Most companies care about providing a safe, secure workplace for their employees, vendors and customers. While many look to security measures as the primary solution, it’s also important not to overlook the role of people in preventing and addressing unsafe conditions. As workplace violence incidents continue to rise in the US, businesses are seeking innovative ways such as workplace violence consulting to promote positive behaviors and help employees feel safer at work.
According to Jacque Busby, Founder of Luxe Incentives, investment in human capital is key. With a background in high-end incentive travel, Jacque cites people and relationships as critical to business success. She offers some valuable insight for corporate leadership about the benefits of creating a positive workplace culture.
Your company began with high-end incentive travel, and you’ve expanded to include engagement and incentive software for your clientele. What was the catalyst for that expansion?
Historically, most businesses only rewarded their top performers, usually a small percentage of the workforce. Rewarding great performance makes sense, yes, but research in recent years has shown that doesn’t do much to “move the middle.” What businesses are starting to realize is that it’s important to motivate employees at every level if they want their businesses to grow. Providing incentive and engagement software was a natural next step for us, because we help our clients administer their incentive programs. The software supports both employee engagement and incentives in a way that help define a tangible ROI through measurable results.
Can you explain the link between employee engagement and incentives, and tell us why both matter?
Absolutely. Engagement is what seeds the relationships that in turn, grow a company’s business. It’s having real conversations and meaningful exchanges with people. It’s a shift in mindset internally…think of it as treating employees the same way we want them to treat customers. Using engagement across an entire workforce can build inclusiveness and trust at every organizational level. Having motivated, satisfied employees really does have a significant impact on bottom line. That’s where the incentives come in. Research tells us that 37 percent of employees would rather be heard and have their opinions count…as opposed to simply being given a performance reward. 87 percent of business innovation comes from the front line…from employees. When businesses shift from a one-time reward model to culture of daily recognition and rewards, it motivates employees to become more invested in business outcomes because they valued in each and every role.
Let’s look at workplace safety in this context…how can engagement and incentives programs help companies build a culture of security and safety awareness?
When employees are not distracted by day to day stress, they are far more productive overall. I think we would all agree that fear in the workplace can be a significant barrier to success. When a workforce doesn’t feel safe speaking up about concerns before things happen…when policies and safety reminders are pushed out once a year rather than positively reinforced on an everyday basis…when employees don’t see themselves as part of organizational outcomes…that says they don’t consider themselves to be stakeholders. We know that a significant number of security and safety incidents in the workplace are the direct result of human behavior, so the key to a safer culture is behavioral change. Engagement software offers companies an inclusive method of reaching, reminding and positively reinforcing policy and processes for safe workplace behaviors. This type of engagement integrates safe behaviors into the workplace. It encourages a speak-up culture and demonstrates that employee safety is a priority… which in turn, helps alleviate fear.
What are some of the additional benefits to companies who embrace this next-level approach using employee engagement and incentives platform?
Every business has its own unique culture and workforce but across all industries it’s widely recognized that human capital is critical to growing your bottom line. That tells us human capital is, overall, a great investment. Engaged employees enhance retention, lowering costs associated with turnover and recruitment. When employees can come to work and be authentic, be valued as themselves, they truly become more invested…and that’s where companies can see their ROI. Those invested employees build stronger relationships both internally and with a customer base. Investing in employees this way enhances productivity…and enhanced productivity directly correlates with an enhanced bottom line. To sum it up, when you include the majority of the workforce in your efforts to recognize and reward positive behaviors, your entire business sees positive results.
IMG Workplace Violence Consulting
The Incident Management Group has decades of experience in the security industry. Our team of safety experts stands ready to help you alleviate employee fears with our workplace violence consulting assistance, corporate cybersecurity consulting advice, risk assessment consulting and more. Contact us today!