Employee Engagement is a fundamental term that describes the relationship between an organization and its employees. Every business, no matter its size, needs to monitor employee engagement, not only to ensure that employees are making a positive impact and are satisfied at work but also because of the direct impact on the organization. Let’s explore the value of highly engaged employees, the different levels of engagement, and the factors that drive engagement.
According to an article by Forbes magazine, “Employee disengagement costs the United States upwards of $550 billion annually in lost productivity.” Highly engaged employees have a lower turnover rate and are less likely to be absent from work. Highly engaged employees are also more likely to increase productivity, sales, and customer satisfaction.
One main factor driving engagement is ensuring that employees feel heard and confident in their roles and responsibilities. Organizations should work to meet the needs of their employees while also enabling them to have a more significant role in decision-making.
The new generation of workers is constantly looking for feedback and frequent check-ins. Successful leaders are transparent in their approach to improving engagement. Prioritizing engagement could simply mean setting aside time for discussions and ensuring everyone contributes to the conversation. By doing this, you are not only ensuring that every employee has an opportunity to be heard but also enabling them to grow personally and professionally.
Engaged employees clearly understand how the work they are doing contributes to the mission and overall success of the company. Employees need to understand the value of their role and the path they are on. One simple way to highlight employees' work is by offering tokens of appreciation and recognition. Highlighting a contribution can even be as small as a department announcement about a significant project that was completed or a goal that was met. Acknowledging employees for their contributions and meaningful work is a great way to motivate that sense of purpose.
Keeping employees in the know is a small action that can have a large impact. Employees want to feel enthusiastic about coming to work and that their efforts and contributions have a meaningful impact. Motivation can spread like wildfire when there is something to rejoice about.
Including your employees and keeping them updated with what’s going on doesn’t have to end at the organizational level either. Including the personal side of people’s lives can also build a beautiful community. Even if that’s something as small as sending a message to everyone reminding them that it’s someone's birthday today.
Transmission is the infrastructure that allows for productive information to be shared with everyone in the organization who would be relevant. For example, if the production team just met a major productivity goal, the Transmission system could be used to send out a mass text notifying everyone of this amazing accomplishment so everyone gets the opportunity to celebrate. With Transmission, you can easily customize who should receive a message- whether that’s entire departments or a custom group of people. Messages can be sent immediately or scheduled to go out at a later date.