Employee engagement is more than just a HR concept. It’s a valuable indicator to determine whether your staff are motivated to reach business success – or whether they’re just in it for the paycheck.
Every business should strive towards building employee engagement. From here, you’ll be able to grow well-being, commitment, and loyalty towards the company.
Let’s take a look at what employee engagement is, why it’s important, and how to encourage it within your workplace culture.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is all about the level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels towards their job.
It usually derives from the working relationship between an employee and their boss. There are countless ways to grow engagement, commitment, and motivation. It’s up to you to decide how to nurture these into business success.
So, what does an engaged employee look like? Well, they’re usually supportive of the company’s mission and trust its values. They’re enthusiastic, self-motivating, and active – especially when it comes to career progression.
In the end, employees are rewarded for this type of work ethic. They may be given gift cards, Christmas bonuses, or even a company car (if they’re lucky enough!)
What are the benefits of engaging employees?
Workplace engagement comes with many benefits – for employees, as well as your business. With these methods set as the foundation, you’ll be able to build a steady incline towards progression and success.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of engaging employees:
Grows job satisfaction
No matter how big or small the role is, job satisfaction is incredibly important in any business.
When an employee or team is happy with their workplace, they’re more likely to shine as an investable asset. Some may even become company ambassadors and vocalise the benefits of working for you.
Engagement and loyalty often go hand-in-hand. When an employee feels engaged at work, it means they’re emotionally invested. This type of bond will naturally foster loyalty towards growth for the business.
Stronger employee collaboration
Collaboration is the bedrock of a successful business. When employees feel engaged, they’re bound to work better in teams or across departments.
Employees with collaborative skills are able to encourage and motivate each other. That’s because they’re at a similar understanding when it comes to team goals or company objectives. Highly engaged employees are also very good at transitioning ideas into reality.
Lower risk of work-related health issues
It’s very hard to pinpoint and even deal with work-related health issues. Burnout, stress, anxiety can affect people when they least expect it.
When an employee is engaged and happy at work, they’re less likely to experience such conditions. They often feel safe within their workspace, have in-person support, and maybe even access to external guidance.
It also makes them feel competent to do their job – and do it well. This sense of purpose can boost their energy in both their personal and home life.
Better customer satisfaction
Workplace engagement isn’t just beneficial for employees; it’s also great for customer satisfaction, interaction, and experience.
Engaged employees will reflect positive, friendly, warm attitudes onto others; particularly when it comes to customer experience. With stronger customer relations, it leads to higher income, output, and brand loyalty.
Employees are then able to work better – striving for bigger goals and achievements. All this is a great bonus for staff and your overall business.
What are the consequences of not engaging employees?
It’s also fairly easy to spot an employee who isn’t engaged at work. They’re often lacking in enthusiasm, dissatisfied with their job, and uncooperative with colleagues. They’re more likely to take sick leave; some may even start looking for jobs elsewhere.
Despite the endless benefits, it isn’t wise to ignore the consequences of disengagement. For example:
Loss in productivity
The biggest consequences to not having engaged employees is a loss in productivity – both in quality and quantity..
Disengagement leads to additional business costs; like lower attendance, output, and overall revenue. Smaller businesses may be able to dodge such hits by engaging employees with the right words (and incentives). But productivity losses can be harder to recover from for larger companies.
And it’s not just the quantity of output – the quality is also affected. When employees no longer feel engaged, they’ll stop showing interest in their work.
This is usually because it’s hard for them to see a return investment for their hard work. This can bring companies to breaking-points; as innovation and creativity are key factors to help you function.
Ruins workplace relations
They say a little healthy competition is good for you. But without proper supervision, it can unequivocally ruin work relations between colleagues.
It’s often high achievers that receive the most praise, rewards, and even comradery from their seniors. This may leave other workers feeling like a ‘third wheel’. No, this isn’t about being jealous of others and their achievements. Mid or even under-performers are often left feeling neglected and undervalued.
They often don’t have the support of their managers, despite needing it more. It’s work cultures like these that lead to disengagement. It can even cause rifts between colleagues themselves. Why would a top-performer share their tips on hitting the high numbers? There’s no space for morale, teamwork, and alliance in workplaces like these.
Hard to recruit top-talent
When you’ve got a team of high-achievers, it leaves very little room for those who are still progressing (or even struggling).
Competition can become strife; it’s common to see people left on the layside if they can’t keep up. This might seem like a ‘cutting the wheat from the chaff’ kind of situation. But it can actually make things more difficult for your business.
Depending on the industry, it can be hard to recruit top-talented candidates. Businesses will go through all kinds of hoops to attract such employees; sometimes dishing out more incentives they can’t afford.
It’s very common for top-talented people to choose jobs in smaller businesses. That’s because career progression is easier to attain. But they’ll only stick around if they feel engaged with the company and its culture. If not, they’ll most likely head to wherever the money is.
Higher employee turnover
In today’s job market, it’s fairly normal for businesses to fight over talent. Some will spend thousands on recruitment campaigns or endless hours searching for the very best candidates.
During this time, it leaves existing employees feeling brushed aside, devalued, and even forgotten. This lack of investment is what drives higher employee turnover – and it’s hard to stop it from spreading.
Without a clear pathway towards their future, employees are bound to look for career progression elsewhere. Businesses end up losing investible people. It also causes you to start your recruitment process again, as you may need to initiate more searches for suitable candidates.
Grow employee engagement in the workplace with Love2shop
In the UK, employee engagement is not a legal obligation. But employers cannot deny the endless benefits that come from highly motivated and committed employees. Think about how to engage employees so it suits your employees goals, as well as your company values.
Love2shop offers expert guidance on the best practices for employee engagement. Our bespoke Love2shop Engagement Program, designed by the UK’s leading rewards company, can help you deliver the right reward to the right person at the right time.
