The Business Case for Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a term we’ve used a lot recently and particularly how insufficient engagement among employees can lead to the business disruption that is sometimes critical.

What does employee engagement mean?

Employee engagement means creating the right conditions in an organisation for all employees to do their best work every day. It means that they commit to the goals and values of their organisation and are motivated to contribute to its success. It’s also intended to enhance employees’ own sense of well-being. Employee engagement means creating the conditions that inspire people to go the extra mile, to put in the effort that’s not demanded of them. When your employees are engaged, they really care about your organisation and its success. They feel they’re a part of it and so they’re committed to it.

In other words, it means people who love their jobs – which benefits both employer and employee. It isn’t always easy and usually takes some time to achieve but it pays off in enhanced performance and productivity if you get it right.

What’s the business case?

Research has demonstrated a clear correlation between company performance and substantial employee engagement. One 2012 report found that organisations, where engagement levels measured 75% or more, showed:

• 18% higher productivity levels;
• 40% less employee turnover;
• 2.5 times greater revenue growth;
• 2 times greater annual profits;
• 12% greater customer satisfaction.

Other recent studies also report how increased employee engagement can significantly improve productivity and overall company performance. Moreover, employee well-being is increased and stress levels reduced.

Given its typical effect on productivity, you’re going to miss out if you’re not aiming to increase your engagement levels. Despite the longer hours typically put in by Britons (particularly at the management level), the levels of overall productivity in Britain are still stubbornly lower than in most other G7 countries.

So, what’s the problem?

A recent report on motivation by the Hay Group suggested that their productivity might be increased by up to 45% of employees were doing a job they loved. That 45% increase could represent up to £340bn of additional output just in the UK service sector. Therefore, your goal is to help change the mindset of your employees from thinking that their jobs are alright to think that they love their jobs. This will help you not only to a happier workforce but could unlock huge business potential in enhanced performance and productivity.

No one thinks that this is easy. Achieving high levels of employee engagement takes time and effort although the long-term results definitely merit the investment. We’re going to look more at this theme in the coming weeks and explore some of the ways employee engagement can be increased in your company.

 

All of our consultants have successfully run businesses and our practical approach to supporting our clients enables us to share our real-world experience to positively impact on the performance of your business

 

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