Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to an organisation and its goals. This means that employees care about their work and their company and are more likely give what’s called ‘discretionary effort’ or go the extra mile. Discretionary effort is effort that is not essential for the job but is something engaged employees will want to give to help their organisation succeed.

Engaged employees lead to higher service quality and productivity, higher customer satisfaction, increased sales, higher levels of profit and higher shareholder returns. To put it simply – businesses with highly engaged employees produce better business outcomes than those without. Research by Gallup has found businesses with highly engaged employees to have:

• A 41% reduction in absenteeism
• A 17% increase in productivity
• Over 24% reduction in staff turnover
• Up to a 20% increase in sales
• A 21% increase in profitability

But they also found that 51% of the US workforce are not engaged. This group present a huge opportunity for employers, as they are often looking for a reason to be inspired.

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, employee engagement has been difficult for employers without the usual face-to-face interaction and office environment. But that doesn’t mean that it should be less of a priority. In fact, now more than ever are employees looking for that extra bit of recognition or support to give them the push to perform to their maximum potential.

How to Engage Employees in 2021 and Beyond

Increase Communication

Working remotely can make it difficult to develop meaningful relationships between co-workers and maintain a sense of company culture. Managers need to be more intentional about their communication and encourage team members to make full use of digital tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack. Sharing company news, providing updates and sending a meme or two can help keep people in the loop and feeling part of a team.

Invest in Employee Wellbeing

Since the outbreak of Covid causing a huge shift in how organisations and employees work, staff burnout has been on the rise. In fact, a recent survey found that 47% of managers thought their employees could be at risk.

We recently talked about our top events for employee wellbeing which are designed to give employees a break from their usual routine and potentially pick up some healthy habits to improve their lifestyle whilst working from home. But there are also other recommendations like introducing an employee assistance programme and training mental health first aiders to support struggling staff.

Reward Good Work

Creating a culture of thanks and recognition can do wonders for productivity and employee satisfaction. Introducing an incentive programme or rewards platform will not only act as a huge source of motivation for staff, but being thanked for their efforts goes along way too. Without the usual office perks and social events, an online rewards platform is more useful than ever. To find out more about our MyRewards platform, click here.

Encourage Feedback

Individuals knowing they can make their voices heard is a huge factor in employee motivation but leaders should make an effort to act on feedback to really make a difference. Digital technology such as anonymous surveys can be used to gather honest feedback about job satisfaction, workplace happiness, levels of productivity and ultimately, employee engagement.

To talk to us in more detail about how we can help your business reap the benefits of increased employee engagement, click the button below and send us an email.