Erin Davis once said in her presentation at the American Library Association conference in 2010, “a happy employee is a productive employee.” Although many people don’t remember Erin’s name, this quote is widely recognized throughout the world and employers run their businesses by this rule. Rightfully so, it is very important. 

A study by the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School in 2019 found that happy employees are 13% more productive. This is also consistent with a previous study by Wellable in 2015 which found that happier employees are 12% more productive than unhappy employees. The time difference between these studies suggests how consistent the finding regarding employee happiness and productivity is. Hence, it is vital for employers to be aware of their employees’ emotional states so that productivity levels can be kept in check.

What is Employee Engagement? 

According to Society for Human Resource Management, “employee engagement is the level of an employee's commitment and connection to an organization.” Similarly, Forbes defines employee engagement as “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals”. If we look at other sources, they define employee engagement in similar ways. Hence, we can derive a co-relationship between the level of connection and the level of commitment employees have when we talk about employee engagement.

Why is Employee Engagement Important?

Well, simply because the decision and actions that employees take affect the workplace and the organization. How a company treats its employees and how the top-level employees treat their subordinates can directly or indirectly, and positively or negatively affect employees’ actions.

Gallup found that employees who are highly engaged in the workplace increase profitability by 21%. Similarly, People Metrics also found that employees teams with high levels of engagement sell over 20% more than teams with low engagement. If we do a quick Google search, we can find many such studies and research which provide evidence of positive outcomes due to positive employee engagement. 

5 Effective Ways to Improve Employee Engagement

1. Implement a system for conducting employee surveys regularly.

Invest in a tool that assesses employee engagement in your teams. Using a Net Promoter Score (NPS) tool makes this simple. Just like using NPS for customers and asking them a straightforward question like: "How likely are you to suggest (your company’s name) to a friend or colleague?" you can also do the same to your staff. The inquiry is the same, but the response is "how likely are you to recommend our organization as a preferred place of employment to a friend or previous colleague?" 

2. Have coffee conversations away from an official setting.

Get each of your executives to have a meeting with their direct reports, perhaps over a cup of coffee away from the office, and ask them how they can improve the employee experience. Are they experiencing any obstacles that are keeping them from feeling engaged at work? Perhaps provide them some time before the conversation to jot down their questions and main themes. Create an "anonymous tip line" if this seems like a bold strategy for some staff. Employees may use a box or an email account to anonymously submit their problems or ideas, and management could address them in regular meetings. Here, it's crucial to demonstrate that their concerns are taken seriously. Walk them through the action plans that have been put in place to promote a more engaged workplace.

3. Reevaluate the internal communication process.

How do you now inform your employees about crucial corporate changes? Do they feel well informed and updated on recent news and changes? If not or perhaps if the volume of news and updates coming from your partners and stakeholders on a weekly, biweekly, or even monthly basis is very high, consider having a dedicated information portal for employees. It can be something just as simple as a Facebook group where you can make a post about it. If possible, you can use newsletters to inform them. Such mediums of communication can also be used to inform about the positions available inside the business that employees can transfer to in order to advance their careers or refer to someone they know. When they can find needed information without much hassle, their productivity increases, and keeping them engaged becomes easy.

4. Create a hub for learning and personal/professional development.

Just like you, as a business owner or high-level management staff, need to keep yourself updated with industry trends to develop plans and strategies for your business, your employees also need to keep learning continuously to improve their working standards. Because they are working for your business, it is your responsibility to provide them with resources 

Industry 4.0 is closing in on us, therefore now is not the time to have people who are disgruntled, disengaged, or who are not upgrading their skills to remain competitive.

Your company should have a learning platform where employees can access courses that could help them enhance their skills or encourage the development of a new skill altogether. This way they will be able to work on their personal as well as professional development and improve the prospects of their promotions. Over time, their goals and the organization’s goals can be aligned as well. Such an opportunity will keep them highly engaged in their work as they want to reap the benefits of the courses. 

5. Take advantage of workplace flexibility

According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, more than 50% of workers favored working from home after the pandemic, whether through hybrid workplaces or remote work arrangements. Cisco also pointed out that different studies have shown that only 9% of the world's workforce is predicted to ever fully return to the workplace, and 53% of major corporations are now intending to cut their office footprints.

Take into account the job demands in your company. Do the employees actually need to be working in the office to accomplish their tasks? Do they even want to work in the office? Would a hybrid or even entirely remote work paradigm be preferable for their work-life balance? By answering these questions, you’ll be able to figure out how to keep employees engaged in whatever work environment best suits your company.