How Important Is Employee Engagement To Your Business?
By Tania M Mallett
"Employee Engagement" has become a buzzword over the past ten
years in particular, with many businesses adopting formal employee
engagement policies, using measurement tools to measure their employees'
engagement and some companies even appointing specific managers and
directors to oversee employee engagement within their organization.
Put
simply, the term "Employee Engagement" ("EE") is a business management
concept which is used to illustrate how "engaged" an employee feels
within an organization, their commitment to that organization and how
satisfied they are within their role. However,
I believe that the term
"Employee Engagement" does not just refer to how the employee feels, but
is also a reference to how the Employer relates to the Employee.
I
would usually encourage Employers to think of their Employees as
'Colleagues' as it promotes an ethos of engagement within a company or
organization, but for the purposes of this article I will adhere to the
terms "Employer" and "Employee" for ease of reference.
There has
long been a direct correlation between EE and employee retention.
Business owners and employers have realized that in order to retain
staff, they must measure and determine the level of employee
satisfaction within their organization.
According to the Society of
Human Resource Management, it can cost an organization up to $3,500 to
replace an $8 an hour employee, so apart from a business development
perspective, companies are realizing the financial incentive involved in
using EE as a valuable tool to keep staff turnover levels low.
As
well as from a financial point of view, businesses are also becoming
more aware that using EE within their organization has a number of other
valuable advantages, such as retaining talent within the company,
increased levels of customer retention and better levels of customer
service.
Using EE can also positively affect productivity levels and can
even reduce levels of absenteeism, making employees less likely to call
in sick at the drop of a hat. These are all examples of extremely
positive results which can be achieved when a company decides to place a
greater emphasis on the importance of EE.
However, in the last
couple of years our world has seen many changes and, in particular, a
recession which has hit businesses of all shapes and sizes. This has led
to reduced staffing levels and more stress as employers and employees
struggle to survive in what can only be described as challenging
conditions over the past few years.
As employers reduce their staffing
levels, existing staff have had to cope with a heavier workload, longer
hours and, in some cases, a lower salary due to pay cuts and tax hikes.
Where before an employer may have recognised the value of EE, its focus
has now shifted somewhat onto managing and growing an existing business
which may be struggling to keep its head above water during challenging
financial times. Therefore, there are less resources and even less time
to focus on the value of EE.
Meanwhile, the employee who is also
struggling to keep his or her head above water may be under more
pressure financially while trying to manage a heavier workload.
The last
thing on their mind might be "How satisfied am I in this company on a
scale of 1 to 10 right now?" They are unlikely to be thinking, "How can I
show my commitment to my employer by helping to increase productivity
or improve customer service levels within this organization?"
Instead,
both employer and employee may be struggling with two very different
sets of circumstances, although both equally valuable and important.
What they may not realise, is that by working together and placing a
greater value and emphasis on EE, that they can both get what they want,
because ultimately when EE comes into play, the needs of both employer
and employee are, in fact, equally met.
Using Employee Engagement In Your Own Organization
There
are a number of ways in which you can incorporate an Employee
Engagement Strategy within your own business, but for the purposes of
this article I am going to focus on what I believe are the main ways in
which you can start to do this effectively and in as short a time-frame
as possible.
If you can actively incorporate an EE strategy into your
own organization and develop these practices, you should start to see
results within a few months.
I would recommend you find an easy way to
measure these results that not only works for you, but is not too time
consuming. It should be something relatively simple, such as carrying
out a customer service survey, measuring client levels before the EE
strategy was implemented and afterwards, or carrying out a staff survey
about six months after you start using engagement tools within the
organization to measure morale and staff satisfaction.
Although, when an
EE strategy is used correctly, you should start to see physical
results, such as productivity increasing and absenteeism decreasing.
EE
does not require any direct financial investment, unless you decide to
invest in staff training, for example; the commitment you are making to
your staff is one of time. Dedicating time to engaging with your
employees and assessing their own engagement levels within your company
is an investment which will pay dividends later on, but in order for
this to work you must make the commitment to begin with.
Carry Out A Staff Survey
Initially
you should ask your staff to participate in a survey. Depending on your
organization, you may wish to do this anonymously as you will generally
find people more forthcoming and honest about their situation if they
can speak freely without risking their own position, or at the risk of
"management" bringing them in for further questioning, as it were. Keep
the survey as light as you can and focus on positive language as much as
possible.
This is the first step you will take to engage your employees
in conversation and to assess how engaged they are within their own
roles in the organization, so remember this when compiling your survey
questions. As each organization is different, there is no one survey
which "fits all" but using quite general questions that will not offend
or upset any one group is essential.
Once you have the results of
the Staff Survey, you should be able to ascertain which areas of EE need
the most attention. For some organizations, employee dissatisfaction
may be centered around issues such as salary or lack of promotion.
For
example, be prepared to receive answers such as "I don't think I get paid enough for what I do" or "I've been trying to get promoted for years but it hasn't happened and I'm fed up".
Sometimes
carrying out a survey among staff can be a real eye-opener so be
prepared to face some truths you didn't want to face before! Remember -
if you are going to embrace EE it's all or nothing - no half measures
unfortunately, otherwise it simply won't work.
