What is employee engagement? The ultimate guide
Explore the basics of employee engagement, how to measure it, and how to improve engagement over time.
Employee engagement is a vital business metric that every company should track. When employees are engaged, your company will experience higher employee productivity rates, enhanced employee retention, and increased profits.
It’s no wonder that SurveyMonkey research shows that 53% of HR pros are increasing their focus on the employee experience vs. the bottom line. In this article, we’ll explore what employee engagement means, strategies for improving it, methods of measuring it, and the key metrics you need to track.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is the level of commitment and enthusiasm a staff member has for their job. High employee engagement rates show employees care about their role and want to do a great job.
Employee productivity, retention, and overall profits increase as employee engagement increases.
What employee engagement is not
Some businesses mistake employee satisfaction, well-being, or general happiness for engagement. However, these are not indicators of someone's investment in the success of their teams, organizations, or the overall business.
Employee engagement is not:
- Employee happiness: A happy employee doesn’t always engage with their work.
- Job satisfaction: Generally, job satisfaction refers to satisfaction with factors like pay, workload, resources, and perception of management.
- Employee well-being: Employee well-being is a person’s physical, emotional, and economic health.
Often used interchangeably, these terms do have significant differences.
Employee engagement vs. employee disengagement
Engaged and disengaged employees act differently, have different work ethic levels, and contribute on distinct levels to your company.
Different levels of employee engagement will result in:
- Varied belief in company vision: Engaged employees believe in your vision, while disengaged employees feel no connection to your core purpose.
- Willingness to work: Engaged employees will meet goals and exceed expectations, while disengaged employees do the bare minimum.
- Communication styles: Engaged employees are passionate about their work and optimistic, while disengaged employees rarely communicate.
Related reading: Employee disengagement: what it is and how to stop it
Benefits of employee engagement
Enhancing employee engagement is one of the most effective ways of supercharging your business. From productivity enhancements to better customer service, there are numerous reasons for trying to engage your employees.
Here are the main benefits of employee engagement:
- Improved team performance: When a team is entirely of motivated, engaged employees, each individual is likely to be more engaged in their role, resulting in higher team performance. Engaged employees working together will produce excellent results and outcomes, far better than teams that are not engaged.
- Increased productivity: Highly engaged employees feel invested in their jobs and performance. These employees will work harder, complete tasks faster, and display higher productivity rates.
- Improved workplace morale: When your workers engage with their job roles, they bring more positivity and enthusiasm. Better attitudes can help boost workplace morale and create a lovely workplace for everyone.
- Higher retention and lower turnover: Employee engagement and retention are directly linked. Engaged employees are much more likely to stay with your company, helping you to create a stronger, more dedicated workforce.
- Decreased absenteeism: Your engaged employees are less likely to miss work days; when they’re present, they are fully immersed in their work. Disengaged employees are more likely to call in sick and are less productive.
- Improved customer service: Engaged employees provide better customer service, resulting in customer loyalty and retention. Employees who care about the customer experience will go out of their way to ensure it’s positive.
- Increased profits: When your employees work harder, they finish work faster, enabling your teams to do more. With higher productivity and more efficiency comes better profits for your bottom line.
Employee engagement has an endless number of benefits. Cultivating an atmosphere that incentivizes and promotes engagement is a strong factor in a company's success.
What makes employees engaged?
Engaging employees requires improving their experience. Various factors contribute to this, including management. SurveyMonkey research indicates that about 47% of employees say their manager significantly influences their experience.
However, there are several other factors that you should take into account:
- Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction comes down to matching the right skills to the right role and supporting an employee with adequate feedback and rewards.
- Personal engagement: Employees' needs and concerns extend far beyond the office. Personal engagement looks after the whole employee.
- Growth opportunities: Do your employees see their future at your company? An engaged employee needs a path to walk and a clear and captivating destination.
- Team dynamics: Groups can potentially produce more value than the sum of their parts. A team dynamic fostering a sense of belonging, safety, and exploration is engaging.
- Purpose alignment: Your company needs an articulated purpose and employees who feel energized to pursue that purpose. Can they see where they fit into greater successes?
Understanding employee engagement ideas, strategies, and metrics related to these drivers is essential for tracking and improving employee engagement.
How to measure employee engagement
Measuring employee engagement rates allows your business to track and improve engagement over time. Monitor key metrics and gather data through surveys to streamline the process.
There are several different ways you can measure employee engagement:
- Employee engagement surveys: An employee engagement survey offers insight into factors like an employee’s perception of leadership, emotional commitment to work, pride in their company, and more. Use these surveys to create quantifiable data to draw upon.
- Pulse survey: A pulse survey is a brief survey conducted regularly to assess employee engagement. Administer an