Employee engagement! Important for business?
Employee engagement and motivation are vital for any business to thrive. An engaged employee will be willing to work harder for your company and is less likely to leave. According to Scarlett Surveys, “Employee engagement is a measurable degree of an employee’s positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, which profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform at work.” Motivation is also vital for ensuring that your employees are working at their best.
Benefits to the business
A recent global workforce poll, based on 116 countries, published by Gallup concluded that North American orgnisations have only 25% of their employees engaged, whereas Western Europe has 18% of people actively engaged in their jobs. These engaged individuals have a more positive outlook on their job, as well as the impact that they can have on their company.
88% of respondents to a global workforce study, published in 2009 by a US HR consultant believe that they can influence the quality of their organisation’s output in a positive way, with only 27% of disengaged employees believing the same to be true. The same study also concluded that companies with the highest level of employee engagement achieved higher financial results and are more successful in retaining their best staff than companies with lower levels of engagement.
Increased productivity
According to research by a global management consulting firm, human beings naturally want to work hard, so it should follow that this will translate to the work environment. The study posed the question, “what makes some people want to work in the same direction as their employer, when others don’t?” The answer was overwhelmingly that engagement in employees is a large part of this factor. Conclusions included that engaged workers create better output, more loyal customers, and better financial performance. If the results are looked at in a quantitative fashion, engaged employees can improve business performance by up to 30%, with these employees 2.5 times more likely to exceed expectations of performance than other less engaged colleagues.
Minimising time lost due to sickness
An engaged and motivated employee will be less likely to take time off for sickness. These employees are likely to be happy in their work, and less susceptible to stress related illness. According to a study published by the Health and Safety Executive, stress related absence from work accounted for an estimated 13.5 million working days lost between 2007 and 2008. Even if stress related issues are discounted, an employee who is engaged and motivated with their work will generally battle into work through minor illnesses and problems that may cause less engaged individuals to hide beneath the duvet.
References:
Gallup Global Workforce Poll (http://gmj.gallup.com/content/149405/Employees-Worldwide-Common.aspx?ref=more)
| Region | Approximate % of Engaged Employees |
| North America | 25% |
| Latin America | Just under 25% |
| Australia/New Zealand | Just under 20% |
| Western Europe | 18% |
| Middle East/Africa | 12-15% |
| Southeast Asia | Slightly above 10% |
| Eastern Europe | 8-10% |
| India | 8% |
| China | 1% |
Engagement training for your people
We offer a number of courses and workshops that can help you to engage and motivate your people from the top down:
- Passionate Leadership – creating positive, productive and passionate teams.
- Bulding High Performing Teams – foster collaboration, build cohesive teams and resolve conflict effectively and for the benefit of all team members.
- Employee Engagement – enable everyone to have fulfilling work experiences that enable them to contribute fully to the organisation’s short, medium and long term goals.
