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Why Is Employee Engagement Important?

By Taylor Berman - Feb. 24, 2023
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Summary. Employee engagement is important because it shows who is committed to their work and who is not. Engaged employees will be happier in their position, and they will be more productive and committed to their work. Employees can range from being highly engaged, moderately engaged, barely engaged, and disengaged.

Employee engagement is an important part of how a company runs. If employees are not engaged in their work, it can lead to lower productivity levels and can decrease employee morale.

It’s an employer’s job to boost and improve employee engagement. In this article, we will go over the importance of employee engagement, reasons why employees may not be engaged, and ways to improve their engagement to help you create a positive and healthy work environment.

Key Takeaways:

  • Employee engagement relates to how an employee feels about the company they work for and will determine how committed they are to their work.

  • The types of employee engagement are:

    • Highly engaged employees

    • Moderately engaged employees

    • Barely engaged employees

    • Disengaged employees

  • The best way to improve employee engagement is to improve communication, reward and recognize employees, and provide employee growth opportunities.

Why Employee Engagement Is Important

Employee engagement is important because it relates to how an employee feels about a company and how committed they are to their work. They want to be at the company for more than just a paycheck.

Engaged employees are people who are happy and passionate about their professional roles. Happy employees are more likely to be loyal and be a great asset to the company they work for. They are also company advocates because engaged employees will have positive things to say about the company that they work for.

Types of Employee Engagement

  • Highly engaged employees. When employees feel connected to their teams and have positive feelings about their work, they are more likely to be highly engaged. They want to help the organization succeed and will encourage other employees to do their best as well.

  • Moderately engaged employees. These employees will like their place of employment, but not as much as the highly engaged employees. They might not take on as many projects but will do their assigned work.

    There may be something that they don’t like about the organization that is keeping them from their full potential and being a highly engaged employee.

  • Barely engaged employees. These employees will feel indifferent about their place of work. They might not have as much motivation and will do just enough to get by. There will be times when they won’t do as much work as they should be doing.

  • Disengaged employees. Disengaged employees will have a negative opinion about their place of work and are not motivated to work. They may not like it, or they will feel disconnected from the employee mission or the values.

    These employees may be actively looking for a new job, and they may not care that their current employer knows. Disengaged employees can have a negative effect on other employees.

5 Benefits of Employee Engagement

  1. Boosts productivity. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to be productive. When employees are productive, it leads to more work getting done and increases company profit and revenue. Higher productivity also leads to increased employee morale and a more positive work environment.

  2. Customer satisfaction increases. Customer satisfaction is an important part of the business. Engaged employees are more likely to put their best efforts forward to make sure that the customer is happy.

    This makes the customer want to keep coming back to your business and will say positive things about your company, which can lead to more customers.

  3. Lower employee turnover. More productive employees and less absenteeism mean that employees are more likely to stay with your company longer. This benefits your company or organization because a high turnover rate can be expensive.

    Happy and engaged employees are also more likely to have positive things to say about the company, which can increase the number of people wanting to work for your company.

  4. Reduces absenteeism. Engaged employees are less likely to be stressed and overworked, meaning they want to come to work more. Absenteeism is not only costly to the company, but it can cause other employees to become disengaged from their work.

  5. Healthier employees. Higher employee engagement means that your employees are more likely to be happier and healthier. Workplace stress can lead to health issues which can cause employees to call out of work more.

Reasons Employee Engagement May Be Low

  1. Lack of purpose. When an employee feels as if they lack purpose or meaning in the workplace, their engagement will be low. If the company’s vision or mission doesn’t resonate with an employee, it can cause an employee to have a difficult time finding their work meaningful and being engaged like they should be.

  2. Stagnation. When an employee does the same tasks or assignments all of the time, the work becomes boring and stagnant. This will cause them to become less invested in their work and lower their engagement.

  3. Lack of communication. Communication is a big factor in how an employee is engaged in the work. If they feel as if they don’t know what is going on, they won’t have the desire to continue with their work.

  4. Lack of feedback. Just like communication, feedback is important. If an employee is not receiving any guidance or feedback on their work, they may not feel as compelled to reach their goals. Feedback helps motivate employees to do and be better.

