Employee engagement is a term that has various meanings depending on who you ask. Some people might say it means positive and enthusiastic employees. Others claim that it means satisfied and happy employees.
Generally, engaged employees are people who are committed to their job and value the company they work for. To put it simply, an engaged employee shows up and is highly involved, not only because they are paid to be, but because they are invested, mentally, emotionally or otherwise.
However, most companies still do not realized how engaged employees can make their business successful! An organization that encourages and supports employee engagement is bound to do better and be more successful. How?
- Engaged Employees Boost Productivity
Statistics show that employees who are invested in their roles are more productive than employees who aren’t. According to a poll by Gallup, engaged employees are 21 percent more productive than their less engaged counterparts.
Why is that?
Well, employees who succeed and feel good about their contributions to the company are naturally more likely to be proud to work for that company. They feel valued and is happy to come to work every day.
- You Retain Your Best People
An engaged employee is invested and involved in their roles and is less likely to quit and leave their job. If your best workers are not engaged, then you risk losing them. You will need to keep them engaged in order to retain them and keep on doing their best work.
However, if your business keeps on losing its best people and is dealing with low retention rates, you increase your turnover and hiring costs. And if the best people at your business suddenly leaves, the rest of your workers will definitely notice. And surely, you do not want to experience a domino effect.
- Employee Engagement Boosts Customer Satisfaction
People who are passionate about their jobs are usually the best people to interact with your clients. Why? Because their passion is highly infectious and your clients will notice.
According to an article by Quartz, the most engaged employees are more motivated to put an effort which translates to great productivity levels, a more reliable product pitch, and a happier sales force. In simpler terms, your clients are treated to a better experience when dealing with highly engaged employees.
Employees who believe in the value of helping clients and are also feeling valued by their company, will surely deliver better customer service, thus, boost customer satisfaction.
Steps To Increase Employee Engagement
- Show Appreciation
A job well done needs to always be appreciated. Not only is it important for your employees to know that their hard work matters, but as their manager, you need to let them know that you appreciate their contribution, personally, and that you are really proud of them. Sometimes a round of applause can make a big difference but you can always give them something more meaningful like personalized items from Barron clothing and others.
- Give Them a Voice
It is crucial to make your employees feel like their ideas are being heard and that their opinions matter. When an employee is continuously shut down they will begin use their voice elsewhere which can damage your company’s reputation.
- Offer Training and Development
When employees feel that you are invested in their professional and personal development and you are committed to helping them do their job better, they are more likely to be invested at work.
The importance of training cannot be overstated. When employees are not properly trained and developed, it will surely shape their perception of how much the company actually values them.
- Receive and Give Feedback
Employees need your feedback in order to know where they stand with you. However, you as their manager also need to seek out feedback. Otherwise, it creates disengaged employees that feel like they are not valued by the company.
- Sense of Belonging
No one likes to be out of the loop, particularly in the workplace. Not having a sense of belonging as well as not sharing company information makes employees feel unimportant. It pushes them to create their own conclusions. Businesses need to strive for transparency to build trust and putting in the effort to make every employee feel like they belong creates highly engaged employees.
