Have you noticed an unsettling trend in employee engagement lately? Engagement numbers recently hit an 11-year low in the U.S. and half of workers in the U.S. and Canada are feeling stressed out at work. If you’re wondering what this could mean for your business and how you can tackle these pressing challenges head on, read on for some important insights.
The effects of disengagement are far reaching, translating to significant pain points for businesses, including high turnover rates, low productivity and decreased customer satisfaction. Imagine the impact on your bottom line if you could turn this around. Engaged employees are not only more productive but also more likely to stay with your company, reducing the costly churn of hiring and training new staff. They are also more likely to provide exceptional customer service, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. In essence, focusing on employee engagement can transform your business, driving revenue growth and enhancing overall performance.
Defining Employee Engagement
First, let’s clear up a common misconception holding you back from a truly engaged workforce: Employee engagement isn’t job satisfaction. An employee can be satisfied with a job without being engaged. The factors that affect satisfaction involve meeting an employee’s basic needs and wants. Things like pay, benefits, supervision, working conditions and job security all lead to increased satisfaction, but these are not the factors that motivate increased engagement and productivity. Job satisfaction is very important; but it only provides a baseline for building a deeper level of passion and commitment.
Employee satisfaction is the minimum entry fee that needs to be met in order for an employee to be fully engaged.
Beyond just satisfaction, employee engagement is all about how connected and committed employees feel toward their work and company. It’s when team members are enthusiastic about their roles and are motivated to do their best, and feel valued and appreciated at work.
Recognizing Engagement
Highly engaged workers are rare, making up only 23% of the workforce worldwide. That means 77% of workers are still waiting to be inspired.
It’s important to recognize engagement behaviors so you can foster an environment where they are encouraged to spread, or they will remain a rarity. There are three levels of engagement in employees:
Engaged
Engaged employees are highly motivated and willing to go the extra mile. You might see them helping fellow employees, sharing ideas for growth and advocating for your business to their network. This group is a great resource for helping to foster engagement behaviors in their co-workers.
Not Engaged
Non-engaged employees do what they need to get by, but they are not working with passion. These employees may be competent and even have high job satisfaction, but they are not contributing to business growth, only business survival. This group has the highest potential to become engaged if given the right motivation.
Actively Disengaged
Actively disengaged employees are not just unhappy at work; they are actively acting out their unhappiness and spreading discontent. This group has the potential to reverse the progress of engagement efforts and undermine the accomplishments of their more highly engaged co-workers.
Start Your Employee Engagement Journey
Cultivating a culture of engagement — an environment where your employees share your passion and work hard to achieve your shared goals — is a long-term journey. Partner with someone who can guide you to your goals every step of the way.
The Employee Engagement specialists at GO2 Partners have worked with large and small businesses in a variety of industries to overcome engagement challenges. If you have any questions, or you’re ready to start experiencing the benefits of a highly engaged workforce, we’re here to help.
