When I ask the question above all too often I hear the comment “that’s an HR issue.”
As far as I am concerned, that is an abdication of responsibility by senior management.
Employee engagement should be an issue for all senior executives, as it has a direct correlation with productivity, staff retention, customer experience, brand value and corporate performance.
In other words, leaving employee engagement to Human Resources alone is a risk that businesses cannot afford to take.
Many recent studies have proven that there are major business benefits to be gained from improved employee engagement. Developing a culture of recognition to motivate and inspire your staff can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
Whether you implement a formal (points based) reward and recognition program, or a social program focused on peer recognition, or a combination, the potential return on investment could be enormous. But this is not easy.
The challenge
- How do you get the highest possible return on the physical, emotional and mental efforts of your employees?
- How do you get people to willingly contribute their highest levels of physical, emotional and mental energies to work and do their jobs to the best of their abilities?
- How do you get people to be committed, loyal and dedicated to managers and the company?
- How do you get people to work together harmoniously and continually seek ways to do their jobs better, faster and at a lower cost?
The answer
- Build a fully engaged, energised workforce
- Empower and encourage your employees
- Make your employees feel happy about coming to work
- Create a culture of recognition
Keeping your employees engaged can have a significant positive impact on your business. The results of improved employee engagement can be found in increased levels of productivity and performance, lower staff turnover, increased talent attraction, innovation and cost savings ideas and improved customer satisfaction. All of these can have a positive effect on your bottom line with higher profits, improved brand value and competitive advantage.
However, the current employee engagement statistics around the world are disappointing:
- A mere 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, so there’s definitely room for improvement
- North America has the highest proportion of engaged workers at 29%, followed by Australia and New Zealand at 24%
- According to a recent Manpower survey, 83% of employees quit due to lack of recognition
- The highly rated Mercer Group claim that it costs 150% of salary to replace an employee
Proven Benefits of high levels of employee engagement
- Employee recognition schemes can help to achieve positive results and 46% of senior managers consider them an investment, rather than an expense due to the positive outcome
- 41% of companies that use peer-to-peer recognition report significantly higher customer satisfaction
- Gallop claims that organisations with high levels of employee engagement outperform companies with low engagement with up to 44% higher revenues
- Companies with highly engaged employees have a 13% lower rate of staff turnover compared to their low engagement counterparts according to Gallop
- A 2014 survey by Glassdoor highlighted that 81% of employees are motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work
- Mercer consulting reported that organisations with highly engaged employees enjoy up to 50% higher rates of customer satisfaction
- Gallop claims that companies with high levels of employee engagement enjoy up to 50% higher levels of productivity
As little as a 1% spend from payroll spent on employee recognition can see a positive influence on engagement, with praise and commendation from managers voted as the best motivator for performance at work.
There is overwhelming evidence that increasing engagement delivers results such as:
- Higher customer satisfaction
- Greater employee loyalty
- Stronger, more unified teams and departments
- A culture of creativity and innovation
- Stronger employee/employer contract
- A strong corporate identity
- A reputation as an employer of choice to attract top talent
- Increased profitability
- Strong organisational health
Your employees are your only true competitive advantage, and making them feel valued and appreciated, respected, trusted and part of the vision will go a long way to increasing employee engagement, making you an employer of choice.
The Brownie Points multi award winning platform is designed to take your employee engagement to new heights.
To learn how Brownie Points can help you deliver higher levels of employee engagement in your business, call the team on 03 9909 7411 or email the team at info@browniepoints.com.au
www.browniepoints.com.au
