Why is employee engagement important?

Businesses are easier to run when the employee engagement rates are high. Employee engagement is a key factor that indicates the work satisfaction of employees. Gone are the days when employee engagement was all about working 9 to 5. Now, the employees are involved and committed to their work and are passionate about their organization. Hence, employee engagement becomes a very important tool to determine the success of an organization.

What is employee engagement?

The concept of employee engagement starts from each employee working for his/her organization. Any task carried out by individuals with lots of passion and enthusiasm makes it more purposeful and engaging. Forging this as the anchor, employee engagement definition states itself as the level of commitment and passion an employee feels towards his/her organization and employer. Higher employee engagement will ensure there is an increase in the productivity rate of the organization. However, employee engagement is not only about increasing productivity, organizing events and games. It is much more than that. Employee engagement accelerates performance.

Why does employee engagement matter?

Employee engagement is directly linked to an organization’s success and sustainability. Engaged employees are more motivated, productive, and aligned with company goals. They take ownership of their work and contribute to innovation and growth.

According to a Gallup report, businesses with highly engaged employees experience 21% higher profitability and 59% lower turnover than those with low engagement levels. When employees feel valued and connected, they naturally perform better and stay longer with the company.

How to foster employee engagement?

Fostering employee engagement goes beyond organizing fun activities or events. It's about building a culture of trust, purpose, and growth.

Here are key ways to foster it:

• Encourage two-way communication: Employees who feel heard are more likely to stay engaged and contribute.
  
• Recognize and reward performance: Appreciation fuels motivation and loyalty.
  
• Provide learning and growth opportunities: Skill-building keeps employees invested in their careers.
  
• Promote flexibility and work-life balance: Remote options or flexible hours show empathy and care.
  
• Create purpose-driven teams: Help employees connect their roles to the company’s larger mission.

Benefits of employee engagement

There can be several benefits of employee engagement, this can go from making informed decisions to creating big profits for the company

• An engaged workforce knows their roles and responsibilities. They understand the organization very well, its purpose and where and how they fit in. This level of understanding leads to better decision making, thereby outperforming their competitors.
• Only with employee engagement comes growth and innovation. An engaged employee knows very well about overcoming setbacks and driving value from each decision they make.
• With high employee engagement comes low employee turnover, improving employee retention thereby reducing hiring costs.
• Employees who are very much engaged in their workplace will have a high productivity rate by which revenue of the organization can be increased.

Significance of employee engagement

With high employee engagement comes high quality of work produced as employees are most likely to invest in their work. Highly engaged employees do their work in the best way possible everyday indicating that significance of employee engagement has gone higher than expected as employees stay with those organizations that consider employee engagement seriously. According to Harvard Business Review, benefits of employee engagement can be versatile. Like,

• The success rate of a highly engaged organization is almost twice as much as a poorly engaged organization.
• Employee engagement can also improve the quality of work and health, reducing absenteeism.

How to measure employee engagement?

Measuring employee engagement helps organizations understand how motivated and committed their workforce truly is. Here’s how you can do it effectively:

• Conduct employee engagement surveys: Regular surveys help assess employee satisfaction, motivation, and overall engagement levels.
  
• Use short pulse surveys: Quick surveys with a few focused questions can give valuable insights into employee sentiment.
  
• Identify engagement drivers: Go beyond numbers, find out why employees feel engaged or disengaged.
  
• Build actionable strategies: Use survey insights to design better engagement activities, training programs, or initiatives.
  
• Choose the right timing: Conduct surveys periodically to track trends and changes in engagement levels.
  
• Communicate openly: Explain the purpose of surveys, share results transparently, and take visible follow-up actions.

Employee engagement health and wellness

Employee wellness programs and employee engagement are interlinked. When employees don’t feel good mentally or physically it is impossible for them to stay engaged at work. As they are distracted with their problems, they cannot stay attentive to their work. Hence employee wellness and employee engagement go hand in hand. All three areas of employee wellness like physical, mental and financial wellness determine the rate of employee engagement.

Source: Quantum workplace

Introducing wellness programs for employees can impact the organization and the productivity rates of employees drastically. It can not only keep your employees healthy and happy but also increase the employee engagement rate and make your organization successful.

How to improve employee engagement?

To build a highly motivated and committed workforce, focus on creating the right environment and communication practices:

• Foster a sense of ownership: Encourage employees to take responsibility and feel genuinely connected to the organization’s goals.
  
• Build strong communication: Maintain open, two-way communication to set clear expectations and align priorities.
  
• Encourage collaboration: Promote teamwork and shared problem-solving to strengthen bonds among employees.
  
• Recognize and reward contributions: Appreciate employee efforts regularly to boost morale and engagement.
  
• Offer wellness and support programs: Ensure employees feel cared for through health and wellbeing initiatives.
  

At Pazcare, we help organizations build a healthier, more engaged workforce through group health insurance and customized workplace wellness programs. Contact us to know more about this.