Let’s begin with a simple multiple-choice question.
Employee engagement does which of the following:
(A.) Increases Productivity
(B.) Improves Safety
(C.) Reduces Turnover
(D.) Solves World Hunger
(E.) All of the Above (Except D)
Unless you missed the title of the post, you probably answered “E.” And you’re right!
Employee engagement has been a hot topic lately, with how-tos, best practices, and lists of benefits popping up everywhere from Forbes to Reddit. As internal communication professionals debate what it means and how to achieve true employee engagement – the claims of various solutions get more and more outlandish.
What Is Employee Engagement?
Engagement means different things to different companies. In the simplest terms, employee engagement is an effort to provide an environment where all employees believe in the company’s main objectives, contribute toward the success of the organization, and feel accomplished (or happy) doing so.
Many companies have failed at this by focusing too much on the word “happy.” Employers are pushed to provide an environment where each employee loves their job every day. They attempt to do this with perks or flashy offices and trendy benefits plans. Unlimited vacation days, getting your wedding paid for, or free Tesla leases are all real perks companies are offering. However, the reality is that even the most satisfying job with an ultimate package of perks and benefits will still bring struggles and frustrations and bad days. Survey after survey has been developed to determine if employees are happy, because happiness equals engagement, and engagement results in improved employee retention numbers, right? The problem with these surveys is that they are not tied to the stated performance goals, the company’s bottom line, or the overall improvement the owners and c-suite would like to see. So, using a happiness meter may not be the best determining factor of engagement, and offering the latest perks may not be the answer to developing that engagement. What’s the answer, then?
It is easy to find research to back up the claims of being an enterprise with engaged employees, but the key is taking the initiative to begin. Actions and visuals speak louder than corporate speak and translate better to employees. Consider these easy-to-find benefits of employee engagement, then consider the simple solutions presented at the end – easy and cost-effective solutions.
The Benefits of Having Engagement Employees
I recently found 15-20 of these benefits in a simple search of reputable, pertinent studies (Gallup, Harvard Business Review, Deloitte, Forbes, The Hay Group, and more). Here are just a few:
- Engaged employees are more productive (17-22%) – Harvard Business Review & Forbes
- Engaged employees are more loyal (65% reduction in turnover) – Forbes & Harvard Business Review
- Engaged employees are safer (48-70% less accidents) – Gallup & Harvard Business Review
- Engaged employees are happier and healthier ($500 billion annually spent on workplace stress) – Gallup and Harvard Business Review
- Engaged employees produce higher quality work (40% fewer quality issues) – Gallup
Solving for Employee Engagement
Wow! With those kinds of benefits, why aren’t companies doing even more to ensure their employees are engaged? Many times, corporate executives are presented with expensive, complicated and unproven programs or another “magic” app that promise to engage their employees and help them sleep better at night. However, the answer is more simple – communication. Communicate often and communicate consistently. Not through another email or newsletter – but rather, visually. Isn’t that the primary vehicle everyone uses today to get their news?
Start with your company’s mission statement. Keep visual reminders of it around the office. When employees see it on huge screens around the office, they can relate to it. Then, every time an employee walks by a display with the mission statement, or a company goal, something resonates. The creative content strikes them and reminds them of company values, company news, a milestone achieved, a great month or quarter and more. Put your company’s accomplishments on display too. Report last quarter’s impressive numbers, shout out to a team member who went above and beyond for a customer, show a great Google review, or share the impact of a company-wide community project or charity event!
Digitally displaying your company goals and the different paths of achieving those goals does more to engage your employees in your overall mission than over-the-top benefits every time.
Digital signage is everywhere, sure, but think beyond traditional digital signage to what we at ImageNet refer to as Visual Productivity Solutions. Yes, it is digital signage – but your key messages can be displayed on LED/LCD screens, video walls, kiosks, desktops, and even mobile devices. We use the tagline “create anywhere – publish everywhere.” We can help you with an internal communication solution that is simple and effective. It can drive your employee engagement to levels you only hoped for and create the behavior modification required to meet corporate objectives consistently.
Contact ImageNet Consulting to set up your personal demonstration and find out how easy & effective consistent communication can be and how it can boost your employee engagement.