Theoretically, it’s easy to spot the difference between an engaged and a disengaged employee. You can look at their quality of work, willingness to collaborate, and overall behavior in the workplace. But employee engagement can be difficult to quantify and measure – and disengaged employees are more likely to quit.

Because employee engagement is directly connected to retention rates, managers need to understand this powerful metric. This article will go over how you can improve employee engagement and retention and the benefits for your business of an engaged workforce.

Employee Engagement and Retention: What’s the Difference?

Employee engagement and retention may be closely connected, but they are distinct. Employee engagement is the level of enthusiasm, connection, and dedication a worker feels toward their job and the company at large. An engaged employee is:

• Clear about their role and their specific job duties
• Loyal to their employer
• Motivated and productive
• Invested in the success of their company

Employee retention, on the other hand, is a company’s ability to prevent staff turnover and keep employees at their company. Because engaged employees care about their work, their colleagues, and helping their team succeed, they are less likely to leave for another job. Strong employee engagement, therefore, translates into high employee retention.

Benefits of Higher Retention Rates

High employee retention benefits everyone in the company, including the customers it serves. Here’s how retention affects each group:

• Management: Hiring and training new staff is expensive and time-consuming — one study revealed it can cost $1,500 to replace even an hourly worker. The same study shows that replacing a mid-level employee can cost up to 150% of their salary to find a replacement. When employee turnover is low, HR staff and managers have more time (and budget) to focus on other priorities.
• Employees: High turnover affects both the employees who leave and those who stay. Employees who leave your organization miss out on company training, development, and advancement opportunities. And those who stay may have to take on additional work while the position is being refilled, which can lead to stress or burnout.
• Customers:  Knowledgeable and experienced employees are able to ensure a seamless customer experience. In contrast, high employee churn can mean that guests receive slower and lower-quality service as they interact with less-experienced employees.
• Shareholders: Gallup estimates that voluntary turnover due to burnout can cost an organization up to 20% of its payroll budget. That can translate into thousands – or millions – of dollars each year, significantly affecting your bottom line.

Overall, low retention rates also significantly affect morale. If the makeup of your team is always changing, your team is less likely to be invested in your collective success. Managers lose the institutional knowledge that these employees hold – and the opportunity to promote them to higher-level positions, which costs less than hiring external candidates.

How to Develop an Employee Engagement Strategy

You want your employees to be happy, engaged, and productive, and you value keeping them feeling that – but do you have a plan in place to achieve that goal? Ad hoc initiatives like employee appreciation days are great, but they’re not enough to build a strong company culture or increase employee engagement.

An employee engagement strategy is a comprehensive plan to foster a positive workplace culture, reduce turnover, and keep workers motivated and engaged on an ongoing basis. To build your strategy, take a critical look at each phase of the employee lifecycle at your organization:

• Recruitment: Your employee recruitment efforts and materials should communicate your mission and attract applicants who are passionate about the work you do.
• Hiring: Clear position descriptions help you match the right candidates to the right roles.
• Training: Employee engagement, retention, and support starts on day one. Make sure your onboarding process is welcoming and comprehensive.
• Supervision: Each employee needs to know where to go when they need help. Managers are responsible for communicating clear expectations and providing ongoing support.
• Development: Employees are more likely to stay when they have room to grow. Managers should provide training and development opportunities and offer feedback about areas for improvement.
• Recognition: Forbes reports that over 80% of American employees don’t feel recognized at work, so make sure you’re offering praise for outstanding performance.
• Departure: When an employee leaves an organization, management should take the time to conduct an exit interview and understand their reasons for leaving. Exit interviews can provide valuable insights that will help improve your engagement strategy.

Improving Employee Engagement and Retention

Once you have a solid engagement plan, you can focus on ways to improve and refine your engagement tactics. Every company is different, so your employee engagement and retention strategies should be customized to your industry and business — this can get as granular as each individual store. But in general, you’ll want to focus on training, support, and communication. Consider the following four practices:

1. Start with the basics

Before you dive into retention strategies, start by clarifying your value proposition: what attracts employees to your company? Take a look at your competitors and ensure your wages and benefits are competitive. Review your typical work schedules to make sure that shifts are divided equitably.

2. Gather insights

Your current employees are a big resource – if you want to retain them, you need to understand their perspectives. Consider implementing a staff satisfaction survey to gain insights into what works well and isn’t. Ask employees if they’re receiving meaningful support from their supervisors, and collect data on what would help them stay. This may include more opportunities for advancement, a bonus program, or more schedule flexibility.

3. Track performance

Quantitative data is just as important as the qualitative feedback you collect from staff. Many retail and dining establishments already have the camera and video systems in place. These can be excellent training tools for staff, especially when it comes to implementing health and safety practices or tracking customer engagement.

4. Support your managers

While your retention efforts may be focused on frontline employees, don’t overlook staff members in middle-management roles. Make sure you have the proper training in place to help them do their jobs well and maintain open lines of communication.

Your C-suite executives won’t have day-to-day contact with entry-level employees, but supervisors do. They’re in a powerful position to communicate your company culture and give on-the-ground insights into employee engagement.

