It is alarming to see your employees doing the minimum daily with little emotional attachment to their jobs.
So how do you get them to do more and get more productive? Employee engagement.
What is employee engagement, and what is its secret formula?
Engaging your employees has no secret formula. But there are specific ways you can improve your employee engagement.
To get your employees engaged, you must first understand employee engagement. You’ll learn everything you need to know about employee engagement in this blog.
Grab a seat. It’s about to get interactive.
What is employee engagement?
What comes to your mind when you think of employee engagement? The most productive employees, the happiest employees, or the most well-paid employees?
You’ve probably Googled it before and found many employee engagement definitions. You might also confuse employee engagement with employee satisfaction.
Let us simplify it for you.
Employee engagement refers to employees’ emotional commitment to their jobs, goals, and the company’s mission.
It has nothing to do with your employees liking the workplace or their behaviour.
See the difference between an engaged and disengaged employee below:
What are the three levels of employee engagement?
Knowing your team’s level is essential. This way, you can improve their engagement and provide the proper support.
In 2000, Gallup developed a three-level framework for employee engagement. This framework helps you track how committed and dedicated your employees are.
Levels of engagement include: actively engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged.
Now let’s explore what actively engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged employees look like.
1. Actively engaged
Actively engaged employees commit to the company’s mission and are productive, enthusiastic workers.
You’ll notice that your actively engaged employees:
- Contribute to process and product improvement. Also, they think creatively and innovatively.
- Contribute to the company’s growth by taking the initiative.
- Promote the culture and vision of the company.
- Show pride in their organisation. It’s evident how they represent the company at events, interviews, and conferences.
- Overcome their responsibilities and go above and beyond their job descriptions.
- Adapt to challenges and stress with resilience. If necessary, they may even volunteer for extra responsibilities.
- Positively view the company’s future.
- They get along well with their coworkers and supervisors.
2. Not engaged
Consider this level of engagement as the middle ground.
Employees who are not engaged show indifference or neutrality toward their job and organisation. There’s not much more they’ll do than what you expect of them.
Look out for these traits when identifying disengaged workers:
- Their only goal is to get by and nothing more.
- They do not offer suggestions for improving processes or products.
- Their preference for the status quo over improvements makes them resistant to change and growth.
- Having no desire to go beyond their job descriptions.
- A lack of commitment to the vision and mission of the organisation.
- They tend to be loners who prefer to work independently rather than as a team.
3. Actively disengaged
Finally, actively disengaged employees are far from the best productive workers. Their attitude toward your company and what they do for a living is cynical, pessimistic, and resentful. It is even possible that they sabotage its success just for fun.
These are the characteristics of actively disengaged employees:
- Their words and actions convey their disinterest in your company. Other jobs may even be on their radar.
- There are subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways in which they undermine their coworkers, supervisors, and teams. They will, for instance, take credit for someone else’s work. Alternatively, they may claim that insufficient support is to blame for their poor performance.
- Their complaints about your company are loud and clear. Negative talk is sometimes taken outside work boundaries to turn others against them.
- They aren’t open to change and to learn. Also, they don’t embrace opportunities for improvement.
- Instead of proposing solutions, they will complain about what’s wrong with your organisation. Additionally, they do not try to fix things on their own.
Now that we’ve covered the levels of employee engagement let’s check out some interesting statistics.
Some employee engagement and productivity statistics that would interest you
Several hundred exciting statistics are available on employee engagement.
We’ve picked out the top 8 stats so you can build a company culture that engages employees.
Let’s explore them now:
- Over 85% of employees aren’t engaged at work.
- 73% of employees consider leaving their jobs.
- Companies lose $450-500 billion annually due to low employee engagement
- There is a 21% increase in profitability for companies with highly engaged employees.
- Companies with the best corporate cultures embraced leadership initiatives and valued their employees, customers, and owners grew 682 per cent.
