High employee engagement leads to higher productivity, higher job satisfaction, more sales, and higher revenue. When your employees are actively engaged in the workplace, they feel happier and ready to go above and beyond to achieve your company’s goals.
Now the question is: Are you doing everything you can to engage your employees and maximize their potential?
It is interesting to note that a little above 20% of employees are engaged in their workplaces. Although some researchers have argued with this stance, the numbers are relatively between 30 percent to 40 percent of disengaged employees.
More interesting statistics below should motivate you to focus more on employee engagement and nudge you in the right direction. Let’s dive in.
According to the latest Gallup report, 51% of employees are disengaged in the workplace, while 13% are actively disengaged. Actively disengaged means feeling miserable at work and spreading negativity to their colleagues.
While 36% of engaged employees is a rather low percentage, it’s the highest since Gallup started measuring employee engagement back in 2000. The number of actively disengaged employees is the lowest since 2000.
In 2017, 85% of employees were disengaged in the workplace, which was a years-long trend. In 2019, the percentage dropped by 10%, meaning that 35% of workers were engaged at the time.
Although employee engagement levels are barely higher now, it’s a surprise that they haven’t dropped due to the pandemic. It shows that many companies have clearly been doing an excellent job of improving employee engagement.
Another Gallup’s report on employee engagement shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce have 21% higher profitability. They also have 17% higher productivity than companies with a disengaged workforce.
The reasons for this are clear from point number one. Engaged employees lead to a more productive workforce because they are motivated to complete their tasks on time and successfully, even going the extra mile to reach their goals and objectives. They’re better at meeting customers’ needs, which leads to more sales and higher revenues.
Engaged employees are also happier, report lower absenteeism, and tend to be more loyal.
A study on employee engagement found that companies in the U.S. lose between $450-$550 billion each year due to disengaged workers.
That’s partly because of employees’ lack of motivation and a lower sense of responsibility, resulting in lower productivity, errors in work, missed deadlines, poor customer service, and lower profits. A single disengaged employee can cost a company about $3,400 in lost productivity for every $10,000 in salary.
It’s also because many disengaged employees quit their jobs at some point, leaving the employer to reinvest in hiring, onboarding, and training. Many of them even spread negativity through word of mouth, harming an organization’s chances of attracting quality hires.
A recent study on the effects of remote work found that most employees show signs of burnout when having virtual meetings every day.
38% of remote employees reported feeling exhausted after daily virtual meetings, while 30% said they felt stressed.
The study was conducted in 2020 when most organizations switched to remote work. To stay connected, some employers held video conferences every day, while others did it weekly.
Staying connected with your remote workforce is essential, especially since they often feel isolated. But frequent virtual meetings could disrupt their workflow and productivity, demotivate them, and stress them out.
They could negatively affect their mental health and job satisfaction, making many of them consider quitting their job. Weekly virtual meetings seem to be a better alternative.
According to Trade Press Services, effective internal communications motivate 85% of employees to become more engaged in the workplace.
When managers share company news and other relevant information regularly, employees feel motivated to achieve the mission, vision, and goals. When you raise their awareness of your goals, they will be more engaged with your customers as well.
So, in creating the most effective internal communications, including employee newsletters, press releases, event updates, and other company news, such as milestones and successful projects.
Share information regularly to increase knowledge, consider using internal communication tools to empower teams to collaborate, and build a learning-focused community.
According to a recent Gartner poll, only 16% of companies leverage technology to track employee progress and engagement. They use tools to monitor employee activity and see when they clock in and out, how many hours employees work, when and how many breaks they take, and more.
When you lead a remote workforce, tracking employees’ engagement and performance should be one of your top priorities. It can help you enhance your employee engagement strategy and boost your overall business success.
ProProfs Employee Training Software is one of the tools where you can utilize to boost knowledge and productivity. Apart from improving your training efforts, you can use it to identify workers’ strengths and weaknesses. That will help you train them better, thus motivating them to be more productive.
As you may know, a strong corporate culture can improve team efficiency which results in a better organization’s financial performance significantly. According to a survey by Hays, 47% of active job seekers want to leave their jobs because of bad company culture.
An extensive research project on corporate culture and performance showed that good company culture could help you increase revenue by more than four times.
The 11-year-long research project found that companies with performance-enhancing cultures grew their revenues by a whopping 682%. Those with a poor company culture managed to increase their revenues by just 166% over 11 years.
