Why is employee engagement important

 

Why is employee engagement important?

 

 

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

Employee engagement is defined as the degree to which employees are committed to their employer, passionate about their work and invested in the company’s success (Sridevi , 2010, p. 89).

WHY IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IMPORTANT?

Employee engagement reduces turnover

If your employees don’t care about their work or your goals, they’re not going to stick around. Actively disengaged employees are 12 times more likely to quit than their engaged colleagues. What’s worse, employee turnover creates a ripple effect. Your top performers know their worth and can easily get another job — 53% are confident they’ll find a comparable position within six months. If your best people start to leave, the rest of your team will look around the office, wonder “What am I missing?” and pack their things.

Improving employee engagement encourages individual contributors to invest in your team, helping you retain top talent. In fact, a highly engaged workforce has been shown to decrease turnover by 25-59%. If you’re currently experiencing high turnover, get in front of a mass exodus by figuring out what is driving people away and how you can improve (anitha, 2014, pp. 62-67).

 

Employee engagement improves customer satisfaction

Organizations with engaged employees experience a 10% increase in customer rankings and a 20% boost in sales. Why? Engaged employees believe in your company, value your product and are passionate about the work they do. This translates into unparalleled customer service in which employees go above and beyond for the people they serve.

Customers pick up on engaged employees' excitement and passion, which influences their buying decisions. One study found that customers of companies with engaged employees use their products and services more frequently and were more satisfied than customers of companies with disengaged workforces.

 

Employee engagement increases profitability

It makes sense that companies with employees who work harder, serve customers better and stick around for longer are more profitable than organizations with disengaged workforces. Consider the above three benefits: reducing turnover cuts down on the cost of hiring new employees; improved productivity means more business-driving products, ideas and strategies are developed; increased customer satisfaction leads to more sales. All of this drives profitability. 

A highly engaged workforce infuses passion and energy into every corner of your business, generating higher profits in return (Buit In, 2019).

 

Conclusion

Engaged employees are the key to a successful business; a highly engaged workforce has been shown to boost retention, productivity and profitability rates, among others. Engaged employees also go the extra mile, using discretionary effort to do more than their job description requires. They possess an owner’s mentality; they’re actively invested in the organization’s long-term success and believe their day-to-day responsibilities positively contribute to how the company achieves its goals.

 

Reference

 Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance. International journal of productivity and performance, 118-143. Retrieved 11 22, 2020

Buit In. (2019, 12 18). WHY IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IMPORTANT? Retrieved 11 22, 2020, from Buit In: https://builtin.com/employee-engagement/why-is-employee-engagement-important

Sridevi , S. (2010). Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), 89-115. Retrieved 11 22, 2020, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.466.1591&rep=rep1&type=pdf

 

Image Source - https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2017/10/15/5-powerful-steps-to-improve-employee-engagement[Accessed on 10th March 2023]