Over the weekend I read a feature on what employee engagement is not, but cannot find the original, so I have tried to write this from memory. If I find the original, I will reference the author in my next blog.
Employee engagement means many things to many people, but there are certain things that it is not. Here are three things that should not be mistaken for engagement. They are:
- Happiness
Laughing and joking with co-workers over a coffee, enjoying the office meeting or joining in the footie at lunch time says nothing about how invested employees are in the company or how hard they’re working on behalf of the organisation’s mission. Happiness is a short-term, rapidly changing measurement. Employees can be happy at work while not being motivated and engaged.
2. Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction measures a minimum level, while engagement is more likely to get employees to achieve something greater. Though satisfaction is generally enough to retain employees, it’s often not enough to improve productivity. Engaged employees deliver discretionary effort, live your corporate values and encourage their colleagues by example and deliver real value to your bottom line.
3. Well being
Well-being looks at every area of an employee’s life (both inside and outside the office) to measure how well an individual copes with stress, works productively, makes community contributions, and fulfills his or her potential. It has been proven that employees with a natural positive outlook are more likely to be engaged, and are more able to deal with stress and change in the workplace.
Why Does Employee Engagement Matter?
Employee engagement affects just about every important element of your organisation – productivity, sales revenue, product quality, customer experience, employee turnover, talent acquisition, workplace safety, absenteeism, brand value, market share, profitability and more. Employees who are connected to their organisation have been shown to work harder, stay longer, and tend to motivate others to do the same.
Your employees are not Human Resources, they are Human Beings. They are your only competitive advantage. Given the right environment, encouragement, appreciation and making them feel valued is crucial to your success.
Highly engaged organisations typically perform to higher levels, particularly in the following areas…
Higher profitability
Lower absenteeism /accidents
Greater share-price growth
Improved revenue
Just a small change in any of the above can deliver huge benefits to you bottom line, so what’s holding you back? The start of the year is a great time to put employee engagement at the top of your list.
Brownie Points works with global and thought leading organisations to implement employee recognition programs to improve engagement with measurable results.
To learn more or to arrange a free demonstration call us today on +61 (3) 9909 7411 or email us at info@browniepoints.com.au