So, improving your corporate culture will help you boost workforce engagement, job satisfaction, employee retention, and profitability. It will create a positive and safe work environment where your teammates can thrive and supercharge your business success.
A pat on the back at the right time can go a long way in motivating employees and keeping them engaged during their tenure in an organization.
One study on top performance motivators found that 37% of employees feel most encouraged by personal recognition.
A recent employee engagement and modern workplace report showed that 84% of highly engaged employees received recognition the last time they went the extra mile at work. Not surprisingly, only 25% of actively disengaged employees were recognized for a job well done.
When you recognize your team members’ good work, whether publicly or privately, you pave the way for their better performance, and when you show you appreciate their efforts, you drive their engagement and productivity.
Employee Recognition Software & Rewards Platform encourages Peer-to-Peer recognition, boosts employee morale, allows employees to feel seen, and also helps create a culture focused on teamwork and excellence.
Your team members will appreciate any kind of gesture of kindness that shows that their accomplishments, no matter how small, didn’t go unnoticed. For instance, paid time off, gift cards, and event tickets are small rewards that can greatly help with improving employee engagement. Monetary incentives are always good motivators, but employees are encouraged by other kinds of recognition as well.
Even the smallest of accomplishments make a difference in reaching your long-term goals, so show your teammates that you value all their contributions.
And, remember, a simple “Thank you” can also go a long way.
An SHRM’s research on Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey found that only 29% of employees are “very satisfied” with their available career advancement opportunities. 41% marked those opportunities as “very important” when it comes to job satisfaction, engagement, motivation, and employee retention.
The survey also found that 44% of employees are “very satisfied” with opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work.
In an ideal world, these numbers are at the top end of the scale, but you can increase them with the right opportunities for career growth.
If you want to have engaged teams across departments, boost their expertise, and make your organization more profitable, provide them with the L&D possibilities that they seek.
According to a Korn Ferry survey, 33% of employees jump ship because they feel bored in the workplace and want to find new challenges. They seek new opportunities for professional development, which motivates them to keep learning and become better at what they do.
That’s why implementing new challenges and variations in day-to-day activities should be one of the top priorities for managers and HR professionals. Providing employees with opportunities to learn and grow continually is the key to driving employee engagement and retention.
Professional development opportunities are also essential for company growth, as they boost employee experience and help develop skills and competencies.
In a survey that was conducted right after the pandemic, most employees appreciated their say in the workplace. They appreciated when the employers took their feedback as it made them feel as if they were a part of the community.
In the same survey, more than half of the employees expressed their concerns regarding the minimal acquisition of employee feedback. 58 percent of employees said they wished their workplaces conducted more employee engagement surveys.
Employees who were surveyed four times each year instead of once every other year engaged much more actively at the workplace.
Fostering employee engagement is a solution when employees are burned out. Unfortunately, many companies perceive employee engagement as simply adding more tasks to an already overflowing workload. Instead of fostering genuine connection and collaboration, they pile on additional responsibilities during times designated for team engagement.
Consequently, approximately 61% of employees find themselves grappling with burnout, feeling overwhelmed by the relentless demands placed upon them, affecting their mental health.
This figure is expected to rise even further in 2022, reflecting a concerning trend where employees are stretched thin and struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance amidst mounting pressures.
Harvard Business Review conducted a detailed study on employee engagement and released all of its findings in a journal called The Impact of Employee Performance. From this journal, we got to know that 71% of executives believe it's a high level of employee engagement that sets their company up for immense success.
Further breakdown tells us that the biggest employee engagement driver is the recognition of high performers. It is followed by having a clear understanding of their role and contribution to the strategy, communication, understanding of business goals, and corporate training and development of the individuals.
You can use it to direct your employee engagement in the right direction, and once the situation is better, acquire employee testimonials. These will help you verify your implementation strategy. Thus, making room to proceed with the other two metrics that lead to their organizational success include:
So, that's what you should follow once employee engagement has worked well enough.
Octanner.com reports that respondents to a study on what would be the most important thing a manager or a company could do that would help the employee become successful suggested recognition.
The study proves that a significant percentage of employees would love to put their all to work for an organization when they are accorded the level of recognition they desire.
A study by the Incentive Research Foundation found that 84% of employees experienced increased motivation upon receiving recognition for their work.
