WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

Employee engagement represents an employee’s commitment to a business and the company’s mission and goals. Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work; their emotional commitment to the company motivates them to go the extra mile, commonly referred to as “discretionary effort.” An engaged employee willingly goes above and beyond without having to be asked, like working overtime to complete a project.

WHAT DOES AN “ENGAGED” EMPLOYEE LOOK LIKE?

Employee engagement, enablement, and energy

WHY IS EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT IMPORTANT?

Only 13% of all employees are highly engaged

The positive mindset, involvement in, and passion for work is a hot commodity in any employee. Having engaged employees and higher levels of employee engagement translates to improved financial and operational business success. However, only 13 percent of all employees are “highly engaged” and 26 percent are “actively disengaged.”

39% of HR professionals said employee engagement was their top priorityGetting and keeping engaged employees is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses. Millennials make up more and more of the workforce and they tend to job hop frequently, making it hard to keep them. Workers expect more from their employers: they expect the opportunity to be creative at work, to be a part of something bigger than just the bottom line, and to have accelerated development opportunities. Employees are in control and employers have to find ways to deliver on their demands effectively.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE POOR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

Active disengagement costs US $50 to $550 billion per year.

  • Lower productivity
  • Poor customer service and satisfaction
  • Higher absenteeism
  • Higher turnover
  • More safety incidents

 

HOW DO YOU IMPROVE
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

There are many varieties of effective employee engagement strategies, but when implemented can pay huge dividends. For example, some companies offer office perks, such as: free food, creative work spaces, or on-site childcare. While those are valuable offerings, and many times well-suited for certain employees, they aren’t always necessary. Employee engagement needs to be built at all levels – employee to manager to the organization as a whole. It should be a holistic approach to the quality of your employees overall work experience.

Create a culture where employees have healthy and productive relationships with their managers, trust their senior leadership, are able to effectively manage stress on the job, and have the resources necessary to accomplish their tasks. Building a successful employee engagement strategy is no easy task. It starts with training, performance management, good leadership, and transparent communication between all levels and departments of an organization.