Why Employee Engagement Isn’t Just a Buzzword—It’s a Business Essential

Have you ever wondered why some of your employees are actively engaged and ready to dive headfirst into a new project while employee engagement and morale for others is so low? There are a multitude of reasons why this could be the case, and examples include company and workplace culture, recognition and/or rewards for performance, alignment of goals and purpose, different motivation styles, good or poor leadership, work-life balance, employee burnout and more. Therefore, it’s vital that leaders embark on a journey to ensure they’re doing everything possible to keep employees not only engaged but driven and aligned with the company’s mission and vision.

Employee engagement is essential to job and business growth. Below are key points highlighting why employee engagement initiatives are important and some strategies for increasing it.

• Why is employee engagement important? Employee engagement is essential to business success because employees help represent your company and if they are not actively engaged, why should your customers and shareholders be? When employees are actively engaged, productivity increases, turnover decreases, culture in the workplace is stronger, customer relationships are more nourished. Also, companies with high engaging employees tend to have higher profits and performance.
• What happens when employee morale and engagement are low? I think it’s safe to say when morale and engagement are low in the workplace there’s usually a reason for it and you might want to find that reason quickly before your business is impacted. Often in these work environments there’s an increase in employee turnover and absenteeism, decrease in productivity, and an inability to provide excellent customer service and/or experience that can create a negative or toxic brand association. Employees who are unhappy might incorporate that into their communications and relations with their coworkers, managers and clients, essentially spreading toxicity across the company which can have long-lasting negative impacts on your company.
• Strategies for increasing employee engagement.
  • First, create an environment where employees feel safe and encouraged to speak up. Leadership should be open, flexible, adaptable and responsive during communications. Examples could include lunch n’ learns, forums and other open meetings where employees are invited to and encouraged to engage.
  • Ensure employees understand how their role and work contribute to the mission and vision of the company. Give employees goals and objectives that show how their role and work has purpose and meaning.
  • Spend the money and invest in the growth and development of your employees. This provides employees with opportunities to learn, develop and grow. Examples would include training courses, mentoring, seminars, webinars and more. Additionally, you can help create incentives through certification and tuition reimbursements.
  • Applaud your employees for their contributions and performance regularly. Doing this makes employees feel valued, respected and appreciated. Examples include awards, small or fun gifts, employee of the month and bonuses. This is a great way to increase employee engagement.
  • Focus on strengthening the team culture and empowering your employees. In return, this will provide your company with a more engaged team that works well together to solve problems and make sound business decisions. Create opportunities for engaging activities that can bring employees together like a multi-department project, lunch n’ learns, team outings and other activities that focus on active engagement.
  • Offer your employees a true work life balance that decreases employee burnout and increases employee motivation and morale. Examples include remote or hybrid schedules, flexibility in hours and employee wellness programs.
• Employee feedback. It’s always best to have regular check-ins with your employees. Make sure all employees know there is an open-door policy where communication is invited, valued and respected. Which is a great way to check in and see if your employee engagement initiatives are working and if not, back to the drawing board! Asking for and incorporating employee feedback regarding engagement initiatives provides the opportunity for the employer-employee relationship to foster and build trust and transparency. Further, best practices would be for the employer to ensure timely and routine check-ins, make sure objectives and goals are specified and doable, provide feedback that is productive and positive and send out polls or surveys to employees that invite employees to provide feedback.

Bottom line, these key points ALL increase your company’s bottom line. Leaders, you have a huge opportunity here to be an active participant in your employees’ engagement and make it a positive experience. The more your teams are engaged the more they will contribute and look for ways to learn and grow, which is essential to your business. Why wouldn’t you engage in this?