It’s fair to say that employee morale is key to commercial success in the digital age, which is why hybrid and remote working has continued to become so popular since the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s even more important when you consider that the UK and Western Europe have the lowest levels of employee engagement across the globe, with this coming in at just 11%.

This may have much to do with the fact that 55% of the staff members working in these regions have higher life expectations. But what steps can you take to value your employees and show that you care?

1. Provide a Safe and Compliant Workspace

Regardless of the nature of your business and its primary office space, it’s crucial that you provide a safe working environment for your employees (and one that also complies with the relevant health and safety laws in the UK).

To achieve this fully, you may first want to consider carrying out a risk assessment in your workplace, with a view to identifying the most prominent threats and areas that may not be fully compliant with existing UK law.

If you own or operate a manufacturing or construction business, your employees may handle heavy duty machinery or work in potentially challenging conditions.

In this instance, you’ll also have to ensure that staff members have access to the required personal protective equipment (PPE), including prominent items such as action work trousers, hi-vis jackets and reinforced footwear.

2. Recognise Hard Work with Rewards

One of the key issues with employee engagement and motivation revolves around a lack of recognition, as employers fail to reward their development or contributions to the accomplishment of specific company goals.

So, it’s crucial that you’re quick to recognise hard work and employee achievements, both individually and collectively within specific teams (or across the company as a whole).

How you choose to reward employees is up to you, although it may be influenced by the achievement in question. For example, individuals or teams who achieve sales’ targets could be awarded tangible, one-off prizes, such as cash incentives or team-building outings.

Conversely, employees who continue to excel and exceed expectations over an extended period of time may want to be rewarded with career progression opportunities, as they look to improve their positions and subsequent earning potential.

3. Create a Coveted Package of Employee Benefits

On a similar note, you can further incentivise new hires and employee retention through the development of attractive and (where possible) bespoke benefits packages.

These should be as broad as possible to incentivise a large number of staff members, while packages can include everything from generous bonuses and cash incentives to discounted gym members and access to cycle-to-work schemes.

This way, you can actively help to improve your employee’s work-life balance through a number of different benefits, from target-based additions to their take-home pay to schemes that promote optimal physical and mental well-being.

We’d also recommend listening to your employees and their feedback on your benefits packages. This way, you can make incremental improvements over time and tailor individual packages as and when appropriate.