Also, an Officevibe survey revealed that 51% of employees who received consistent recognition are prone to recommending their company as an excellent workplace.
The research conducted in 2012, which analyzed 42 studies, revealed that participants in workplace health promotion programs had approximately 25% lower medical and absenteeism expenditures than nonparticipants.
Programs like these often include fitness activities, nutrition guidance, stress management, and mental health support. By addressing various aspects of employee wellness, organizations foster a supportive and healthy work environment.
Engaged employees are more likely to collaborate effectively, innovate, and deliver high-quality work, which increases productivity and enhances business performance.
In addition, highly engaged employees are less likely to look elsewhere for work, which leads to higher employee retention rates.
This particular statistic is really shocking. From wages to work culture, the major reason behind employee absenteeism is the lack of engagement. On a positive note, working on this can ensure you have a stable workforce available at all times.
But how? Of course, employee engagement is a vast topic. It's more than keeping your employees happy and content. It's about motivating, assisting, encouraging, and providing direction.
However, you can start with the two important areas; work/life balance and employee recognition. The majority of employees won't skip work if there's no compromise on personal life and career. Plus, encouraging them for their efforts serves as a great motivator.
According to one survey, the majority of employees change their jobs because of boredom. While it may sound unbelievable, the lack of challenges can significantly exhaust an employee. Doing a task continuously uses the same skills again and again.
Plus, it drains the motivation to work. It even makes them feel as if they aren't able to use their expertise to the full extent. As a result, the task seems like a waste of talent and skill.
Hence, it is crucial to ensure that the employees have sufficient challenges and variation in work. Not only will this keep them engaged, but, it will also develop their skills and improve competency.
A report from Gallup on Empowering Workplace Culture Through Recognition found that 68% of employees who feel connected to their organization’s culture are less likely to feel burned out at work.
Culture is the heartbeat of an organization, shaping its very essence. When organizations articulate and reinforce the values that drive employees to excel daily, progress toward goals accelerates.
A strong culture not only fosters engagement but also provides a roadmap to align that engagement with the organization's objectives and mission, serving as a guiding framework for success.
While some companies are embracing remote or hybrid workforces, not all positions are conducive to full-time remote work. Offering employees the option to work from home part of the time can enhance talent retention, attract candidates, and distinguish companies in today's competitive labor landscape.
Stanford University conducted a study revealing that remote workers consistently regularly meet and exceed objectives, identify new processes, and contribute to company culture just as much as anyone in a traditional brick-and-mortar setting. They tend to accomplish on average, 13.5% higher productivity points compared to their on-site counterparts.
Another study showed that while older workers may show higher levels of engagement due to stability, and experience, younger workers also thrive when valued, and offered growth opportunities.
Individual differences drive engagement across age groups, as shown in a study by SHRM where employees under 40 exhibited lower engagement compared to those in their late forties and above.
Improving employee engagement is the key step to business success. When you create a positive work environment where people can grow daily and receive recognition for their efforts, nothing will stand in your way of achieving your goals.
Hopefully, these statistics have inspired you to focus more on engaging your workforce because that means improving your entire organization’s performance. Start implementing the strategies for engaging your employees today, and you’ll boost your company’s profitability before you know it.
- 33% of employees express being "very satisfied" with paid time off benefit - according to SHRM’s report
- Employees who take a break every 90 minutes report a 30 percent higher level of focus
- 90% of leaders think an engagement strategy has an impact on business success but barely 25% of them have a strategy - as stated by Muse
- Gallup's employee engagement database has 70% fewer safety incidents compared with bottom-quartile units.
-3 in 5 HR leaders believe that the HR function will rapidly become irrelevant if it doesn’t modernize its approach to understanding and planning for the future needs of the workforce - KPMG source
- According to Unleash, 52% of frontline workers claim they would leave their jobs over tech tools
- Gallup data states that 95% of people who are thriving at work report being treated with respect all day
- 87% of workers believe their employer should do more to listen to the needs of their workforce - source Oracle
- Zipia stated that 72% of workers believe work-life balance is a very important factor when choosing a job
- 72% of employees agree that engaged employee thinks beyond their job title, in the LinkedIn poll ran by Select Software Reviews.
About Author: Angela White is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing for the consumer market in the areas of product research and marketing using quizzes and surveys. Having a knack for writing and an editorial mindset, she is an expert researcher at a brand that’s known for creating delightfully smart tools such as ProProfs Quiz Maker.