Did the previous year leave you wondering why there was employee turnover in your business? Were you blindsided when you lost a critical team member to another organization? In your eyes, you thought everything was going smoothly.
While we cannot always control how a person thinks and feels, there are steps we can take to engage employees before they have one foot out the door. You may already participate actively to include some of the following engagement opportunities in your day-to-day, but if you still need to implement some best practices, now is the time to consider taking these steps to make them a part of your company.
Transparency Leads to Better Communication
Do you have a vision for your company?
When sharing your company vision, remember you’ve had an opportunity to digest the information. Be as straightforward as possible and allow your team, without repercussion, to ask questions so that they clearly understand. It will benefit the success of the company long term.
Keep Up the Good Work
Say It Like You Mean It
When you neglect to take those extra steps, which aren’t complicated, you risk losing a high-performing employee whose morale you can improve with your encouraging words.
And, say it like you mean it – otherwise, they’ll recognize that it’s not real, which can be detrimental.
Consider small gifts (rewards) that accompany verbal praise. There is no reason to break the bank, but there are fun options that motivate employees. Check out this article about “Money Isn’t the Only Motivator for Employees.”
Do this ALL YEAR LONG, not just during bonus time.
Break a Project Up Into Bite-Size Chunks
Check Off MIlestones to Reach the Goal
This strategy gives you, the leader, an opportunity to provide them with kudos before they move forward to reach other milestones.

Tummy Rumbles
Grab a Snack if Distracted
This strategy gives you, the leader, an opportunity to provide them with kudos before they move forward to reach other milestones.
It will be reflected in their work when people get hungry and don’t have that time to recharge at lunch. Even if they’re taking their lunch, it’s easy to get “hangry” later in the day. Show you care by keeping some simple healthy snacks to keep them going throughout the day. Of course, if snacktimes become the priority, you must address it so it stays under control as work still does need to be the focus.
Take that Break Time and Vacation Leave
Allow Time to Rejuvenate
Encourage people to step away from their desks for an actual work pause.
Make it easy for someone to take vacation time. Your employees should be able to take a real vacation, where work stops for them. And for time-sensitive projects, do your best to ensure they don’t have a stack of stress to tackle when they return to their desk.
This is also true for sick time. We all have those heroes in the office who will come in no matter what, but that’s not good for anyone. Enforce your policy that when you’re sick, stay home. Otherwise, you risk that employee getting worse or spreading it through the office.