Employee engagement is much more than a desirable for businesses to have; it’s essential and businesses who ignore how engaged their employees are do so at their peril. Why? Because businesses who have engaged employees consistently out-perform those who don’t and always have the competitive edge over their rivals.
Traditionally, employee engagement has been classed as how productive or ‘happy’ employees are but, in reality, it is much more than this. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, John Baldoni describes engaged employees as: “People who want to come to work, understand their jobs, and know their work contributes to the success of the organisation.”
And the benefits are clear to see. Engaged employees are happier, healthier and enjoy work, something we hold close to our hearts at Quinyx. Still not convinced? Here are four reasons why employee engagement should be a top priority:
1. Improved profitability
Engaged employees will make you more profitable. In fact, according to a study from Gallup, businesses with engaged employees see a 22% increase in profitability. What’s more, research from Watson Wyatt, found companies with strong employee engagement deliver a return for their shareholders of 64% across a five year period compared to 21% for those with low level of engagement.
Research carried out in Sweden by VD-tidningen (The CEO Magazine) found that by using the following equation (the percentage of unmotivated staff x cost of a half year’s salary x number of employees) it’s possible to work out the true cost of unmotivated staff and disengaged employees.
According to the magazine, if the company has 200 employees with an average full-time salary of £20,000 per person and 30 percent say they are unmotivated, it will cost the company £600,000 each year.
If the bottom line is your ultimate measure of success, then keeping your employees engaged is a vital component to being successful.
2. Better employee retention
It’s much easier for you to keep an employee than it is to recruit a new one. The average cost to replace an employee in the UK is more than £30,000, which includes the time it takes to recruit them, train them and make them a high performer. With statistics from the Corporate Leadership Council showing engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their job than disengaged ones, focussing on employee engagement makes financial sense as well as business sense.
3. Less sick days
According to the Confederation of British Industry, the number of sick days taken by disengaged employees is double that of engaged employees. Better employee engagement means less sick days which also means less time taken up by admin for your HR team.
4. Improved customer satisfaction
Gallup also found business with engaged employees score up to 20% higher on customer satisfaction surveys than their competitors with low levels of engagement. And it’s not hard to see why. Happy employees who feel rewarded in their work are much more likely to go the extra mile for your customers. The same study found the productivity in engaged employees is, again, 20% greater than disengaged employees.
There’s no reasons for work not to be enjoyable. Of course, every job will bring its challenges, difficulties and elements of stress. However, if you can create a culture where employees are nurtured and encouraged to be the best versions of themselves then you’ll reach a point where success and enjoying work go hand in hand.
