For a business to grow, it takes time, effort, sacrifice, and investment.
But the thing is, a large part of business owners feel like the most value they can provide comes from equipment or training. However, there’s one aspect of entrepreneurship that you must not forget about – and that’s employee engagement.
Employee engagement comes down to the attitude that team members develop towards their workplace. In broad terms, it denotes a commitment to the organization and its success.
There are different ways to increase employee engagement. You can do it by encouraging a positive company culture. You can choose to prioritize employee mental and physical health. And, of course, you can achieve it by promoting the values of accountability and mentorship.
But how exactly does employee engagement impact your business?
Teamwork & Collaboration
A successful business runs like a well-oiled machine. Just like in a mechanical system, each person needs to be efficient at doing their part. But they must also be aware that without the rest of the team, they wouldn’t be able to bring in the desired results.
Engagement is one of those driving forces behind the resolve to get things done as a team. It creates a deep connection between individuals and brings them all together in common goals. When employees are engaged, they want to create value for the organization.
In addition to being a contributor to productive collaboration, engagement is also an excellent way to support growth.
As a business owner, you already know that success comes with many challenges. To solve this, your workers need to be creative and innovative. Most importantly, they need to work well together.
With teamwork, engaged workers will express their passion for the company through collaboration. They’ll contribute to measurable results for the company. At the same time, they will also develop as individuals, gaining skills, and making breakthroughs.
Motivation
If you look at human behavior, you’ll notice one thing. Our attention rarely stays at the same level for prolonged periods. We may be passionate about aspects of our work, but it’s still easy to become weary. People become unmotivated when they perform repetitive tasks, face hardships, or are stressed.
But, when we’re engaged in our work, we’re much more likely to deliver consistent results. And that’s the result of knowing that our work matters.
You see, one of the ways engagement impacts success is that it boosts intrinsic motivation. This is excellent news for the success of any company. In fact, internal motivators are some of the most powerful ones there are. So powerful that you may even find them more likely to evoke extra effort than external rewards like money or acknowledgment.
Productivity
If motivation and teamwork seem like far-fetched concepts, let’s look at something a bit more tangible.
According to research, companies with disengaged employees lose up to $300 billion per year.
In contrast, employee engagement can measurably boost productivity. For example, Gallup compared organizations with engaged employees vs. those without. What they found was that the former proved to be over 20% more productive.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that collective commitment among teams drives better financial results. It also anticipates higher growth rates. Plus, companies that invest in engagement are more likely to enjoy consistent results, seeing that it negatively affects absenteeism.
Higher Retention Rates
Another benefit of high employee engagement is significantly higher retention rates. The way this impacts culture and company success is quite intriguing. When your staff stays with you for a long time, your company can profit in several ways.
Your initial win is the lower cost of hiring and training new employees. Additionally, by working together for extended periods, your teams will build stronger bonds. On top of all this, your workers will be more versed in the organization’s internal processes.
So, potentially, high engagement rates may help you build your ideal workforce. As you hire people just starting their careers, you can train them and direct them in ways that will help them grow into experts.
This way, you’ll not just contribute to educating capable individuals for your organization. Better yet, you’ll have reliable workers who will know the ins and outs of the business. Perhaps one day, they’ll be able to take over roles in management and leadership positions.
Customer Satisfaction
If you’re still on the fence about encouraging employee engagement, think about your clients.
Did you know that invested customer service teams make for happy customers? Surveys have shown that consumers often judge a brand by its employees. If your customer support team is ready to go above and beyond, that’s what your buyers are going to remember. In fact, 73% of customers fall in love with a brand because of a customer service representative.
A company culture that focuses on boosting engagement doesn’t only mean increased profits. More importantly, it also drives customer loyalty. And that just may be the link that ensures the future of your company.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many benefits to having dedicated team members committed to their jobs. And these benefits go much further than profits and productivity.
By investing in employee engagement, you’re investing in the future and security of your business. By building on the pillars of motivation, communication, and shared goals, you’ll secure benefits that you’ll reap for years to come.
Featured image credit: Unsplash.com
Sarah Kaminski is a freelance writer and social media marketer. She works with a number of small businesses to build their brands through more engaging marketing and content.