See How Tools Like DTiQ Can Help to Track and Improve Employee Engagement

Looking for ways to level up your employee engagement? DTiQ can help.

As a global leader in intelligent video-based surveillance tools, DTiQ serves over 45,000 retail, restaurant, and convenience store customers. We offer customized cloud-based video solutions and comprehensive managed services with subscription-based pricing, so you can efficiently track employee engagement and productivity.

DTiQ even offers SmartAudits to evaluate team members remotely and provide data-driven insights to improve employee performance. Book a demo today for more information about improving employee engagement and retention with DTiQ.

At some point, every successful business has to hire new team members. According to the National Restaurant Association, roughly 2/3 of a restaurant’s staff overturns each year – which requires a whole lot of interviewing, hiring, and training. If you want your newbies to thrive and positively contribute to your enterprise, it’s essential that your training program helps them not only understand restaurant operations as a whole but also intimately get to know your establishment.

Read on for some tips to more effectively train your new employees and keep them around for the long haul.

1. Understand the essential components and set appropriate expectations.

New employees obviously need to understand how to complete their assigned tasks. But it’s also important to educate them on your restaurant’s concept and history. People want to know the story behind your brand and what makes it special. Employees work harder when they’re passionate, so foster that drive in training by helping them connect with your business. Give a thorough tour of the store layout, carefully outline each job duty, and help new hires understand the scheduling and rotation of shifts. When explaining your menu, don’t be afraid to go into extra detail about any special options or food preparation practices – local, healthy food is a hot topic with customers right now, and your employees should be able to engage with guests and explain what makes your offerings special.

This is also a great time to explain the business relationship between employee behavior and the store’s financial performance. For example, sales can increase when staff engage in optimum customer-facing behavior (i.e., upselling, great greeting lines and tone of voice, etc.). Conversely, the store can suffer financially when employees waste product unnecessarily, or give away/discount food against store policy.

2. Have an agenda and supporting documents.

Break down training into easily digestible sections, and confirm that each topic flows into the next. If you don’t already have a full-time training team at a corporate office, set aside a few hours to create a comprehensive training plan and collateral materials (or, hire someone to do it!). Don’t hesitate to modify these training documents as the needs of your organization change. Include goals you’d like your new hires to meet, which should be broken down into simple tasks in order to cater to workers with no prior restaurant experience. Every new member should go through the same length of training, whether they are an industry veteran or it’s their first day on the job.

3. Educate your trainers.

Confirm that whoever is responsible for training the new hires is aware of and sticks to the outlined agenda. Don’t let them wing it; otherwise, certain areas may not be covered as comprehensively as you would like, or may get skipped entirely. Training should feel organized and methodical. Additionally, keep an eye on trainers during hands-on time to ensure the new employees aren’t being exposed to any negativity about job duties or “alternative methods” (i.e., “This is how you’re supposed to do [task], but this is what we usually do instead.”). These instances are an indication that existing employees need a refresher on company procedures.

4. Find a way to switch it up.

Though most of restaurant training tends to be hands-on and learn-as-you go, it’s important that employees are exposed to a variety of training styles to accommodate all learning types. Lecture time is essential for sharing information about your company history and core business values, in addition to outlining goals and expectations. Consider implementing online modules that employees can complete at home or at a computer on-site, such as online training videos with quizzes at the end of each section or a POS simulation program. Some companies even have a dedicated website with training resources and contact information. Utilize Q&A sessions to allow new hires to learn from veteran employees and upper-level staff, and use role-playing to put new hires in uncommon situations.

5. Focus on the people.

You want to hire employees who will work hard and stick with you, right? Make your program stand out by providing incentives and outlining clear opportunities for career advancement from the very beginning. Help new hires envision a future with your establishment, rather than simply handing them a packet of rules and standards.

Additionally, allow some time for new employees to get to know the store’s general and area managers, fellow new hires, and other coworkers. An important key to an efficient operation is teamwork, so it’s important that new employees feel welcomed and encouraged by existing team members. Having a formal mentoring program allows a seasoned employee to take on a newer member of your team, benefiting everyone involved. The existing employee gains a little more responsibility and understands your trust in their leadership skills, while the new member benefits from guidance of a tenured staff member to engrain company culture in their daily routine.

6. Keep the training going.

Don’t think that you have to stop teaching once formal training is over, or that veteran employees never need a refresher. Take a few minutes during pre-shift meetings or designate a specific time once every couple of months to reinforce basic principles and cover any updates or changes, such as new POS functionality, upselling LTOs, or revamped inventory organization. Call on employees to demonstrate or explain things like proper greetings, cash drop procedures, and food safety techniques. If you operate multiple stores, consider holding company-wide hands-on training sessions once a year to allow employees to brush up on their service skills and learn from staff at other stores.

Training may seem like a big headache. But when done right, it eliminates current and future issues and reduces confusion related to company regulations and procedures. Effective training also improves employee productivity and guest satisfaction. All of this adds to your bottom line by increasing traffic, diminishing waste, mitigating guest complaints, and creating a more consistent dining experience. Make some adjustments to your training program today, and reap the benefits tomorrow!