- Three-thirds of those leaving their jobs cite boredom as their top reason for leaving.
- Recognising employees is an essential part of the job for 37% of employees.
- Only 29% of employees are satisfied with their workplace’s career advancement opportunities.
Now that you know some top statistics about employee engagement, let’s examine its impact on your business.
What is the impact of employee engagement on your business?
A business’s success depends on engaged employees giving their best effort to reach the company’s goals.
The following are reasons why employee engagement has become a top priority for most businesses:
- An engaged workforce increases productivity. There is a 21 per cent increase in profitability for companies with high employee engagement.
- An engaged workforce improves workplace morale.
- An engaged workforce reduces absenteeism. Moreover, Gallup research shows that highly engaged workplaces have 41% lower absenteeism rates.
- An engaged workforce provides better customer service.
- An engaged workforce is more effective and efficient. Globally, most workplaces aren’t engaged, which adversely affects business success.
Therefore, it is important to understand employee engagement initiatives and tactics to improve employee engagement.
Who’s in charge of employee engagement?
If employee engagement is low, it can’t be blamed solely on one group.
The question now is: Who are we to blame?
An organisation’s collective efforts usually result in employee engagement, a cultural and company-wide phenomenon.
Here are some people who can help us improve employee engagement.
1. Management
When upper management is unreasonable, demanding, or volatile, this will foster a culture of fear, leaving everyone feeling uneasy and like they’re on eggshells.
Middle managers also receive additional pressure to please leadership, which may influence their staff.
In contrast, employee engagement increases when a manager is approachable, fair, and personable and fights for their team.
2. HR
It is essential to have a strong HR team.
They establish systems to prevent high levels of disengagement. They do it by encouraging employee recognition, conducting engagement surveys, or having an open-door policy to discuss concerns.
In addition to running regular engagement surveys, HR should act on employee feedback.
3. Leaders
Leaders play a huge role in engaging their employees.
An approachable leader who delegates their employees’ workload will retain the best employees.
A trusting leader will reduce stress by 74%, boost productivity by 50%, and increase engagement by 76%.
4. Employees
Working together, recognising peers and lending a helping hand to someone who might need it should be the goal of everyone on the team. The initiative should come from the employees, not the organisation.
It’s time for you to create a plan. Let’s get into it.
Employee engagement plan and how to create a plan?
A comprehensive employee engagement plan examines the significant factors that influence employee engagement, identifies employees’ pain points, and addresses them.
You can create an employee engagement plan based on your employees’ identified pain points.
But what should you include in your employee engagement plan, and how do you create it?
Let’s break it down for you.
1. Find out your organisation’s employee value proposition (EVP)
You must first identify what your staff values most to attract top talent.
Is it a good salary package? Is it work flexibility? Is it the company’s culture?
Whatever it is, find out and move on to the next step.
2. Survey to find out what works for your employees
Asking your employees directly can be more beneficial for your employee engagement plan.
A simple survey is the easiest way to determine what works for them. In the survey, ask the employees about the company’s strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement.
3. Plan the changes you want to make
Identify the areas for improvement based on the data. Prioritise the solutions and identify two to three focus points.
The following are some points to consider:
- How does employee engagement relate to the themes or trends from the survey?
- Which areas scored the lowest?
- How can you quickly allocate existing resources to fix these issues?
- Could you improve with just a few changes?
4. Identify possible solutions
You have identified the pain points and improvement areas of your employees.
Let’s breathe life into them now.
You can discuss the data feedback with your team and develop focus groups for each theme identified.
Create a list of ideas to improve every focus area, then narrow it down to your team’s favourites.
Here is an example of an employee engagement plan:
| Areas for improvement | Problem(s) | Solution(s) | Success metrics | Owners | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote team spirit | – Less informal touchpoints – Less feeling of belonging | – Daily stand-up meetings – Virtual team’s event 1 x month | “Team spirit” pulse results from active rating after 3 months | Kevin Smith | Start: 15.4.2023 First review: 15.7.2023 |
| Growth opportunities | … | … | … | … | … |
| Mental health and wellness | … | … | … | … | … |
How to measure employee engagement
There are diverse ways to measure employee engagement.
