The more engaged your employees are, the more likely they are to think about business as something that they are a part of, something that they should contribute to. They can bring all kinds of creativity and productivity if they feel like the business is worth it. However, there may be some (or many) who see it as little more than a job. How do you win them over to your side?

Create a Welcoming Space

We’ve learned a lot for the cubicle crush of yore. We now know just how important the look and feel of a workspace is to the mood, productivity, and motivation of the people working in it. Not having enough of one’s own space, being trapped between drab walls and under flickering fluorescent lights isn’t going to help. Look at how you could potentially improve the atmosphere of your office, whether it’s adding a little more color and art, creating a break space, letting in more natural light or, better yet, allowing your employees to have some control over how they decorate their own space.

Get Them Collaborating

A team effort is going to help the business succeed but your team need to actually feel like a team for that to happen. Without some effort in team-building, your employees aren’t going to have too much cause to reach outside their circle except for the occasional collaborative project. A sense of camaraderie and being part of the team can make them invested in the business not only for the brand’s sake, but for their colleagues, and communication software like Fleep can help team members stay in touch and work together much better and more frequently.

Ask for Their Opinion

You want your team to help you address the questions of how to make the business run more effectively and how to help you reach the broader goals in mind? Perhaps you should consider asking them. The team meeting can help in this department, but overreliance on those can quickly lead to burnout. Switch it up with one-to-one meetings and lunches, as well as staff surveys by PeoplePulse. Engage them more frequently, but in different ways, to get them thinking about the business, their role in it, and improvements they could spot from their perspective that might elude you.

Recognize Toxicity

Focusing on systemic problems and solutions is often much more effective than taking it to an individual level. However, there’s a reason some kinds of workers are known as toxic. These are the people who find opportunities to belittle their colleagues, take credit where they shouldn’t, and foist responsibility when it’s theirs to take. Be able to identify the toxic employees in your team and act on it quickly. If your team members bring up a concern about a colleague’s behavior, take it seriously. One bad apple can spoil the bunch.

Grinding down an unengaged employee for labor is never going to yield the best results. If you want them to really contribute, you need them plugged into the business.