In the course of doing their jobs, your employees may or may not be engaging in their jobs. If you ask the experts at Gallup, a poll taken in 2009 showed that 67% of workers are not engaged in their jobs. That the estimated cost of worker disengagement was about $350 billion for US businesses!
$350 billion is a lot of money to be lost. That includes lost wages, lost revenue, lost production, lost innovation, and much more that contributes to inefficiency. Capturing just a sliver of that amount in active worker engagement could help your small business profit more every year.
But what is employee engagement? And what is it that makes employees want to distract and disconnect themselves from work?
What Is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is simply the act of an employee to wanting to put full effort into doing his or her job, avoiding distractions, and helping the business reach its goals. And even more simply put, it is connecting with the company that helps engage a worker.
An employee connects with his or her employer through three important factors:
- Emotional – First, an employee must feel connected emotionally with the job and the employer. The employee’s feelings must be positive to elicit a desire to come back day after day, week after week, and year after year.
- Rational – Of course, the head must be in the game. The employee must realize logically the “If…then” aspect of the job – “if” I do my job to the best of my ability, “then” the company will succeed, I will earn recognition and rewards, and be more satisfied about my job.
- Motivational – Employees must feel motivated to work. The daily “grind” is rampant. Keeping employees happy about the work they do requires motivation which comes in the form of some of the examples below.
What Engages Employees?
There is no single success formula for employee motivation. In fact, each employee has a different motivational factor. However, here are the most common elements that help employees engage more in their work:
- Pride in Their Work – Are your employees proud of what they do? Are they skilled craftspersons who construct handmade and artistic products? Even an accountant can feel pride in their work when the work is clean, efficient, and reports are sound, accurate, and easy to read.
- Recognition – Employees don’t want to just do the job duties. They want to be recognized for the exceptional effort they put into their job. Be sure to establish recognition and award programs for those to go “above and beyond” their job description.
- Support – Do your employees have the support they need to do their work effectively? A small business is more susceptible to employee disengagement when old equipment like computers, machinery, etc, is not updated to help the work be most efficient and easier. Be sure you do your part to give employees the tools and even emotional support they need to do their best.
- Seeing Progress – What good is going to work day after day and never seeing any forward momentum? Employees want to know the business is successful and that they are making progress on their own careers. Be sure to share when your company reaches goals. Letting them know that work is not in vain will help. Also be committed to helping employees reach their own goals as well. Have regular employee reviews and engage a “promote from within” policy that encourages workers to reach for promotions.
- Compensation – This is last on the list for a reason. Studies show that employees are more motivated by the above factors than they are by money. But don’t skimp on the salaries and benefits. Employees also want to know that they are fairly compensated in whole with a combination of salary, perks, and benefits.
Make the effort to keep your employees engaged in the game of your business. You want your business to succeed. Just find the motivations necessary to help your employees help you meet your goals.
