Why is employee engagement important for business?

Companies with the highest levels of engagement are 21% more productive than those with low levels of engagement.

Employees are the key to any successful business. They are the ones responsible for day-to-day business operations. Can anyone imagine a business operating its daily activities without any employees? A big no.

It is literally impossible for any business to survive without its employees. We, including everyone, give credits to owners, the board of directors, chief executive officers, and managers for the success of a business. But, what about the employees? They are given less credits.

We should not forget that the employees are the ones who work hard day and night to develop a product or a service. If employees don’t give their best efforts, time, commitment, and dedication, then a business is sure to fall apart and in the worst case, it is sure to fail.

Likewise, employees should not only do their job because it is their role but they should be committed to the achievement of organizational goals thinking it as their second home. They should be dedicated to making a business successful.

So, let’s see in detail about employee engagement.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a strong feeling of dedication and commitment of an employee to the company’s success.

Some employees in a company do their job because it is their only means to survive and they think about their family. Whereas, there are some employees who not only think about their family but are really dedicated and passionate about their work and always think about the company’s success.

No matter how small their work is, such employees give their 100 percent and work hard day and night to achieve a company’s goals and objectives and make it successful. They are more motivated, energetic, and creative. They enjoy their work and make their working environment livelier.

The engaged employees are always motivated and always bring in new and creative ideas contributing to the company’s success. They care about their work. For them, payment and promotion are not the only factors to consider. They really care about giving their best each day as a valuable asset to the company’s success.

How is Employee Engagement Measured?

As a manager, it is your responsibility to look after your employees. You need to measure their performance, productivity level, and devise different strategies to measure and improve employee engagement. So, how to measure employee engagement?

• Define Goals

Defining goals for a particular period of time and measuring the successful achievements of goals is a perfect way to measure employee engagement.

One of the best ways to measure the performance of the employees is the implementation of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) and KPI (Key Performance Indicator). KPI evaluates whether the company’s goals are met or not. Not only the company’s performance but it can also be used to measure employee performance.

KPIs indicate how hard an employee is working towards the achievement of set goals and are responsible for the roles they are given.

Examples of KPI could be like

• Employees should sell 50 products in a month.
• Employees should produce 100 articles per month, and so on.

These KPIs will help you assess the performance of an employee at the end of a particular set period.

• Employee Engagement Surveys

One of the most common and most used methods is employee engagement surveys. The preparation for this survey takes less time where you just need to list out the questions. You need to scale these questions based on numbers or satisfaction levels.

The employee engagement surveys help to know about the following: how satisfied the employees are with the job, are they motivated or not, and how he/she sees himself/herself in the coming years.

These surveys are short, quick, and can be conducted weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. This way you will be able to track the employee’s performance and know how happy they are with their current job.

• One-on-one Meetings

Having a one-on-one meeting helps employees to be open and have a conversation with you freely. You should remember that the matters related to this meeting shouldn’t be made public.

The one-on-one meetings help to know the problem of the employees. By having this meeting, you will be able to know how satisfied they are with their job and what are their interests.

You will also be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and suggest how to mitigate their weaknesses and improve. You can also get to know about the employee’s personal goals and objectives. You can also set the goals of the employees for a particular period.

You will be able to know the interest of the employees and devise strategies to help them improve. This way you will be able to measure employee engagement.

• Hold Small Group Discussions

Everyone has their own roles and responsibilities in a company, so do you. Sometimes, it is not feasible and possible to conduct one-on-one meetings. In this case, you can conduct small group discussions for about 15-30 minutes. Everyone can continue their work without much wastage of time.

This is similar to one-to-one meetings where you will know how motivated and satisfied they are with their job and know if they need something like tools to do their job effectively and efficiently. You will be able to know which areas need improvement and what challenges the employees are facing.

The employees can freely speak about their team’s successes and challenges and what their goals and objectives are.

• Measure Employee Efficiency

Employee efficiency helps to know employee engagement which includes the absence rate or unplanned leave or sick leave in a month. Employees who are not engaged tend to have a high absence rate and commute to work late.

You will be able to know how motivated and engaged an employee is towards their roles as well as towards the company’s goals and objectives by observing them. You will be able to measure employee engagement by measuring their KPI and observing their productive level.

Not only that, the disengaged employees tend to commute to the office late and leave earlier than other employees. They are not motivated to learn new things or do not give their 100 percent. They tend to have low motivation to grow.

Measuring employee efficiency helps to know whether they are motivated and passionate about their work and about the company or not.

• Exit Interviews

Holding exit interviews help you to know what challenges the employees had to face or are facing and on what key areas you need to focus on and improve. The employees leaving your company will freely talk about the problems they faced while working and how satisfied they were with the company.

