7 Benefits of Employee Engagement
By: The Milestones Content Team
A company’s workforce is essential to a company’s success and employee engagement is one of the most determinant factors of whether that workforce will succeed or not. Recent reports show that only 15% of employees are engaged.
Engaged workers go the extra mile to ensure the success of their company. They own the organization’s goals and internalize them as a part of their own. You will often find that only the founder of a company, the CEO and a handful of employees share in the vision of the enterprise. Management’s responsibility is to ensure that even staff level employees emotionally commit to the company’s goals.
Employee engagement is obviously important for the employee, but how important is it to the employer? Just what kind of benefits do my company get from employee engagement? Let me tell you.
1. Increased Productivity
When an employee is engaged, it will reflect in their productivity. There is increased productivity when an employee feels engaged because they feel that their work is appreciated. Better productivity results in growth and excellence of the company.
An engaged employee is motivated to work harder and smarter to help achieve the company’s vision. Reduced productivity at the workplace will show through increased workplace accidents, failure to show up for work and increased health care costs.
The aim of every company is to make profits among other things. There’s nothing wrong with that! Reduced productivity yields reduced efficiency in your staff which eats into your profit margins.
2. Reduced Employee Turnover
Would you quit a job where you are valued and where your opinion matters? Probably not. Every human being likes to feel appreciated and valued –it’s our nature. When an employee feels that their work is taken for granted, they will be on the lookout for job openings in other companies.
Employee disengagement results in high employee turnover which is costly for the enterprise. Recruiting new hires is an expensive affair and doing it over and over again can really stall a company’s strategic initiatives.
Employees who are constantly looking for alternative sources of income are most likely disengaged from their current jobs. When one’s contribution to a company is valued and appreciated, they form a bond with their employer that is liable to last.
3. Positive Attitude in the Workplace
There is nothing as draining as negativity at the workplace. Negative employees can be the downfall of your company. When an employee does not feel engaged, they will give negative reviews about their employer on glassdoor or on social media.
Have you seen bad reviews and leaked emails of companies circulating on social media? The chances are that this is being done by a disengaged employee somewhere trying to get back at their bosses.
Negativity tends to be magnified. Such actions by an employee will affect the credulity and overall business of your firm. As a manager, you should strive that such damaging effects do not occur by keeping your employees happy.
When employees remain active, it will translate to a good work ethic. Not giving credit where it’s due will lead employees to form negative thoughts about their bosses. Lack of positivity makes employees demoralized and dormant.
4. Better Communication
Where there is employee engagement, there is better communication in the company. Communication breakdown leads to a lack of coordination in the workplace which will pull the business backward.
A disengaged employee tends to refrain from communicating with management and fellow colleagues. Where there is no communication, there is no teamwork. When people don’t work as a team, chances of success are minimal.
Engaged employees communicate with their fellow colleagues, and this may lead to the generation of fresh ideas. Brainstorming sessions may occur which is beneficial for the company.
5. More Creativity
Employee engagement allows employees to be innovative and come up with new ideas. When an employee feels that they belong, they will come up with new processes that gears towards adding value to the company.
Innovation is necessary for a company to grow and lead the pack. Employee engagement will encourage workers to explore their potential.
They will get creative since their efforts and ideas are appreciated. Bosses who dismiss new ideas and processes are detrimental to a company. Reason being, dismissal of new ideas leads to employee disengagement.
6. Employee Satisfaction
Would you like your employees to look forward to reporting to work every day? Then have a systematic employee engagement strategy.
Satisfaction with one’s job is essential because it directly affects performance. There is a difference between reporting to work every day and happily carrying out one’s role in the company.
When an employee emotionally commits to an organization, they develop a positive attitude towards their job. Positivity brings about job satisfaction since the workplace has good working conditions.
Constant absenteeism from work indicates that a person is not happy with their job. Lack of commitment signifies that the employee is disengaged and requires the drive to contribute towards the success of the company.
Competitors will not easily lure a satisfied employee based on a bump on their paychecks. Employee engagement goes beyond one’s salary. It involves embracing the company’s values and internalizing them as their own.
7. Improved Sales
Employee engagement brings about increased sales since the worker owns the brand. To attract a large number of customers, employees have to be engaged in the organization’s products.
It’s hard to market something that you don’t believe in. Through employee engagement, a company enables its staff to represent its brand well.
Owning a brand does not belong to top management alone. When employees embrace the goals and vision of an organization, sales will soar.
It is important for a company to realize that its success largely depends on its human capital. Therefore employee engagement is of the utmost importance.