When it comes to company culture and work satisfaction, do you know where your organization currently stands? For many workplaces, building a company culture that focuses on employee engagement and work satisfaction remains a top priority. However, there are many benefits of employee engagement that stretch beyond just satisfying your workers. In this blog, we will discuss what employee engagement is and how you can successfully implement it within your organization.
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What does Employee Engagement Mean?
Today, employees are looking for job opportunities that are more than just a 9 to 5 gig with a paycheck; they want to feel enthusiastic and committed to the organization. This is where employee engagement comes into play. Employee engagement refers to the extent to which employees feel passionate and emotionally committed to their jobs and the organization.
Employee engagement is different from employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction refers to how happy or content an employee is with their current position, however, it does not consider their level of motivation or commitment to the organization.
Engaged vs. Disengaged Employees
When it comes to creating an employee engagement strategy, it’s important to understand their current level of engagement and commitment to the company. Engagement has a direct impact on your organization in terms of productivity, revenue, and even company culture.
Disengaged employees refer to individuals who lack motivation to complete their daily tasks and contribute a bare minimum level of effort. These individuals may affect coworkers with their negative emotions as well as potentially drive away business or client relationships.
On the other hand, engaged employees are involved, enthusiastic, and committed to their work. Engaged employees look for opportunities to professionally improve themselves and those around them. These individuals are optimistic, team-oriented, and go above and beyond when possible.
Engaged employees lead to better businesses
Benefits of Employee Engagement
- Improved Employee Safety
- When it comes to employee safety, organizations need to create an environment that not only promotes safety, but also practices correct protocol. According to Gallup, there are 70% fewer safety incidents in workplaces with highly engaged employees.
- Increased Productivity Levels
- Engaged employees are more enthusiastic about their work and tend to have higher productivity and performance levels. Since engaged employees are more attached to their work, this leads to improved results across the board. Gallup reports that engaged employees are 40% more productive than disengaged employees.
- Improved Retention Rates
- High turnover rates impact the company from a financial and cultural standpoint. When employees feel undervalued and underpaid, they look elsewhere for employment. Companies that value their employees, provide feedback, and create a healthy environment for their employees have decreased turnover rates.
- Increased Revenue
- Engaged employees are dedicated to their work and tend to go the extra mile to achieve their goals. This could result in faster turnaround time for projects as well as an increase in work capacity which allows the company to accept more projects and receive more revenue in return.
- Happier Employees
- Engaged employees do not only lead to happier employees, but it may also lead to happier clients and customers as well. Engaged employees are attentive and look to build friendly customer relationships.
- Less Absences
- When it comes to your employees, understanding their absences can be an indicator of their engagement levels. A couple of absences due to sickness, doctor visits, or unforeseen events are common, but repeat absences can be an indicator of disengagement and dissatisfaction. By adopting policies that promote good work-life balance and adequate time off for vacation, you are improving your employee engagement by decreasing absenteeism.
Implement Employee Engagement Strategies in Your Workplace
If you’re looking to implement a successful employee engagement strategy in your workplace, it begins by creating an environment where employees feel valued enough to care about their work. Leadership and human resources should look to improve employee communication and invest efforts in improving motivation, trust, and commitment among staff. Communication is the key in setting expectations, workload, and the overarching strategy of the organization. By communicating with employees, you are giving them accurate, engaging information that will allow them to not only do their jobs well but also enjoy the work at hand.
Implementing a successful employee engagement strategy will not happen overnight, but with communication at the forefront, you are on the right track. If you are interested in implementing an employee engagement strategy at your workplace, contact the team at HR Collaboration Group today.