P.S. To get inspired, check out our complete employee engagement guide to get the rundown of things employee engagement ideas, software, surveys, and more!
Why is employee engagement important?
In a nutshell, employee engagement has been proven to reduce staff turnover, improve productivity and efficiency, improve customer service and retention, and deliver higher profits. Ultimately, having an engaged team makes a business easier to run, and enables it to focus on activities that deliver higher value, such as innovation, process improvement, and development.
According to a 2018 Gallup survey, researchers found that highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability. Another report from Salesforce ensured that employees who felt their voices were being heard were 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work.
The benefits of employee engagement
We’ve compiled some benefits of employee engagement that will help you and your team boost productivity, spread morale, and create a more positive work environment.
Benefit 1: Boost in productivity
According to a Gallup study, highly connected teams are 21% more productive. Like many other organizations, the main goal is to find productive individuals to reach those moonshot goals. That starts with allocating time effort for employee health initiative and engagement activities to keep your team engaging in their work.
Engaged employees like what they do and find their work meaningful. An engaged workforce will work harder, faster, and with much more enthusiasm. Utilizing a company like ServiceNow Development can further enhance employee engagement by streamlining processes and providing the tools needed for success. The Gallup report also found that satisfied employees are 40% more productive than dissatisfied employees. And engaged employees are 44% more effective than happy employees.
Remember, when employees are productive it results in a better quality of work. They’re much more motivated than others. And they do each task with the same amount of dedication and precision. Engaged employees = increased productivity.
Benefit 2: Improvement in retention rates
In 2017, a Gallup report showed that 51% of employees are actively looking for a new job at their current jobs. Many individuals found that a lack of recognition, internal office conflicts, or lack of pay raise were reasons for leaving.
Another benefit of employee engagement is retaining talented individuals on your team to help you achieve your goals. When employees join a company, they have expectations and desires. And when you fail to provide those, they start looking for better options. Therefore, engaging employees helps reduce the cost of turnover and improves retention.
Benefit 3: Higher profitability
Believe it or not, but a lack of employee engagement will cost your company a lot of money. According to Aon’s 2018 global engagement report, every five-point increase in engagement level led to a 3% increase in revenue.
When employees feel engaged, they naturally go the extra mile to achieve. They finish their work faster and their capacity to finish tasks also increases. Higher engagement levels increase a company’s revenue.
Benefit 4: Happy employees equal happier customers
Richard Branson once said, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first.” And he’s right. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.
Improving your customer service is reliable in increasing your employee engagement level in your organization. So, start with simple employee engagement survey questions. Engaged employees are excited, attentive, and friendly — which is perfect for building good customer relationships. Employees who are advocates for your company will put the company’s best face forward, and effective employee management can ensure that they are properly supported and motivated.
Benefit 5: Create loyal folks
Like we said above, a major benefit of employee engagement is that individuals naturally become company advocates. They feel a sense of pride in being a part of the organization. Therefore, they actively promote the brand, company, and culture. Further on, you may even ask them to share content with the brand's logo and use a logo maker to get one quickly.
Just look at the definition of engaged employees: individuals who are emotionally connected to the organization. And when this relationship is built, they’ll naturally be loyal. This is a long-term benefit and employee engagement strategy that we recommend company’s take the initiative on.
Benefit 6: Build a positive environment
Highly engaged employees bring spirit and energy to the workplace. Their motivation and drive to succeed are contagious and it doesn’t take long to catch up with others. Such employees motivate others to achieve their tasks and encourage others to actively participate in company events or offsites. All and all making it a positive experience for everyone.
These employees are the polar opposite of disengaged employees. Actively disengaged employees work actively to deteriorate the work environment. But engaged employees work towards building the company’s culture. You can get a temperature check through employee engagement softwares and surveys.
Benefit 7: Prompt innovation
When folks are engaged, they’re inspired. With the engaged employees, they’re continuously come up with exciting, fresh ideas which can help build out the company’s product. Since they are so involved with their work, they always find creative solutions, exciting jam sessions, and enjoyable work.
78% of employees whose companies encourage innovation and creativity are more loyal to their organization. It gives them the autonomy to make decisions and be creative with their work.
Benefit 8: Cost saving
Hiring new employees costs time and money. In a LinkedIn post about employee retention, “the cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5 to 2x their annual salary.” This works in two ways. When employees leave a company, the cost of hiring and training a new employee is high. Not to mention, how the high turnout rate can signal to other potential employees that your company harbors unhealthy working conditions.
Benefit 9: Better mental health
Burnout and stress is possibly the biggest factor when it comes to disengaged employees. Oftentimes, those disengaged employees are stressed at work. That’s why implementing better mental health initiatives will keep more productive individuals at your organization. It’s no secret that with the pandemic that the lines between work and home have blurred. When creating employee engagement activities, think about those who truly need a break and encourage folks to take mental health days or vacations.
