Employee Engagement Is No Longer Optional
This post is only a summary of our research and findings, for more information take a look at our complete and comprehensive Employee Engagement Whitepaper.
Employee engagement has become a bit of a buzz word in the last several years. Industry leaders, motivational speakers, business blogs, and everything else seem to be full of advice on how to engage employees. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most employees are not engaged. In fact, only 32% of employees are classified as engaged, leaving 70% of the world’s workforce either indifferent or actively disinterested in their occupation.
But the real question is, does it matter? After all, workers are treated civilly, paid a decedent wage, and even have the occasional HR sponsored party. Isn’t that enough? While organizations have been able to evade engaging employees in the past, doing so is no longer an option. If businesses want to stay competitive and continue toward long term success, employee engagement must become a serious priority.
Attract and Retain Talent
Today’s prospective employee has unlimited access to resources unimaginable only a few years ago. Online job boards, digital networking, and remote work possibilities, combined with an already strong job market, have made finding employment more accessible than ever. Skilled employees, rather than having to settle, have become active consumers of the job market. And job review sites like Glassdoor, Facebook, and LinkedIn have only enhanced the job shopping experience, allowing a potential applicant to view company values, benefits, and experiences firsthand before they even apply. With so many more competitive factors, organizations hoping to instill company loyalty can no longer afford to ignore engaging their employees.
As companies refocus their efforts to support and encourage employees, they naturally attract new talent and create dedicated workers throughout the organization. In fact, highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave a company and five times more likely to refer a friend or relative. Similarly, disconnected and disengaged employees are more likely to seek out additional employment. By increasing their efforts to support and engage employees, organizations can decrease company turnover by as much as 59%.
Improve Your Environment
Employee engagement doesn’t just keep workers around either; it enhances their entire experience. Engaged employees enjoy their jobs and know managers have their best interest at heart, significantly reducing negative stress and creating a healthy work environment. In fact, recent studies have revealed that health care expenditures at high-pressure companies are nearly 50% greater than at other less stressful organizations. And the American Psychological Association estimates that workplace stress and its accompanying illnesses add up to almost $500 billion every year.
Employee engagement is contagious too, as happy employees naturally help coworkers find more meaning in their work and make connections between individual roles and the larger mission of the organization. In fact, employees with highly engaged managers are 59% more likely to be highly engaged as well. Increased engagement even benefits employees after hours. A Kansas State study recently found that individuals with positive work experiences are better able to handle issues at home and become more effective in their overall home environment.
Build a Better Brand
As employees support and encourage each other, they naturally become internal brand ambassadors. Brands are a company’s personality, values, and opinions. They help people understand what to expect as they interact with an organization. Most companies are familiar with external branding, how they present themselves and their products to their customers. But companies also have internal branding, how they present themselves and interact with existing or potential employees. Brand ambassadors, whether internally or externally, believe in the company, invest in its success, and promote it to those around them.
Internal brand ambassadors are a huge advantage to competitive employers. Prospective workers see employees as trustworthy insiders with firsthand experience about an organization. Their recommendations are taken seriously, and have significant weight, especially in today’s consumer-centered job market. Whether brand ambassadors are advocating online or sharing experiences in person, their recommendations influence others, diversify a company, and add authenticity in a way advertising could never accomplish.
Boost Profit and Productivity
Employee engagement even benefits companies in a more traditional sense by boosting overall profit and productivity. In fact, the increased levels of attention and interest found in highly engaged employees lead to a 43% greater yield on overall productivity and an average of 26% higher revenue per employee. While actively disengaged employees are estimated to cost organizations throughout the United States between $483 billion and $605 billion every year, actively engaged employees boost sales by 20% in most businesses, leading to 21% higher profitability than their less engaged competitors.
Engaged employees take work seriously and feel a sense of ownership toward their organization, increasing work quality as well. After engaging employees, organizations typically experience a 28% reduction in inventory loss and a 40% reduction in quality defects, saving employers significant time and money. Engaged businesses across the United States also showed a 41% reduction in absenteeism, demonstrating increased employee dedication, commitment, and personal investment.
At MangoApps, we don’t just understand the significance of employee engagement, we make it happen. With completely customizable workplace software, MangoApps gives businesses the freedom they need to design their perfect digital environment, no matter their size, industry, or organization. To learn more about MangoApps and how it empowers companies of every size, contact us or schedule a personalized demo today.
