Have you ever had a job you hated? It’s safe to say that you weren’t engaged with that company, but liking your job and being engaged with your employer aren’t necessarily the same thing. Engaged employees want the company to succeed, and view their role as part of that success.
A few business owners out there – as well as some employees – are still wondering why that matters. Isn’t it enough just to get the job done and go home? As you’ll discover, getting the job done and being engaged with your job are lightyears apart.
1. Retention.
Companies with high employee retention rates have better reputations and spend less on recruiting, HR, training, and more. Once your company finds a star employee, how long do you typically have before they move on?
These days, younger generations are moving from job to job, making retention of greater importance to businesses that just won’t profit from constant new beginnings.
2. Productivity.
What does it even mean to “get the job done”? You won’t know how much an employee can truly get done in a day until they’re engaged. In fact, one Dale Carnegie study finds that engaged employees get more than double the work completed.
They’re also less likely to take unnecessary breaks and sick days.
3. Collaboration.
How does all of this extra work get done? One way is through increased collaboration. In case it hasn’t hit you, an engaged employee is a team player, and as such, they’re all about teamwork.
When your employees collaborate to accomplish tasks, there are fewer catching points holding projects back. Departments or teams that are usually clogged get a hand up from their colleagues, which prevents employees from becoming disillusioned with a task or overworked in general.
As you can imagine, this improves the quality of the completed project, and it’s a key reason why companies try Employee Engagement Software. They don’t just want workers, they want to build a team.
4. Loyalty.
Now that you’re aware of younger generations taking their talents elsewhere, have you stopped to wonder where exactly they’ll be taking their talents next? Don’t think for a second that it could never be your competition.
If you can’t retain an employee with great potential, a competitor would be more than happy to try their own hand. And who knows what that employee has gleaned from your company that could benefit the competition?
5. Overall Success.
Employee engagement is the secret ingredient for future success in business. Engaged employees are much more likely to figure out ways to streamline processes and innovate.
Furthermore, if your company includes customer-facing operations, these employees will represent your business to the maximum, increasing satisfaction and loyalty among your customers. That means greater profits and major growth opportunity.
So no, it is never enough to have employees who simply fulfill their duties and check out. Companies who make their mission and goals clear, and manage to make the employee a part of their plans, do much better in all areas. Come up with a strategy for increasing employee engagement today, and watch every area of your company thrive.
