What do you think about when you think of your job? According to Gallup, engaged employees “are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace” (Harter, 2020). However, for many, that is not the case. In the US, last year, the percentage of engaged employees was 36% (Harter, 2020). Across the world, roughly 85% of employees disengage at work (Gallup).
Why is employee engagement important?
In the US, disengaged employees cost roughly $550 billion each year due to lost productivity (Gleeson, 2017). Engaged employees will feel gratification and motivation at work, which will help your company to succeed. Studies show that when workplaces have engaged employees, it results in “41% lower absenteeism” (Guest Contributor, 2020). When employees are engaged, their productivity and customer service are positively impacted. According to the Hay Group, “organizations with strong employee engagement scores generate revenue growth at a rate 2.5 times higher than companies with lower marks” (Lytle, 2016). Companies with high employee engagement are more resilient.
In 2021, 74% of actively disengaged employees are looking for new jobs or paying attention to new job openings, compared to “55% of not engaged employees and 30% of engaged employees” (Harter, 2021).
Turnover is costly for any company, and retaining employees is much more cost-effective.
Engaged and disengaged employees
There are significant differences between employees that are engaged and employees that aren’t. For instance, engaged employees are enthusiastic, involved, driven for innovation, and have higher performance levels. They are loyal to their company, selfless, optimistic, and team-oriented.
Disengaged employees lack energy or passion for their work, and they are mentally unattached. They are pessimistic, egocentric, and are not interested in their companies’ goals or missions. They put in a minimum effort and may drag down the morale of their workplace.
It is critical to turn your disengaged employees into engaged ones because if the company fails to do so, they may become actively disengaged. Actively disengaged employees are not happy at work, feel resentful, act out because of it, and undermine their colleagues who are engaged. They are employees that "can easily spread toxicity throughout an organization" (Gleeson, 2017).
How to improve employee engagement?
There are many different ways to help improve your employee engagement. For instance, increasing responsibility, autonomy, flexibility, and creating a work culture that supports growth can increase employee engagement. As the company invests in their employee, the employee will become more engaged. Additionally, recognition, rewards, and training can be ways to increase employee engagement. Another way is to check in with your employees regularly, such as through feedback.
The power of employee engagement surveys
You may ask what the purpose of employee engagement surveys is. They are tools that every company should adopt, as they provide companies “with vital information about their employees” (Guest Contributor, 2020). Employee engagement surveys help to identify and “measure employees’ commitment, motivation, sense of purpose and passion for their work and the organization” (SHRM).
Additionally, employee engagement surveys help to predict the behaviours of your employees. When employees don’t participate in the survey, it is an indicator that they are more likely to leave the organization.
For instance, at FaceBook, when employees don’t participate in either of their two yearly surveys, they “are 2.6 times more likely to leave in the next six months” (Judd et al., 2018).
Surveys are one way that allows employees to feel heard and valued. When your company does not consistently survey its employees, it signals to them that the company doesn’t care about their opinions.
In other words, “employees value having a say even if they don’t get their way” (Judd et al., 2018).
Identifying employee skills gaps in the workplace is what makes employee engagement surveys powerful. These surveys allow employers insight into what skills and knowledge their employees have and don’t.
Employee engagement surveys allow employers to know whether or not their employees are happy and ultimately provide employee’s emotional insights. Happy employees will more likely stay with their company. The information gathered from these surveys will help companies make the necessary steps and changes to ensure that their employees are engaged. Effective employee engagement surveys require consistency and frequency. When companies respond and take action to the feedback, it helps increase retention, productivity, customer service and decrease absenteeism.
How we can help
We don’t believe in cookie-cutter employee surveys because every company is unlike the other. We allow you to customize:
1). Your survey questions and templates
2). Your survey length and frequency
3). Your dashboard and reports
What happens when you don’t know what to do with your employee engagement results? Our team can help you interpret your results and coach you, so you can take action to improve your employee engagement.
Retainify is an employee engagement and development software that offers a unified solution that allows you to track employee sentiment and measure engagement in real-time. Proactively identify issues that are preventing them from being their best at work. Improve business outcomes by improving the employee experience, and enhance company culture one feedback at a time. Turn Feedback into Action.
Questions or Feedback?
Contact Us: hello@retainify.com
Citations:
Gallup. (n.d.). What Is Employee Engagement and How Do You Improve It? Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/285674/improve-employee-engagement-workplace.aspx
Gleeson, B. (2017, October 15). 5 Powerful Steps To Improve Employee Engagement. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2017/10/15/5-powerful-steps-to-improve-employee-engagement/?sh=1ac7371e341d
Guest Contributor. (2020, October 29). 10 Benefits of Employee Engagement Surveys. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.lorman.com/blog/post/10-benefits-of-employee-engagement-surveys
Harter, J. (2020, July 02). Historic Drop in Employee Engagement Follows Record Rise. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/313313/historic-drop-employee-engagement-follows-record-rise.aspx
Harter, J. (2021, July 29). U.S. Employee Engagement Holds Steady in First Half of 2021. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/352949/employee-engagement-holds-steady-first-half-2021.aspx
Judd, S., O'Rourke, E., & Grant, A. (2018, March 14). Employee Surveys Are Still One of the Best Ways to Measure Engagement. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2018/03/employee-surveys-are-still-one-of-the-best-ways-to-measure-engagement
Lytle, T. (2016, September 22). 7 Tips to Increase Employee Engagement Without Spending a Dime. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/1016/pages/7-tips-to-increase-employee-engagement-without-spending-a-dime.aspx
SHRM. (n.d.). Developing and Sustaining Employee Engagement. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/sustainingemployeeengagement.aspx
SHRM. (n.d.). Managing Employee Surveys. Retrieved November 09, 2021, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingemployeesurveys.aspx