Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are committed to their organization, feel that they belong, and are proud of what they do.
By 2020, poor engagement could cost businesses an estimated $75 billion a year in lost productivity.
An employee’s salary is just one part of the equation. It’s, of course, the primary reason employees work, but wages alone don’t equate to retaining top talent. Thus, it makes sense for employers to try and keep employees as much as possible. This also reduces the costs of recruitment and engagement and the time spent on training.
In this article, we have compiled a list of strategies that you can use to improve engagement levels in your workplace. Some are easy to implement, others will take a bit more work, but all could save money in the long run.
What is employee retention, and why is it important?
Employee engagement and retention is a process that employers and HR professionals should take seriously to attract and retain the best employees.
As well as increasing engagement levels reduces the costs of recruiting new employees, particularly those with specialist skills who may already hold a similar position in another company.
How do you calculate the employee retention rate?
The engagement and retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of employees who remain with an organization for ten or more years, then subtracting this figure from 100.
For example: if a company employs 1,000 people and 500 have been there for 10+ years, the engagement and retention rate would be 50%.
By reducing the employee turnover rate, a company with high turnover can realize a boost to its bottom line.
What causes engagement?
Employee engagement is a feeling of commitment and pride in an organization.
It’s not just about working towards the same goals; it also includes how well-treated the workforce feels by their employer and whether they feel appreciated. Employers can follow many engagement strategies to improve engagement levels in the workplace, which this article aims to cover.
What can you do at your company to improve engagement?
1. Get employees involved in the hiring process
By including employees as part of the recruitment team, you can give them a sense of engagement and belonging.
They may even come up with some fresh ideas on finding those perfect candidates for those hard-to-fill roles.
2. Create a sense of community
You can do this by giving employees a real voice in the company and encouraging them to talk about their experiences with colleagues.
For example, you could ask employees to recommend possible engagement activities for the company to run or have staff take part in an employee satisfaction survey about how they feel about their job.
3. Give employees engagement training
This will help to improve engagement levels by allowing staff members to become engagement leaders for each other, thus creating a solid company culture.
The engagement process would involve having employees make pledges around engagement activities at work and encouraging them to share what they’ve learned with co-workers.
4. Offer engagement opportunities
When employees feel that they can make a real difference in the company, they will become more engaged and productive because they will be contributing to something greater than themselves.
5. Build engagement into the employee life cycle
Make engagement part of every step of the employee life cycle from the hiring process to new recruits, engagement activities, and engagement leaders.
6. Offer employee perks
Schedule flexibility, remote work options, and gym memberships are just a few low-cost rewards or incentives that improve job satisfaction and foster a healthy work-life balance.
What engagement strategies can be applied on a smaller scale?
1. Hold engagement lunch meetings
These are informal events for staff members to meet up with their managers and hear about the latest company news. These types of engagement activities allow employees to feel more involved in their company while also allowing managers to get a sense of how engagement is going.
2. Ask for engagement feedback
Don’t forget that employees can give you valuable insight into engagement levels within your organization.
They know what works and what doesn’t, so this strategy will allow employees an opportunity to voice any concerns and engagement suggestions they may have.
3. Have engagement contests
Contests and competitions among employees can help them feel more engaged in work while increasing engagement levels. These types of engagement activities can even inspire exceptional work among some employees, which will ultimately increase engagement throughout the whole organization.
4. Engage volunteers
Offering opportunities for employees to get involved with engagement activities outside of work gives them the chance to further develop engagement skills or learn about engagement initiatives in other organizations.
How do you know your engagement strategy is working?
Employee engagement has many benefits for an organization, including improved productivity, customer satisfaction, and reduced absenteeism.
It may also help reduce operational costs through reduced staff turnover, higher engagement levels, and engagement strategies that help retain employees.
Employees who feel engaged will also be happier and less likely to leave the company. This means they won’t have to spend time training new recruits or searching for new talent, which can save your company valuable time and money in the long term.
Additional engagement tips to consider:
- Developing a structured onboarding process and orientation goes a long way in developing the employee experience.
- Engagement initiatives are more effective when run regularly within your organization.
- Engagement activities should be designed to help employees understand the benefits of being engaged and allow them to see engagement in action for themselves.
- Engagement activities don’t have to only include employees. Volunteer engagement can also be a way to get employees involved with engagement and allow them to practice engagement activities outside of work.
- Encourage career development opportunities to provide a clear path for employees to grow within the organization.
- Engagement tips like these will inspire engagement among team members and help your organization flourish.
- Schedule exit interviews with the departing employee to obtain employee feedback regarding their reasons for leaving.
Competitive compensation is only one aspect of employee retention. Hiring managers should note that engagement strategies are not limited to new hires; they can also be used to improve engagement among existing employees. Employee engagement has many benefits for an organization, including improved productivity, customer satisfaction, and reduced absenteeism