Engagement the key to improving business results

An employee who is engaged works with their colleagues to improve performance within their job for the benefit of the organisation. An organisation should work to develop engagement to achieve a symbiotic relationship between employee and employer.

By nurturing an engaged workforce your company can receive many benefits, including:

•    60% reduction in quality defects
•    16% increased profits
•    37% less absenteeism
•    18% productivity increase
•    12% customer satisfaction improvement
•    25% reduction in staff turnover

Research confirms that engagement leads to higher financial performance, higher customer satisfaction and higher employee retention.

Senior leader participation is a critical factor for employee engagement. Good leaders create an environment of engagement .If senior leaders do not understand the importance of an engaged workforce your business can suffer because of it.

Higher levels of employee engagement in an organisation can unmistakably help improve business performance. To encourage a sense of engagement in a workforce it’s vital to have leaders that motivate employees and win their respect.

Leaders should act as role models and inspire employees.

There is a powerful connection between the level of employee engagement and organisational performance.

Consider using customer satisfaction surveys to assess the levels of staff engagement in your organisation. If customer satisfaction is high, it is likely that employee engagement is too. If customer satisfaction is poor, so is employee engagement. The results can help to prove to your management team the effects of employee engagement and encourage them to foster it in the workplace.

Disengaged workers can be the most harmful employees in the workplace. They are discontented and let that unhappiness show in words, attitudes and actions. They can undermine the performance of others by dragging down the morale and drive of the team. Improving employee engagement does not necessarily need to be expensive or time consuming.

Here are 3 effective ways of boosting staff engagement in your workplace:

•    Praise from supervisors
•    Attention from leaders
•    Opportunity to lead projects

Many companies are beginning to understand that engaged employees are a formidable source of competitive advantage.

An engaged employee is more enthusiastic to expend more effort into their work, put in more hours, brainpower and energy. They have more commitment to do the best job they can and take on roles with more enthusiasm and energy.

They bring original concepts and ideas and infuse their team with enthusiasm and are less likely to seek employment elsewhere.