What is Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement: What it is, What it isn’t and Why it’s Essential to Business Growth and Survival

A look at the well-documented power of employee engagement to impact growth and the bottom line.

A culture of engagement boosts retention of high-performing employees who make significant contributions to your business. In addition, it saves the cost of replacing their knowledge and talent and gaps that may actually undermine performance and growth.

Engagement is an employee’s willingness to give discretionary effort. This is the difference between the level of effort an individual is capable of and the level of effort required to merely “get by.” Engaged employees feel an emotional bond to their employers. They view the company’s goals as their own and are willing to put in additional time and effort to see those goals met.

If you’re connecting the dots, you already sense that this positive emotional connection not only makes an employee more productive, but also increases retention and financial results.

Beyond job satisfaction

You might mistakenly equate happiness with performance. But an employee can be happy taking shortcuts and putting in minimum effort. In contrast, an engaged employee goes the “extra mile” to contribute to the bigger picture. The result: They understand how their piece of the puzzle connects and makes a difference.

Results of a study conducted by the Corporate Leadership Council clearly link the power of engagement to a company’s bottom line. The survey of more than 50,000 employees in more than 59 organizations worldwide found:

• Increased employee engagement can lead to a 57% increase in discretionary effort;
• Increased effort results in a 20% performance improvement;
• And improved performance can lead to a 42% increase in the financial performance of a company.

Chip Conley’s 17-minute discussion of concepts that pack a punch on the bottom line:

• Equation representing happiness
• Measuring intangible units of production
• Redefining GDP for our service-based economy
• Link between employee happienss and profits
• Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index

Engagement is a key component to retention

In a tough economy, an engaged workforce can mean the difference between success and failure. This is true for companies of all sizes, in all industries and employees at all levels (from senior managers throught the front line).

Some employers may thing that employees are just plain grateful to have a job, but that doesn’t mean employees are engaged. Budget cutting has left workers feeling more stretched than ever. Mix this with feeling underappreciated and you create a toxic formula for  your organization.

In a survey by Right Management, workers were asked, “Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves?’ The results were eye opening:

• 60% intend to leave;
• 21% said they might leave and are networking;
• and 13% percent said they intend to stay.

Employees who are most likely to leave are typically the ones with the highest potential. This could leave you with greater portion of your work force that is non-engaged or disengaged, which will create a gap in seasoned, high-potential talent. However, a culture of engagement can help stem this. Replacing those high-potential employees is a costly proposition-far more costly than engaging them.

Step back for a minute and think of what might happen if your employees felt as valued as your best customers.

We are problem solvers and innovators when it comes to helping you create the conditions to engage, enable and enrich your employees.  For strategies that will align with your objectives, reflect your company brand, message and voice call us.

Toll free: 800-742-6800      In Minneapolis/St. Paul: 952-933-8365     www.askhillarys.com