It is also
important to address the area of how your employees relate to and engage
with one another. There may be internal issues within your organization
of which you are unaware, so to adequately assess the results of your
survey in order to measure current staff engagement levels, you will
need to make sure you include questions on your survey which relate to
"Management", "Co-Workers" or "Peers" and how your employees view
others.
This is important, as it will give you a picture of how each
section of your company relates to each other. For example, you may
receive comments from staff members which criticise other areas of the
company, such as the IT Department or the HR Department. Be prepared to
hear comments such as "IT never answer the phones when I call" or "HR treat me like I am just a number". You might also see answers such as, "Management don't even know who I am" or "I've never seen the MD, I know where her office is, but she has never spoken to me... "
While
it is difficult as an employer or business owner to hear and read these
comments, it is vital that you take on board how your employees view
the culture within the organization. If your company promotes an ethos
whereby employees feel they are listened to, understood and cared about,
they will want to stay in the company and will not seek
employment elsewhere. The benefit of this is that you retain their
talent, expertise and experience. Imagine losing your best employee to a
rival company because you didn't listen to him or her! They've spent 5
or 6 years building up their career in your company, bringing in new
clients, developing themselves and becoming so good that, when the time
is right, another organization comes along and snaps them up, all
because you didn't have time to listen to what they were trying to tell
you.
A word of caution... once you gather the data you need you
must be prepared to act on the feedback you receive, otherwise the
exercise is pointless and a waste of time (and, possibly, money if you
engage the services of a professional survey company to assist you - and
if you do, you must ensure they are experienced in dealing with staff
and phrasing questions sensitively and appropriately). You must be
prepared to really examine what is driving disengagement within your
organization and then take the appropriate steps to remedy this.
Take The Necessary Steps To Make Things Better
Once
you are armed with your survey results, you will immediately know the
areas you need to focus on. While it may not be financially practical or
possible to give everyone a pay rise or bonus, try to think of other
ways in which you can compensate your staff for the work they do.
Remember - increased productivity and improved customer service levels
are two potential advantages to EE so it is worthwhile investing in your
employees to improve their engagement within the organization. There
are other ways in which we can invest in our staff without providing
financial incentives, such as giving "Bonus Days" to employees who
perform well and are not absent through illness. While there is a cost
to the company when giving an employee a bonus day, you are also
potentially balancing this cost with an increase in productivity and you
may also gain an employee who loves their job and wants to do their
very best for the organization they work in. This is a win-win situation
for any employer.
You may also need to look at processes within
your company, your organizational structure and other improvements that
could be made, depending on the type or size of organization you run.
Develop Your Leadership Skills
In
order to promote EE within your organization, it goes without saying
that you need to demonstrate superb leadership skills. Your employees
must see you as someone who is supportive, understanding and credible.
You should focus on demonstrating your ability to listen to your
employees and be willing to take on board their comments and
suggestions. One of the ways in which you can do this, is by holding
regular staff engagement sessions. This can be done either on a
one-to-one basis, or as Town Hall meeting which is an information
session usually used to update your employees and during which an open
forum is actively encouraged and promoted. Depending on the size of your
organization, you may opt for a one-to-one session with each employee.
Focus on listening rather than speaking and try to encourage an open
discussion. Promote the ethos within your company that your "door is
always open" and try to make time for your employees.
Learn to Monitor Your Employee Behavior Effectively
An
engaged and satisfied employee will do a number of things which are
both measurable and identifiable. If your employees are emotionally and
intellectually committed to your organization they will consistently say
positive things about the company, their department and their
co-workers. Not only will they work harder, but they will do it
cheerfully and without being asked to. They will strive to achieve both
their personal and professional best and will remain committed to
achieving high productivity levels and, if they work in a customer-led
environment, they will strive to not only retain existing customers but
work hard to win more. Engaged employees will stay within the
organization they work in and will remain committed to doing so.
It
is not difficult to tell an engaged employee from a disengaged one -
the secret is what you do with the information you are presented with.
Do you actively strive to improve things by listening to what your
employees are telling you (remember that behavior is not always about
what you hear and see, but equally what you don't hear and don't see).
Showing up late for work, slovenly behavior, moaning and complaining are
all very obvious signs of employee disengagement, but you must also
watch for signs of discontentment in other ways - absenteeism through
constant and unexplained illness, a usually outgoing employee becoming
quiet and uncommunicative, issues with co-workers or complaints received
directly from customers are all signs of an employee who is fast
becoming disengaged.
If you can incorporate an Employee Engagement
Strategy into your workplace you will be amazed at how simply and
easily you can improve productivity and reduce problems. It is my belief
that an engaged and committed workforce means better customer
satisfaction levels and a more profitable organization, so actively
using Employee Engagement within your own business can only mean good
things for you and for your company.
Tania Mallett is the Owner of Here To Help Business Support
Services based in Dublin, Ireland. She worked at senior executive level
in large multinationals and across many industries for over twenty
years, supporting busy and often very stressed executives and now
provides specialized and bespoke support to start-ups, SMEs and
entrepreneurs. Her belief is that everyone should love their life and is
a strong advocate for work-life balance. Tania's goal is to make life
easier for people - both in their business and in their life by sharing
her knowledge and experience with others.
