Why is Employee Engagement Important to Prioritize?

Employee engagement, not to be confused with satisfaction, is the emotional commitment an employee has to their company. It’s about how much employees care about their work and reaching company goals. That’s not to say they won’t be satisfied while they’re engaged, but keep in mind that satisfaction doesn’t necessarily mean engaged.

Keywords: Motivation and commitment.

According to recent research, 71% of leaders worldwide understand that employee engagement is critical to a company’s success. That’s great! And 69% of employees say they’d work harder if they were engaged. But they’re not.

If your employees come to work disengaged, feeling like their job sucks, you need to make a change, fast—assuming you plan on having a successful business. If you're planning to have an unsuccessful business, you have definitely come to the wrong place.

Employee engagement is critical, vital, necessary, and a ton of other similar words, and because we’re so nice, we’re going to tell you why employee engagement is important.

4 Reasons Why Employee Engagement Is Important Within Your Business

Businesses with engaged employees tend to be more successful than those without. We've covered that. Now we’ll provide you with the validity of our argument. Even if you already agree with us, you’ll still want the inside scoop. Take a look at the top four reasons why employee engagement is important within your company.

1. Increases Employee Retention and Loyalty

When team members move on, it's expensive, inconvenient, and a significant loss to your company in one way or another. Of course, employees come and go, that's inevitable. Life happens, things change, and sometimes moving on is the only option.

But you must differentiate the inevitable from disengagement. When employees can’t use their strengths, express creativity and ambition, or don’t feel valued, they’ll likely walk out. Why would they stay? A lack of appreciation for your efforts is a shitty feeling.

Engaged employees don't have a reason to seek out other work. If they're committed and feel valued and appreciated, they'll remain loyal to your company. They are also 87% more likely to remain at their current jobs because they:

• Become more comfortable and less stressed.
• Develop better working relationships with their coworkers.
• Enjoy seeing more long-term success for their hard work.
• Have a stronger sense of belonging.
• Contribute more to company culture and growth.

Benefits

Aside from maintaining enough staff, employee retention offers other benefits, too.

•  You won’t have to deal with the stress of sifting through talent pools to hire replacements.
• The costs of frequently hiring and training new employees can be avoided. High churn rates can put a significant dent in your bottom line, even if you're constantly hiring top-tier potentials.
• Loyal, long-term employees are usually well-versed in company processes and goals, thus being more productive than new hires.
• When employees stick around and remain engaged, the company's overall morale is improved, leading us to the following reason why employee engagement is important.
  
  

2. Employee Engagement Fosters Teamwork in an Innovative Culture

The workplace is no longer expected to be a punch-clock, do your work, and go home type of environment. That culture just doesn't work as well as it used to 40 years ago. Today, work is a place where employees want to actively participate, find fulfillment, and grow. We understand that different industries have different requirements and expectations, but there's always room for innovation.

Employees engaged in what they do tend to foster a positive, creative work environment for everyone around them, making it easier and more enjoyable to work side by side. An innovative culture gives all employees a chance to be heard and the motivation to reach beyond their expectations, which is the focus of employee engagement.

Benefits

An improved culture can be considered one of the main starting points for employee engagement in the workplace. And the good news is, anyone can make the switch. So whether you're bursting with creativity or holding tight to the "old ways" of doing things, there are experts that provide innovation as a service with top-notch technology to support you.

So, what can an innovative culture do for you?

•  It will improve employee morale, ambition, and performance.
• Teamwork and collaboration become first-nature as opposed to unproductive internal competition.
• Employee/employer satisfaction is boosted.
• A positive environment reduces overall stress.
  
  

3. Increases Productivity and Work Quality

Engaged employees are driven, focused, and attentive to current and future business goals. Finding ways to engage employees, whether that means giving them a new challenge or more responsibilities, means you’re also finding ways to boost productivity.

Benefits

Increased productivity typically leads to lower costs and increased revenue. Engaged employees are 44% more productive than just satisfied coworkers. Naturally, more productivity translates to improved work quality, as your teams are focused and more motivated to do their best.

This also improves the quality of work that's being done across departments. The productivity and positivity it creates can lead to improved work quality. When the quality of work increases:

• Tasks are completed on time or ahead of schedule.
• The resulting output satisfies both you and employees.
  
  

4. Increases Customer Satisfaction

Engaged employees often provide a higher level of service, which translates to higher customer satisfaction. These positive experiences are typically when team members are passionate about their job and motivated to do their best, especially when interacting with customers. 

That passion can quickly spread to consumers who feel your company genuinely values them. And as always, happy customers bring a company success.

Benefits

Likely the most beneficial aspect of employee engagement and customer satisfaction, here are only some of the possible advantages:

• Increased revenue: 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
•  Positive reviews and word-of-mouth advertisement.
•  High customer loyalty.
• A competitive advantage.

Leaders need to view employee engagement as a strategic business objective. Engagement, going to the heart of the workplace relationship between employee and employer, can be a key to unlocking productivity and transforming many people's working lives, for whom Monday morning is a shallow point of the week. So disrupt the dullness—get innovative and engaging!