Employee engagement always comes across as this important but immeasurable quality that organizations are wishing for – the reality is that while it is indeed an important metric, it’s also measurable. But before we get to that, let’s quickly remind ourselves why employee engagement is a critical factor that can determine the success of your company.
What is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement can broadly be defined as the initiative and effort an employee puts in all their work endeavors, often as a result of job satisfaction which can be attributed to aspects such as satisfactory wages, nurturing work environment, suitable career growth trajectory and more.
Employee engagement is a metric that feeds into itself; workers satisfied with their jobs will continue to engage more at work; engaged employees will be motivated to perform even better and obtain greater job satisfaction from achievements, awards and growth. This self-replicating nature of employee engagement makes it an essential ingredient for the success and evolution of any organization.
What are the Impacts of High Employee Engagement?
We’ve seen that high employee engagement is a self-sustaining model, once the core requirement of “job satisfaction” is fulfilled. What makes it a key success metric is the impact a highly engaged workforce has on a business. A full analysis of the impacts is a discussion for another blog, but in summary, here are some major takeaways you can expect:
- High productivity – A motivated team is a productive team. You’ll find such employee clock in punctually, waste less time in the office and are delivering higher quality work in the same, or less amount of time.
- Nurturing workplace environment – As we’ve discussed a few times already, an office environment that is conducive to a positive, healthy mindset can transform the workplace. Motivated and highly engaged employees can play a significant role in promoting such an environment and mindset and assure greater success for the business and its workforce both.
- Increased revenue – It’s a straight line from an engaged and productive workforce in a nurturing environment to increased revenues and profits for the organization. In fact, that is a sure shot way to demonstrate to the organization’s steering committee / board of governors the true value of employee engagement.
- Decreased costs – The other side of the increased revenue coin is another positive! When your employees are happy and engaged at work, they won’t be jumping ship at the first available opportunity. This increases the chances of projects being delivered on time, successfully, as there will be no need to hire replacements for skilled employees mid-project. This also helps driving down the associated costs of hiring those replacements too, which is a significant saving!
How Does One Measure Employee Engagement?
By looking at the value employee engagement brings to any business, you can easily consider the inverse of those propositions and see the kind of negative financial and organizational impact a workforce with a lack of engagement would bring. That’s why it is necessary for the business, through HR, to be observing markers of employee engagement, such as tracking time and punctuality.
These trackable markers aren’t definitive, of course, but can be used, in conjunction with surveys and investigations into employee wellness, job and career satisfaction, and growth prospects: all metrics we previously linked directly to employee engagement. These surveys need to be well thought out, as the qualitative data amassed will be critical to identifying the state of the employees. We’ll be discussing the minutiae of such surveys and fact-finding investigations in a later blog.
Boosting Employee Engagement Means Business Success
The bottom line is very simple here: if you provide your employees with the requisite job satisfaction they seek, they will become engaged, highly motivated and help the business succeed to newer heights. Emphasis on providing job satisfaction, which is the fundamental way of boosting employee engagement.
As discussed above, job satisfaction can broadly be attributed to salaries, career growth and prospects, and workplace culture. The solution thus becomes apparent: By providing your workforce with adequate compensation for their work, assuring them of a better and brighter professional future and establishing a supportive and positive space in which to perform their duties, you can set your business up for guaranteed success!