What Is Employee Engagement and How Can It Help Your Organization?

There are a lot of opinions out there about what employee engagement looks like and what it does. But, to keep it simple, let’s look at what some engaged employees feel and experience at work

How do employees experience “engagement” on the job?

• Their managers keep them up-to-date on the organization’s bigger direction. Employees feel like a valued shareholder, not just a worker.
• Employees don’t see their work as a job. They see it as a service that is important to the success of the organization as a whole.
• Their organization “checks in” on them often to find out how they’re doing, what’s going on, and if they have any ideas to share.
• Employees always feel “seen” by their team and managers. They know that their ongoing work and ideas are noticed and appreciated.

The common denominator here is that employees need to feel that they matter and what they’re doing at work matters. It’s rocket fuel. It makes them want to do better and give more — and it’s been proven. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), feeling valued is a key indicator of job performance.  Employees who feel valued are more likely to be engaged in their work and feel satisfied and motivated.

It’s also fantastic for the organization because engaged employees willingly give their best work — a win-win for everybody. According to the Harvard Business Review article by John Baldoni entitled, Employee Engagement Does More Than Boost Productivity, organizations with a high level of engagement report 22 per cent higher productivity according to an analysis of over one million employees conducted by the Gallup organization. Also, in a Deloitte article entitled, From employee experience to human experience: Putting meaning back into work,  MIT research shows that organizations can gain twice the innovation, double the customer satisfaction, and 25 per cent higher profits when employees are engaged.

Here are some of the benefits of employee engagement for organizations:

•         greater employee satisfaction
•         less absenteeism
•         more profits
•         more productivity
•         more retention and lower turnover

So, it’s easy to see the value of employee engagement for your organization and for the people who work in it.