The Importance of Employee Engagement

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A recent survey conducted by Dale Carnegie Training and MSW revealed that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202% and that $11 billion (around £7 billion) is lost annually due to employee turnover. So, what is employee engagement?

Employee engagement can be defined as the emotional and functional commitment an employee has to his or her organisation.

What are the key drivers of employee engagement?

The survey revealed that employees do not leave companies, they leave people.

The 3 Key drivers of employee engagement are:

  • Relationship with the direct manager;
    • 80% of employees dissatisfied with their direct manager were disengaged
  •  Belief in senior leadership
    • 70% of employees who lack confidence in the abilities of senior leadership are not fully engages
  • Pride in working for the company.
    • 54% of employees who were proud of their company’s contributions to society are engaged

What traits do engaged employees exhibit?

There are four common traits exhibited by employees seen to be engaged.

Engaged employees are seen to be enthusiastic about work, inspired and motivated by their leaders, empowered to complete their work in their own way and confident that they can achieve excellence.

Tips for employee engagement

1)     Senior leadership must articulate a clear vision to all employees

2)     Employees should be encouraged to communicate openly and influence the company’s vision through their input

3)     Direct managers should foster healthy relationships with their employees

4)     Senior leadership should continuously demonstrate that employees have an impact on their work environment

5)     Managers should show employees that they are valued as true contributors, giving them a sense of empowerment

Avery Augustine outlines how managers can make their employees feel valued in her blog 4 Simple Ways to Make Your Employees Feel Valued. She reveals that to make an employee feel valued manager must be intentional with everyday conversations, show them that others need them too, challenge them with more responsibility and recognise them as individuals.

Posted by Tara Soulby, EMEA CSS BDS SMS&P Readiness Co-ordinator Intern at Microsoft UK. Studying BSC Business Management at Surrey University. LinkedIn profile available here.

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