Employee engagement is a function of the relationship between an organization and its employees. It’s about improving your workplace and culture such that employees feel more connected and dedicated to your company’s goals and values. Employee engagement is based on trust, integrity, communication between an organization and its members.
Effective and good employee engagement includes:
- Employees are happy and excited to work for the company and team
- Your team values their job role and contributions to success
- Employees value and understand the company mission, goals, and objectives. Likewise, the company understands and values employee goals.
However, it’s important to note: it’s not just employees’ happiness or satisfaction that matters, but how it relates to the individual’s and company’s performance and productivity.
Why is employee engagement so important?
Employee engagement is so important to all organizations because having effective strategies in-place helps create a better work culture, reduce staff turnover, increase productivity, build better work and customer relationships, and impact company profits. Yet, it makes employees happier and turns them into your best advocates.
Why engagement matters for people at work
For those working every day, being engaged with their job, company, and colleagues plays a critical role in their overall satisfaction and experience. Employees become more energized, efficient, and tend to go beyond what is expected of them. Naturally, this influences their own mental health at work and can positively influence those around them (colleagues and customers).
Why engagement matters at the company level
Generally, employee engagement tends to matter most at the company level because of the impact it has on business operations and profitability. But it also helps leaders understand the needs and areas that will improve employee morale. And it helps leadership better understand how to manage teams and create better work environments.
“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” – Anne M. Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox