“Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1881.” In truth, Warren de la Rue did so 40 years earlier.
“I have a black belt and am a karate master.” To be factual, the black belt was introduced for those practicing judo in the 1880s, indicating competence in basic techniques, not mastery of the sport.
“No one can drink a gallon of milk in 60 minutes.” Actually, this is true. Don’t try this at home.
And our favourite: “Employee happiness equates to employee engagement.” In other words, happy workers indicate that you have engaged workers.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Consider this. Your colleague Stuart turns up for work each day, on time, always wearing a smile and never complains about a thing. Other team members describe him as “an extremely cordial person who seems very happy to be here.” In terms of responsibility, he never accepts more than assigned and doesn’t go out of his way to help the team unless specifically asked to do so. When a new job opens up offering increased responsibility and a pay rise, he is out the door.
Surely you would have thought that strong employee engagement would have prevented this from happening.
Simply stated, employee engagement is the connection an employee has to their job and the commitment the employee has to the team and the organisation. Any employee may be happy, but their personal satisfaction may have nothing to do with work. Showing up for eight hours of work without true expectation or responsibility can certainly make some people happy. Enjoying the perks of distraction at the office can make an employee happy. But for many, being “happy,” does not equate to being “productive.”
Employee engagement makes that distinction, separating those contributing and taking pride in their work from those who simply enjoy their day (regardless of their contribution to work-related goals). Measurable employee engagement can help you determine who is working for their next promotion and who is working to exceed expectations in the team’s next project. Employee engagement distinguishes the worker staying late to impress the boss from the worker staying late to meet a critical deadline.
In other words, employee engagement distinguishes the extraordinary employee – the team player – from the average employee – the “me” player.
If you question the importance of that distinction, consider this: research from Towers Perrin suggests companies with engaged employees return over 5% higher net profit margins, while research from Kenexa indicates that companies with engaged employees will see shareholder returns five times higher than those without.
From there, the chain of benefit is simple to follow…
Engaged employees = better service, improved quality, enhanced production
Improved service, quality and production = rising customer satisfaction
Rising customer satisfaction = rising sales, repeat business and referrals
Rising sales, repeat business and referrals = RISING PROFITS
And much more often than not… rising profits makes everyone happy.
That is employee engagement.
Brownie Points specialises in employee engagement programs. Call the team today on 03 9909 7411 or email us at info@browniepoints.com.au to discuss how we can help your business.
End the misconception today.
