The fact that a mere 16% of employees in Ireland are actively engaged in their work should serve as a major wake-up call for the country’s employers. After all, if your staffers don’t care about their jobs, they aren’t likely to be as productive as they could be. Nor will they probably project the best possible impression of your company to clients or customers, or even say the things about your organisation that will make it an attractive place to work.

This all-too-common issue for Irish businesses is why we have, below, selected three of the things that will keep your employees contented and motivated to work for you.

1. Being treated like the important people they are

Far from the top-down philosophy that so many leaders have become used to down the years, the most forward-thinking bosses today are realising that they need to be as much servants of their employees as they are of their customers. These days, your employees are empowered and often have other options. Paradoxically, therefore, to get the most out of them, you need to show that you aren’t merely looking to get the most out of them, but also truly care about them as people.

2. Feeling supported and protected by their boss

There’s a saying that employees don’t leave companies – they leave bosses. Whatever the true situation, it certainly makes a big difference to how your staffers see you and your company when they are made to feel genuinely supported and protected. Do you, for example, urge that ‘star’ employee of yours to handle every important assignment or be the first to take on overtime work, or do you occasionally reward them with time off for their devotion to your company? Do you even do that on days – like Black Friday in the case of retail businesses – when you could have especially benefitted from their contribution?

Show that you aren’t just continually thinking about the bottom line.

3. Having genuine enthusiasm for what your company does

It isn’t just a love for your office canteen or the size of their pay packet that will truly make your employees happy ones. Do they actually believe in the good that your company does, not just within its sector but in a much broader sense of helping to make the world a better place? This is an especially pertinent point for socially conscious Millennials, but it applies on some level to every employee. Your workers should be passionate disciples of your firm’s products, services and other work, such as charity activities. Just make sure you don’t cynically exploit that passion – enthusiastic employees need the right life-work balance to be able to give their best, too.

Are your employees missing any of these three things? If so, now is the time to act to deliver that all-important competitive advantage for your Irish company. Consult our recruitment advertising guides now for more information on how you can start doing precisely that.