It’s no secret that employee engagement is a key driver of business success. In fact, a recent study suggests that organizations with engaged employees outperform those with low employee engagement by over 200%.

Challenged and motivated employees stay longer, perform better and deliver greater value and the benefits are not just financial nor do they just relate to the employer. The engaged employee also makes for a better colleague, and I think we can all agree we’d rather work alongside the buoyant optimist as opposed to the disengaged naysayer.

As a leader, I also want my colleagues to feel like Sirius is a company where they can build rewarding, fulfilling and happy careers and this will benefit everyone including our shareholders

However, employee engagement isn’t a quick fix. It’s as much about creating a positive culture as it is about processes and plans. I’ve outlined below four areas of focus for employee engagement at Sirius Real Estate.

1. Flexibility

Flexibility is key to our business from both client and employee perspectives. Because our clients require flexibility in terms of their office size, rental contracts, usage, etc., we have to be flexible in our offerings. We have come to realise the same applies to our employees. They expect Sirius to be flexible and to some extent to adapt to the way they want to work.

We’ve found that flexibility for our employees is mostly about flexibility around working hours. Sirius is about to rollout a core hours concept, where employees will be required to be online from 10am-3pm and then fulfill the remainder of their working hours around those times. We believe this will enable employees to maintain a much better work-life balance knowing they will be given their fair due if they work extra hours. We recognize that not everyone will want to make use of this flexibility, however we have come to understand the importance of all our staff knowing that such flexibility is there should it be needed.

2. Better office environment and technology

To be flexible as a business, it is absolutely essential that your workplace environment adapts as well, as this is one of the key enablers where flexible working is concerned. I’m reminded of the quote from Ed Nolan of JLL’s Workplace Strategy practice, “The workplace is the physical manifestation of your company’s culture and core values”. At Sirius, we make sure we create a welcoming workplace which our employees feel comfortable working in. Physically, that can mean the opportunity to use an electric standing desk if you want to, devoting more space per desk, creating the right amount of communal space and ensuring natural daylight.

Technology plays a key role in making a workplace more accessible for remote workers. From implementing a flexible working app in order to ensure proper timekeeping and communication between managers and their teams, to providing similar levels of technology everyone has at home, in the workplace. When I first started my career, the office would have cutting-edge technology no one had at home, whereas now, it’s much more difficult for companies to keep up with constantly-evolving consumer tech. And employees want that level to be reflected in the workplace - 92% of employees agree that having the technology necessary to do their job efficiently effects their satisfaction at work.

3. Visible leadership

According to Deloitte, belief in senior leadership is the strongest engagement driver for employees. And that’s where I, together with the team of directors at Sirius, pride ourselves in playing a major role in not only leading through decision and policy-making, but by being visible and accessible to all employees. By being approachable throughout the year in numerous meetings, forums, inductions days and other events, it’s our aim to build rapport with every employee at Sirius. And that includes employees across over 60 different locations in Germany, The Netherlands and the UK.

I believe that employee engagement starts from the top. Within our business itself and with our customers, it’s important to always consult the end user and in the case of employee engagement, that is the employee. Unless we engage with employees on the ground, we have no idea what the real challenges are.

4. Continuous improvement

At Sirius, we listen to our employees through annual employee engagement surveys, and we make sure that we decide upon and implement specific company-wide actions as a result of some of the messages we receive. This year, we’ve committed to flexible working and are facilitating this by improving VPN access for all staff. We have also added electric desks - this was requested by over one third of employees - and we plan to upgrade our telecoms platform in 2019 in direct response to specific requests from the survey.

75% of workers say they would stay with an organization longer if their employer listens to and addresses their concerns. The opportunity to have an entire company answer the same questions is invaluable. However, unless there is direct action, it is just a survey. And that is why it is important to be visible and active in terms of the actions that occur as a result of the responses. By being active and transparent, it shows all employees that not only are they are being heard, but also that some of their answers are making a real difference. In my experience, this is just one of the elements that help managers hold onto their best people, that silos are broken down and, ultimately, that make going to work a more pleasant, happier and fulfilling experience for everyone.

This list isn’t exhaustive, and Sirius still has a long way to go in the future. Workplace cultures are evolving at an ever-increasing pace and I’d love to hear about your views and experiences in the comments below.