Employee engagement is an important factor in employees’ success and job satisfaction, and it’s a vital component of the overall success of a company. Employee engagement encourages wellbeing and productivity, driving company profits and revenue. This article will explore the importance of employee engagement, illustrating why it pays to invest in people.

What Is Employee Engagement and Why Is It Important?

Employee engagement refers to the dedication, interest, and satisfaction employees feel towards their work and their company. Employee engagement impacts employees’ performance, including productivity levels and efficiency, and profit-impacting factors such as employee absenteeism, turnover, customer satisfaction, and the company’s work culture. 

The global analytics organisation Gallup has analysed data across its client base and found that high employee engagement rates can increase profits by 23% and customer loyalty by 10%. These numbers illustrate that employee engagement has far-reaching effects on a company’s overall success. 

Engaged employees tend to:

• Feel satisfied with their job and work-life balance
• Be productive and motivated, increasing outputs and profits
• Stay with the company, reducing the need and costs of recruiting and training new staff
• Be fully present at their job, decreasing absences, work disruptions, and project delays
• Deliver better customer service, which increases sales and customer satisfaction
• Contribute to a positive work culture
• Develop innovative ideas

Though employee engagement is based on intangible feelings, it can significantly impact a company’s bottom line, which is why it’s an essential factor to monitor and measure for long-term business success. 

How Is Employee Engagement Measured?

Measuring employee engagement isn’t straightforward, as assessing its effect entails more than quantitative indicators. Qualitative and subjective data need to be analysed and quantified in the process too. It can also be difficult to separate the measurements from other factors and influences, including industry trends and the economy. To address these challenges, monitoring and measuring employee engagement involves setting clear objectives, establishing KPIs (key performance indicators), determining baseline rates for each indicator, and monitoring how they perform over time. 

KPIs may include quantitative metrics like sales numbers, employee absences, and employee turnover, along with qualitative indicators such as customer and employee satisfaction. Establishing baseline rates for these KPIs can be done by looking at the company’s existing data, holding group meetings, conducting interviews, and sending out surveys. 

After a predetermined period, this data can be collected again to compare progress, creating an objective look at the performance of employee engagement initiatives. In both instances, take note of external factors that may be impacting these data sets for a comprehensive look at the company’s employee engagement rates.

How Can Companies Enhance Employee Engagement?

Companies can enhance employee engagement in various ways, just as marketers implement multiple strategies to engage audiences and customers to build brand loyalty. Consider online casinos as an example. They engage players with enticing options like slot machines with the highest RTP and deposit bonuses. On the surface, these seem like casual offers, but they play a more significant role in fostering long-term relationships with players by prioritising positive experiences and rewards. 

Similarly, employee engagement strategies may not seem directly connected to how employees engage with their company, but they can have a chain reaction leading to increased engagement and all the benefits that come with it.

Companies can improve engagement through the following strategies:

• Prioritising professional development through workshops, courses, conferences, and mentorship programs 
• Delivering competitive compensation and benefit packages, including retirement plans that show commitment to the employee’s long-term financial wellbeing
• Promoting a healthy work-life balance by offering flexible schedules, remote work options, and time off
• Actively acknowledging and showing appreciation for employees by creating employee recognition programs such as employee of the month, performance bonuses, and sharing personalised thank-you notes
• Maintaining open communication and a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable discussing ideas, sharing concerns, and providing feedback to colleagues, managers, and other members of the workplace
• Creating space for fun in the workplace through team-building activities, lunch excursions, and celebrating events such as birthdays and promotions

What Happens When Companies Prioritise Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is important in theory, but does it drive results in practice? Given the complexities of attributing monetary value to intangible factors like employee morale and work culture, it’s natural to ask this. However, many organisations have put the theories of employee engagement into practice and have seen impressive results, both in monetary and intangible ways.

Google

A key example is Google, a leading tech company known for its employee-centric policies. Google prioritises employee engagement and wellbeing through innovative workplace policies. One of its most influential policies is the 20% policy, allowing employees to dedicate 20% of their working hours to personal projects they feel will benefit the company. It is a permission slip to step away from daily responsibilities to take on projects that excite, engage, and empower employees to have more control over their work and impact on the company. 

The 20% policy led to the creation of widely used Google apps, including Google AdSense and Google News. These profit-driving apps have become essential daily tools for individuals and businesses alike. The 20% policy wasn’t enacted to gain these monetary benefits, but they were a powerful side effect demonstrating employee engagement’s importance.

Hilton

Hilton, an internationally recognised hospitality company, has adopted a wide range of employee engagement strategies, earning the company recognition as a top place to work worldwide for nearly a decade. A key element is the ‘Thrive at Hilton’ initiative that prioritises employee mental wellbeing through a platform of mental health resources developed through partnerships with brands such as Thrive, BetterUp, and ComPsych. The platform provides a wealth of on-demand resources and regular live webinars. 

‘Thrive at Hilton’ emerged following the pandemic but has proved so valuable to the workforce that it has not only been kept but expanded upon since. Thanks to such initiatives, the company boasts a 98% engagement rate across its 550,000 employees and team members.

Final Thoughts

From theory to practice, the benefits of employee engagement are impossible to ignore. For businesses to maintain a positive work culture and a satisfied workforce, they need to prioritise employee engagement—and if they do this effectively, it will yield substantial benefits for employees and employers alike.