  5. Poor management or leadership. Managers and leaders that don’t set examples for their employees will cause employees to lack engagement. When managers favor or prefer certain workers, other employees will see that, and it will show in their work. If leaders aren’t proper leaders, then employees won’t be able to perform as well.

  6. Poor work-life balance. Having a proper work-life balance helps employees reduce stress and recharge for their work. A poor work-life balance will cause employees to become burnt out faster and lead to low employee engagement.

How to Improve Employee Engagement

  1. Provide opportunities to grow. Without the opportunity to grow and improve in their career, employees will become disengaged and possibly find a new place to work. Offering opportunities such as career development programs or promotions will give your employees a chance to achieve their greatest potential and be engaged in their work.

  2. Advocate for better work-life balance. As mentioned before, without a proper work-life balance, employees can become disengaged.

    To improve work-life balance, offer more flexibility or work-from-home options to allow employees to work when it works best for them. Creating an environment where you care about their personal lives will help improve engagement and productivity.

  3. Improve communication. Having effective communication allows employees to stay informed and helps open up a space to share honest feedback. Taking the time to hear employees’ concerns allows them to feel as if their opinions matter.

  4. Recognize and reward employees. Recognizing your employees and the work that they do will help them find meaning in their work. Giving credit to employees when they have ideas or celebrating projects or milestones will help employees feel seen by management or higher-ups and feel as if the work they are doing has a purpose.

  5. Provide the right tools for success. Not having the right tools or having a lack of resources can be frustrating for employees. Take the time to get the right tools that employees need to do their jobs. You can also talk to employees and see if you can do anything to improve the resources that they have to help them succeed.

  6. Ask for feedback. Just as you should be providing feedback to your employees, they should be giving you feedback as well. This will allow managers and leaders to know where they need to improve to help employees feel more engaged with their work.

  7. Lead by example. Oftentimes, employees struggle to have healthy working habits or are not as engaged because they see managers and leaders being less engaged. It’s important for leaders to promote taking more breaks or care about the work they are producing. This will help encourage employees to do the same thing.

Employee Engagement FAQ

  1. Why do my employees have low engagement?

    Low employee engagement could be because of a lack of recognition, poor communication, and poor work-life balance.

    By improving communication and work-life balance with employees, you will notice employee engagement improve. By recognizing your employees for the work that they do, they will have more purpose in their work, and they will become more engaged and productive.

  2. What happens when employee engagement is low?

    When employee engagement is low, they are less likely to be productive, and they will have lower morale. When employees are not productive, it can cause a decrease in company profit and can cause a high turnover rate for your company.

    This could also lead to a negative customer experience which could also cause a decrease in revenue. Lower employee morale can cause a negative work environment and can impact company culture.

  3. Why do good employees become disengaged?

    Good employees often become disengaged because of a lack of recognition or lack of good management. Recognition is important to keep employees engaged. If managers do not recognize employees for the work that they are doing, they will start to question if the work they are doing has a purpose.

    Simply writing an email or going to their desk to let them know that their work was good can help keep them engaged.

    When employees lose trust in their managers or feel as if they are being micromanaged, they can become disengaged. It’s important to allow employees to have their space when they work and to delegate tasks. This shows the employees that their managers trust them, and that will help restore an employee’s trust in a manager.

  4. Why do good employees suddenly quit?

    Good employees can suddenly quit due to low pay, or they feel as if there are no growth opportunities. Paying employees a low wage can sometimes make them feel as if the work they are doing is not being valued for their compensation.

    If an employee feels as if they are not being paid a fair wage, they will either start to do less work or find a job that will pay them a fair wage.

    Growing opportunities is also important to help keep employees around. When they feel as if they are stuck in their position, they will start to find work that will allow them to grow and learn new skills.

References

  1. U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Maximizing Employee Engagement

Author

Taylor Berman

Taylor is a freelance writer from Pennsylvania. Taylor got into writing because she enjoys writing articles that help people and loves creating stories that inspire. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations with an interest in communications media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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