Such interviews help you to get honest feedback from the former employees and find ways to increase employee engagement. This way, you will be able to focus on key problems, find solutions, and reduce employee turnover in the future.

Exit interviews are the perfect opportunity for you to know the problems in your company and ask the former employee’s opinion on what could have been done or could be done to make your company a better place for existing employees and future employees.

Feedback from such employees helps to find ways to increase employee engagement.

How can Employee Engagement be Achieved and Improved?

Employee engagement has become an integral part of every company since they are competing for survival. Looking at the current scenario, without determined and committed employees, it is impossible for a company to survive where competition for new and better products and services is at its peak.

So, every company has its own ways to achieve and improve employee engagement and many companies have been successful too. To name, some of them are Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, etc. who are ruling the industry.

Here are some of the ways to achieve and improve employee engagement in a company.

• Clarify Goals and Roles

Every employee has their own roles and responsibilities in a company. But, sometimes they get confused about the roles they are given. So, as a manager when onboarding employees, you need to clarify the roles and tasks they have to do. You need to ask if they have any problems regarding their roles.

As a manager, you need to identify the strengths of an employee and their interest in work. The employees feel disengaged when they are not assigned the right roles and tasks. No one likes to work where they don’t feel energetic and interested. So, you need to focus on their strengths and assign roles that fit them.

Every employee has their own goals and objectives in their life. You need to identify their goals and objectives and align those goals with the company’s goals. You need to make them realize that the goals they achieve matters a lot to the company and they are needed for the growth of the company. This will make them motivated and passionate about their work.

• Provide Good Working Environment

The working environment is one of the most important factors for any company. If the working environment is not as expected by the employees, then they may not be able to give their 100 percent. Some candidates may not even come after they pass the interview.

The employees feel disengaged if the working environment is not comfortable. So, the working environment should be comfortable and lively. A good working environment is a perfect way to improve employee engagement.

• Provide Training

You need to create opportunities for development. The employees feel engaged if they realize that the company is investing in their future. And training is one of the ways to help them realize this and help them grow.

Change is unavoidable in a business life cycle. Those who adapt to the changes survive in the market. Similarly, the employees need to adapt to the changes and learn new skills and enhance their competitive strengths further. Training is an effective way to make them capable enough to survive in this competitive world.

Employees are like diamonds in the rough. And it is your duty to polish them and help them realize their potential. Training helps them to build skills they need to perform their tasks and meet expectations.

As the skills and experience increase, they will realize the importance of their roles for the company’s future and feel more motivated and committed to achieving the company’s goals and objectives.

• Communicating Regularly

Employees feel disengaged when communication is one-way i.e. from top to bottom. Lack of communication is one of the main factors that lead to employee disengagement.

Communication is the best way to know about the employees, their strengths, their skills, and the challenges they have faced while working. So, as a manager, it is your duty to communicate regularly with the employees and listen to them. The employees feel engaged if a company listens to their voice and helps them.

Regular communication also encourages employees to be more friendly and be open to everyone. This gives employees opportunities to know more about the company and other employees. This reduces the fear of talking to the superiors if there is two-way communication.

• Give and Receive Feedback

You being a manager need to observe each and every employee and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Whether it may be positive or negative, give them honest feedback. Feedback is a great way to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses and the only way to work on the weaknesses.

Feedback helps the employees to realize their mistakes and also realize what the company is expecting from them. The employees feel motivated to work on their weaknesses and give their best to meet the expectations of the company.

Not only giving feedback but, asking and receiving feedback from the employees is another smart way to increase employee engagement. Asking feedback from the employees about the working environment, their problems and challenges, and the new ideas makes them feel that their feedback and opinions really matter to the company. This will make them more passionate and determined about their work.

• Recognition

One of the ways to increase employee engagement is to say “Thank You” and appreciate their hard work and determination. Recognizing the employee’s efforts and hard work helps to fill their bodies with energy and motivates them to work earnestly and passionately.

The employees expect to get their work to be recognized and feel appreciated by their superiors. So, you need to show gratitude for their contribution to the company which makes them more engaged.

Not only acknowledging them but rewarding the employees when they have done their work well also motivates them. Acknowledging their work and giving regular feedback motivates them to contribute even more to the company.

• Provide Time to Rest

You need to consider the physical and mental health of your employees. Too much workload pressure leads to stress. And it is your duty to never let any of your employees give in to stress and depression due to workload pressure.

Planning an outing or having dinner or going to a game club sometimes with your employees helps them to be relieved from work pressure. Working after such events helps to increase productivity.

Time-to-time vacations also help employees to be free from work pressure. When they return, they feel energized to do their work. This helps to promote work-life balance. So, you need to give your employees time to rest which in turn helps them to give their 100 percent and achieve peak performance at work.

Who is Responsible for Employee Engagement?

Everyone in the company is responsible for employee engagement. So, let’s see one-by-one people responsible for employee engagement.

• Founders, CEO, Board of directors

  They are the highest body of any company and they are the most powerful people in a company executing every decision. So, they are the ones who look after every employee engagement strategy and make a decision on whether to implement strategies or not.

• Managers

  Managers are responsible for creating different employee engagement strategies. After being approved by the superiors, the managers implement the strategies. They are responsible for successfully implementing strategies for better results.

• Employees

  Employees are the ones truly responsible for employee engagement. They are the ones who need to be motivated and determined to work. They need to understand the company’s goals and objectives and be committed to achieving them.

Why is Employee Engagement Important?

Organizations with high employee engagement outperform those with low employee engagement by 202%

Employee engagement matters a lot to the company’s success. A company with motivated and passionate employees tends to be a lot better than other companies. So, it’s important for a company to keep motivating their employees, provide a nice working environment, communicate regularly, appreciate their hard work, and so on.

So, why is employee engagement important for a business?

• Boosts Productivity

  Engaged employees are 44% more productive than workers who merely feel satisfied.

  Engaged employees are always more creative, determined, and enthusiastic than other employees. Such employees are more productive than other employees. They understand their roles and responsibilities in a company and understand the impact of their roles on the company’s success. So, they work harder than others.

  Engaged employees know the importance of their roles, so they commit themselves to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. They always look for a way and opportunities to how they can contribute more to the company.

  The more the employees feel engaged, the more they feel committed and determined to achieve the company’s goals.

• Reduces Employee Turnover

  Employees who find passion and purpose at work are more than three times as likely to stay with their organizations as those who don’t.

  Employee engagement is the best way to decrease employee turnover. Improving employee engagement helps the employees to realize their importance in a company. They take their roles and responsibilities seriously and are committed to their roles and responsibilities. They stand still even during the tough situations and find ways to tackle them. They never let themselves be buried under the heavy workload and find ways to manage heavy workload at the workplace.

  Engaged employees find passion and purpose at work and dedicate themselves to fulfill their purpose. They consider their company their own home, so they work hard to make their company reach greater heights.

  Disengaged employees tend to leave the company early and change their jobs constantly. However, engaged employees are likely to stay in the company for a longer time than other employees and they are encouraged to invest their time and efforts passionately to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.

• Increases Customer Satisfaction

  In one study, companies with engaged employees had 89% greater customer satisfaction and 50% higher customer loyalty than their disengaged counterparts.

  Engaged employees know the status of customers in a company. They know how important the customers are for a company, so they value the customers and treat them better. They deliver better customer experience and find ways to increase customer satisfaction.

  Such employees value your company, value your products and services, so they give their best efforts to satisfy customers. As a result, customers like to come again and again since they are treated better. And, it’s a fact that the customer’s first choice is always the place where they are treated better. Otherwise, they never step foot in that place.

  Engaged employees always influence the purchase decision of a customer because they get attracted by the employee’s passion, excitement, and treatment.

• Increases Performance

  Organizations with higher than average employee engagement have been known to exceed the financial performance of their peers by 73%.

  As said earlier, engaged employees are more creative, determined, and productive than other employees. They always look for opportunities to learn new skills and enhance their performance. They don’t only look for a way to enhance their performance but also look for ways and new ideas to improve the company’s performance as well.

  They feel valued and feel their roles and responsibilities impact the company, so they feel more energetic to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. They care about their work, so automatically they care about the company’s reputation. So, they take action to increase the company’s reputation.

• Increases Profitability

  Studies show that businesses with the highest levels of employee engagement are 22% more profitable than those with low levels of engagement.

  It’s no wonder that companies with higher employee engagement have higher profitability. The companies with hard-working, determined, and motivated employees are more profitable than other companies.

  Engaged employees stay longer in a company thus reducing employee turnover. As a result, it saves the cost and time of the company since they don’t have to waste time and money on hiring new employees and the onboarding process.

  Similarly, the company with higher employee engagement has higher customer satisfaction which in turn increases the sales of the company. Thus improving the financial condition of the company.

In Conclusion

Employees are the heart of any company. So, a company should give its best to increase employee engagement. Employee engagement is essential for any company. With the right strategy, you can improve and achieve higher employee engagement leading to the success of your company.

Take your time and devise the perfect strategies and implement them to increase employee engagement in your company.

If you have any suggestions regarding the article, please comment below.

References: BuiltIn, 6Q, QuantumWorkplace, BuiltIn