What do employee engagement and food truck catering have in common?

Both science and common sense tell us that the best employees are happy employees. One of the best indicators of staff happiness is a company’s employee retention rate. Low turnover among staff isn’t just good for morale, it’s good for your bottom line. One study shows that replacing a departed mid-level employee costs about 20% of an annual salary.

The folks over at Mashable have put together a list highlighting some employee retention strategies. The whole article is worth checking out, but here are a few highlights:

Get people talking to each other

Fostering effective communication among employees is essential for any business, especially in an age where working remotely has become more common and key members of your team might rarely meet face-to-face. Encouraging your staff to communicate throughout the day using office-tailored messaging apps like Skype, HipChat, Campfire, Slack orHoney isn’t just great for the project at hand (staying in constant contact rather than with just sporadic emails, calls, and meetings ensures everyone is on the same page from start to finish), it also helps build camaraderie and lasting bonds between team members. That sense of community is what keeps great teams together and firing on all cylinders.

Holding regular meetings that bring together different departments can help build the same kind of team-centric atmosphere. They don’t have to be formal affairs — it’s more about bringing people together than anything. Catered lunches can be a perfect venue to get people talking. Mashable explains: “Sure, it might temporarily dampen productivity to have the whole team in one big meeting, but on the upside, they get a chance to see what other departments are working on and how everyone’s contributing to the overall mission (which also feeds the sense of ownership).”

Putting your employees in a position to lead and take ownership in the office is always a recipe for high morale. That’s why a number of top businesses have adopted culture committees — staff run groups that set the tone for an inclusive and engaged workplace. Encourage your committee to go to the rest of the staff for ideas for office activities and traditions, from outdoor lunches with food truck catering to inspiring guests speakers to ice cream birthday celebrations. Establishing a culture committee means giving your employees the freedom to bring their own personalities to the table, creating a community where your staff are more than just coworkers.

Ultimately, workplace events and activities alone aren’t enough to build a winning culture. High morale is something that companies need to strive towards every day by letting employees know that they’re valued, and more importantly, showingthem. Employee engagement runs deeper than just showering your staff with free food and outings — it’s a constant process of building mutual trust, loyalty, and respect that needs to be worked at every day.