Why employee engagement should be your business’ priority
Despite this investment, the majority of people are not engaged at work. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace (2017) report, just 15% of the global workforce are engaged. In fact, 67% of employees are not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged.
These alarming statistics demonstrate that so much more needs to be done to make workers’ lives more enjoyable, fulfilling and rewarding. Facing a global pandemic has shown us just how important it is for businesses to look after their employees, so now more than ever it’s time for businesses to step up and make employee engagement a priority.
The benefits of an engaged workforce
A key part of having a strong, resilient and successful business is having an engaged workforce. We say it all the time – it's all about the people. When employees are engaged, they're more inspired, creative, motivated and, in general, better at what they do. They're also committed to their business’ goals, values and have a genuine enthusiasm for driving the business forward in their individual role.
Here are some of the key ways in which your business will benefit from having an engaged workforce.
Happier customers
It’s often said that happy employees lead to happy customers, but research actually backs this up and demonstrates that there is a direct correlation between engaged employees and the satisfaction of customers.
Engaged employees care about their jobs and the business that they’re working for. They understand how their efforts make a contribution to the business and take pride in what they do. As a result, they’re more likely to have extensive product/service knowledge and go the extra mile in their day-to-day tasks. This often translates into the delivery of excellent customer service.
When your employees give customers a great experience, not only does it increase customers’ chances of coming back, but it can also boost your business’ reputation and therefore attract more customers too. So, by prioritising employee engagement you’ll not only improve the experience of your workforce, you’ll more than likely enhance your customer experience too.
Lower turnover
When employees are engaged, they’re more likely to stick around and be loyal to their employer. Disengaged employees on the other hand will either be actively looking for a new job or keeping an eye on the job market, which isn’t good news for a number of reasons.
First, replacing employees is very costly, in fact, research has shown that it costs around £12,000 to replace one employee based on the average UK salary, according to calculations from Accounts and Legal (2019). You also have to factor in the productivity that’s lost as a result of training up a new employee. Second, a high turnover rate is a major red flag for potential employees.
The good news is that this scenario, in many cases, can be avoided if you put time and effort into ensuring that your workforce is happy, fulfilled and engaged at work. By taking steps to improve employee engagement, your employees are less likely to think the grass is greener elsewhere, and as a result your business can expect to improve your employee turnover rate.
Increased productivity
Whether an employee is spending their time looking for a new job or not, if they’re disengaged their heart simply won’t be in the job. They won’t have the desire to work hard or be productive. As a result, disengaged employees could be having a negative impact on your business’ bottom line.
Research by the Centre for Mental Health found that presenteeism and disengagement cost UK businesses £15 billion a year. Other research suggests that this figure is a lot higher, with a staggering £52 to £70 billion reportedly lost in productivity each year.
With more people working from home and therefore having greater autonomy over their working days, it’s even more crucial for businesses to do all they can to ensure their team are motivated and productive. Employee engagement plays a key part because highly engaged workforces tend to be highly productive. They understand why their individual actions are important and how they contribute to their business’ goals.
Lower absenteeism
Absenteeism is expected in any business and is often unavoidable as employees get sick from time to time. However, high levels of absence or an employee being repeatedly absent could be a sign of disengagement. The truth is: demotivated and disengaged employees are more likely to take time off work simply because they don’t want to be at work. They’ve mentally and emotionally checked out.
But you can tackle this problem and even prevent it from happening by focusing on the engagement of your workforce. Engaged employees are more likely to have the drive to get out of bed every morning because they care about showing up and want to make a difference at work. On top of that, they’ll be less inclined to lie about their absence because they have a positive relationship with their managers.
Better employee wellbeing
Another benefit of your business prioritising employee engagement is that you’ll support and even improve your employees’ wellbeing too. Employee engagement and employee wellbeing are closely linked, and research has even found that there’s a correlation between the two. In fact, a key part of driving employee engagement is supporting your team’s health and happiness both inside and outside of work.
Engage for Success’s Wellbeing and Employee Engagement report (2014) found that engaged employees with high wellbeing were 35% more attached to their organisation than those with lower wellbeing. On top of that, research conducted by Gallup found that engaged employees were more than three times as likely to be thriving in their overall lives compared to those who were actively disengaged.
In essence, taking steps to improve the engagement of your workforce will have a positive effect on their wellbeing too. After all, we spend so much of our lives at work, so if your employees feel motivated, passionate and engaged, they’ll likely feel more positive, confident and fulfilled which is great for their wellbeing.
Start your journey to better employee engagement today
There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to employee engagement. It’s all about finding out what works for your business and your people. If you’re new to employee engagement, Engage for Success’ Four Enablers of Employee Engagement are a great place to start.
This article is provided by peoplevalue.
In partnership with peoplevalue – The Employee Engagement Company
We are a leading provider of employee reward&recognition, benefits delivery&wellbeing solutions.
