Engaged to being engaged: why you need to engage with your employees

We mentioned in our blog about Customer Retention that encouraging employees to have more confidence and responsibility would also encourage customer loyalty. But there is much more to it than that. Every good manager wants to keep their employees motivated and happy and any that doesn’t is not interested in the benefits of customer satisfaction.

But how can you keep your employees happy enough to maintain that customer satisfaction? Well, it’s all about engagement and how you treat your staff. Are we raising more questions than we’re answering? Allow us to answer them…

Why would an employee be unhappy?

Some of you might be wondering why your employees might be dissatisfied. Maybe you pay them a lot, and don’t even mind them turning up late occasionally. But are you looking at the big picture? Rollo May says that depression is the inability to construct a future, and while depression may (but not necessarily) be a stretch for your staff, the logic stands. There needs to be the possibility of a better opportunity in the future or you risk even those contented with their job beginning to stagnate.

A study by BambooHR found that, in the US, 20% of employees would rather take a promotion without salary increase than stay in the same job with a 3% increase. Progression is a major part of satisfaction and if there is hope for your staff to move up then there is the ability to construct a future.

How can you reinvigorate your employees?

Giving a guide to specifically detail how to engage your employees would be like giving a guide on how to paint a picture — there are far too many options and styles to narrow it down! It could be something simple that makes the employees feel more involved in the company, such as choosing the store/office playlist, or letting them write some content for the website. It might be something more significant like giving your employees more responsibility to show you trust them. There are literally thousands of ways you can involve your employees in the company — just be creative and think about how you can make your staff feel valued, trusted and a part of the company.

How can you maintain employee satisfaction?

Have you reminded your employees that you’re glad they work at your business recently? It could be as simple as that to maintain employee satisfaction. 94% of employees who receive positive recognition every day claim to be satisfied with their company.

But it’s not just about what you say; it’s about listening, too. Take on feedback from your staff about how the company is run, or listen to the values they hold dear and try to incorporate those values into your own business ethos. This might sound daunting but it could be as simple as recycling your plastics or getting a pot plant! Allowing for employee feedback and values to be incorporated into the company will make employees feel appreciated and a part of the business.

Why do we even need employee engagement?

There is no one reason for employee engagement, rather several very good reasons and an excellent reason. Employee engagement means more motivated employees and customer satisfaction, leading to financial returns when those customers give you repeat business. A study from the National Business Research Institute (NBRI) found that 40–80% of customer satisfaction is affected by employee attitudes. It also found that engaged employees are twice as productive as unengaged employees. In 2013, another study revealed that companies with better employee engagement had significantly less absenteeism, and even had better health and safety records.

But more effective than even these is the idea that an engaged employee could become an employee advocate. Employee advocates are roughly one million times more effective (NOTE: made up statistic) at promoting a brand than customer advocates, but that’s a topic for another article…

Customer service should be a top priority for any business and while customer satisfaction is the end goal, employee satisfaction is an essential route to a happy customer. Look after your employees. After all, they look after your business.