Why employee engagement should be your number one priority

By Softworks

The importance of employee engagement cannot be overstated. Engaged employees are at the heart of every successful business. Research shows that organisations that prioritise employee engagement are far more successful at retaining employees, increasing workforce productivity and boosting their organisation’s overall performance and profitability.

What is employee engagement?

So first off what exactly is employee engagement? Employee engagement is essentially the level of commitment an employee has to the organisation they work for. They take pride in their work achievements. The more they care, the more engaged they are. Engaged employees will deliver better customer service, increased sales and in turn higher profit. When employees are engaged, their number one objective is to contribute to the organisation’s success.

How employee engagement affects the organisation

Employee engagement is a hugely important element of the modern workplace, particularly now, when our working lives have been flung into a certain level of chaos. Here are a few of the benefits of employee engagement to an organisation;

• Increases productivity and efficiency
• Boosts employee retention
• Improves morale, loyalty and job satisfaction
• Increases employee wellbeing and reduces absenteeism
• Enhances customer service and experience

Engaged employees tend to be high and innovative performers who are committed to their organisation. Compare this to employees who are not engaged and will instead;

• Put in minimal effort
• Have little motivation
• Be disruptive
• Waste time
• Call in sick
• Produce substandard work
• Have a bad attitude
• Undermine co-workers

This can have a huge effect on the success or otherwise of your organisation.

Challenges of employee engagement

While the benefits of employee engagement are clear, achieving it is no easy task, particularly in these unprecedented times. Employee engagement goes beyond employee happiness or satisfaction. It goes beyond salary and benefits. According to research from Gallup – State of the Global Workplace, worldwide employee engagement is only 15%, meaning that 85% of employees are not engaged. These percentages are quite alarming.

How to master the art of employee engagement

While succeeding in employee engagement is no easy task, set out below are five tried and tested methods of increasing it.

1. Communication – For employees to be engaged they need to truly understand the vision, mission and values of the organisation.
2. Skills Matching – In order to build great teams, you need to ensure you have the right people in the right roles.
3. Empowerment – Employee empowerment is about giving employees the authority to make decisions about their jobs – where and when they work and how they successfully operate.
4. Learning & Development – To engage your employees, you need to show them that you want to invest in them as a person.
5. Recognition & Feedback – Recognising employees’ achievements and giving them positive feedback will in turn boost engagement.

Summary

Employee engagement is undoubtedly a fantastic opportunity for organisations to increase productivity, employee retention, customer experience and profitability. In a world where it is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate from competitors, mastering the art of employee engagement has never been more important and should be your number one priority. If you would like to read more on employee engagement download Softworks free guide via this link.