similar hobby or athletic interest, maybe your business can sponsor a team in a local league.

Warning Be sure to protect yourself from workers' compensation liability by making the event completely voluntary. Also arrange for the event to take place on non-work hours. If you have questions about whether a particular event will expose your business to liability, consult an attorney.