{"id":68854,"date":"2020-11-20T12:54:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T10:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/?p=68854"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T13:49:15","slug":"how-your-small-business-can-look-after-its-people-and-increase-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/how-your-small-business-can-look-after-its-people-and-increase-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"How your small business can look after its people and increase productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrowth & Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow your small business can look after its people and increase productivity\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tViresh Harduth<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November) against the backdrop of a year that has been exhausting for small and medium businesses and their people. As entrepreneurs<\/a> start to think about what comes next, higher productivity and growth are very much on the agenda. One of the keys to achieving this goal is to boost employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as it sounds dry and corporate, employee engagement matters as much for smaller businesses as for large organisations. It\u2019s not to be confused with concepts such as \u2018employee satisfaction\u2019 or workplace happiness. Your people can be happy or satisfied without being truly engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee engagement<\/a> goes further \u2013 it is about how emotionally invested your colleagues are in the business, its goals, and their role in it. A satisfied employee will come in 9 to 5 and do the bare minimum asked in their job description. An engaged employee will put their heart into helping the business, their colleagues and their customers succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do you build engagement as a small business? Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Prioritise employees\u2019 wellbeing <\/strong><\/h2>
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    Caring is a two-way street. Showing employees that you care is not just about their mental and physical wellbeing, but also about their growth and happiness will help boost their motivation and engagement. Whether it\u2019s offering them access to a psychologist in these difficult times, hosting company yoga sessions and fun runs, providing them with paid training (even if it\u2019s via a voucher from Udemy), or simply remembering their birthday, these gestures can energise your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Offer appropriate rewards and incentives <\/strong><\/h2>
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      If you want your employees to go the extra mile, offering the right rewards and incentives is key. In a tough economy, where many small businesses are barely hanging on, the incentives can\u2019t always take the form of a big financial reward. However, you can reward people who go the extra mile in a range of other ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n