You can ask employees about their attitudes toward work, preferences, and relationships using a questionnaire or survey.
You can also use an engagement assessment tool. A workplace simulation or activity that measures their level of engagement could be included.
Additionally, one-on-one meetings, focus groups, clear employee goals, and transparent communication.
If you want to know more about measuring employee engagement, check out our blog on how to measure employee engagement.
How to improve employee engagement
We know you want some actionable tips to improve your team’s engagement.
And we are here to explain how you can improve employee engagement.
Let’s dive into it.
1. Communicated growth opportunities
Your top talents want to know where they will be after 5 years.
So, communicate growth opportunities with them. Build a roadmap with them and help them achieve their goals.
This way, your employees feel valued and visualise staying at the company long-term.
2. Employee development programs
Using the roadmap, determine whether the employee would like to attend training sessions, seminars, or workshops.
An informal discussion of a particular project can serve as a starting point. Staff could even take time off work to attend courses if the company’s training budget allows them to do it.
Engaged and happier employees have the chance to learn and grow their skills.
3. Employee wellbeing
No, we’re not talking about flexible work hours. An employee-friendly management attitude promotes employee well-being.
Provide your employees with free mental health resources or first aid training to promote a better work-life balance. Promoting good mental health through free gym membership or subsidising membership is a great way to promote employee well-being.
4. Recognition programs
Recognising employees and engaging them go hand in hand. Acknowledging and recognising good work can generate an emotional commitment to an organisation.
Recognising staff to make them feel valued is necessary, which contributes to a positive employee experience.
Your recognition program should be open to all, provide on-the-spot praise, reward with relevance, and keep it aligned with the company’s values.
5. Provide flexibility
Work schedule flexibility and remote work options can boost employee engagement. You can do it by helping them achieve work-life balance through this level of adaptability. Ensure you take care of your employees’ needs so they can balance their work and personal lives.
Excellent employee engagement starts with excellent communication
Effective communication promotes employee engagement and influences managers and executives to communicate better.
Effective communication can significantly boost employee engagement.
In remote settings, communication is often overlooked, which results in incorrect information flow and disengagement.
However, there is no need to worry. To achieve excellent communication, use Talk Magnet.
Talk Magnet is an easy-to-use platform for collaborating and communicating within your team.
It’s an all-in-one solution that improves productivity for hybrid and remote teams. Talk Magnet includes file-sharing, voice or video calls, and instant messaging.
Ready to boost your employee engagement?
Now that you have read the complete employee engagement guide, it is time to implement your new learning.
How? You do it by taking the help of useful online tools.
It is easier to engage your employees when they communicate smoothly.
Talk Magnet is an easy-to-use, lightweight app that facilitates employee communication and collaboration and makes communication easier.
Using Talk Magnet, your remote and hybrid employees can communicate quickly and effectively.
So what are you waiting for? Book a demo today and start using Talk Magnet for free.
Frequently asked questions about employee engagement
What is meant by employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to how much cognitive, emotional, and behavioural energy employees invest in their organisations.
Why is communication important for engagement?
Effective communication with employees is critical to improving their performance, retention and well-being.
How would you describe good employee engagement?
Employees who are highly engaged have very optimistic opinions about their workplace.
Your employees will likely want to stick around and put in extra effort to help your organisation succeed when they feel connected to their teams, love their jobs, and feel optimistic about the organisation.
What are the three C’s of employee engagement?
Career, competence, and care are the three Cs of employee engagement.
What are the fundamental principles of employee engagement?
There will be a combination of thinking, behaviour, emotions, and relationships involved in the engagement. Energy is the fuel that drives employee engagement.
Paying attention to our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual energies at work is essential.
