"Employee Engagement is Not the Same as Employee Satisfaction"
Introduction
A frequented topic in today’s workplace is employee engagement, but is it more than just a catch phrase? How important is employee engagement and what is its impact in workplaces? In this articele we will look at what happens when engagement levels are high in an organization.
Employee engagement is considered a key in organizational performance, because it is linked to a work environment and employee experience that is positive and supports productivity, growth and achievement. In this post we will look further at what employee engagement means and why it is important for your business.
What is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is the degree to which your employees align with the vision of your business and want to execute it with you because they love what they get to do and feel validated when they come to work. It measures the level of motivation and commitment of staff to their workplace and positions. In short, it means they care- about their growth, the company’s growth and optimizing the outcomes of every workday.
While employee engagement sounds amazing, it does not reflect the general state of most businesses. According to Gallup, only 15% of workers worldwide are engaged, while 18 % of employees are actively disengaged which equates to being completely checked out.
The remaining 67% of global workers fall into the category of ‘not engaged,’ which can mean different things to different workers. Overall, ‘not engaged’ employees may be satisfied but lack the motivation that would move forward to engagement.
You may also find this interesting: How to Keep Employees Engaged at Work: Hire The Right People
How Does Employee Satisfaction Differ from Employee Engagement?
Satisfied employees may be satisfactory workers and even long-term employees. They will show up to work, go through the motions and meet minimum expectations of their positions. However, they aren’t invested enough to go above and beyond what has to be done.
Employees who are only ‘satisfied’ won’t put in the additional effort to excel on the job or take on extra responsibility because they don’t see the point or payoff in doing more. In many cases, putting in time for their paycheck is enough of a trade off for them.
Often, reasons for satisfaction on the job may have nothing to do with the job itself. It may be that employees are barely supervised and don’t have to show much accountability. Or they may find their responsibilities easy so they can coast through the day and get paid. The benefits package might be great or perhaps they have a friend they like to work with. The reasons for employee satisfaction can be vague and varied depending on the person and where they work, but engagement is clearly visible as tangible metrics and results.
What Happens When Employees Are Engaged? Here Are 6 Things That May Be Seen:
1. If you have high levels of engagement in your business, you have hired the right people for positions and empowered them with clear expectations and high-level training. Their baseline is excitement and enthusiasm for what they get to do, which shows up as increased efficiency, better product quality and more teamwork. Overall business productivity is increased by up to 17% according to Gallup.
2. Customer loyalty rises and your business receives more referrals and gets better reviews. In business, your reputation is incredibly important, especially in an era of so many consumer options and competition.
3. Fewer safety incidents occur on the job because employees pay attention to processes and details.
4. Employees take fewer sick days and absenteeism may decrease by up to 41%. Sick time is a significant contributing factor to the $3400 per $10000 salary costs to businesses per disengaged employees.
5. Employee retention increases because staff feel happy, valued and want to stay. This is a huge win because the cost of rehiring and retraining a single employee who leaves is estimated to be 33% of their annual salary depending upon the position and what your company pays.
6. Combined, all the above changes from elevating employee engagement translates into 21% more profitability for your business. With 780 trillion dollars being left on the table globally due to lack of employee engagement, it is an investment that is worth your time.
Conclusion
Employee engagement is more than just a term being used in business circles. The outcome of elevating engagement in the workplace produces tangible, measurable results that include greater efficiency and productivity, increased customer loyalty, a safer workplace with lower absenteeism, better employee retention and more money coming in as the ultimate bottom line. When engagement is made a core focus, businesses see up to a 21% increase in their profits. With billions of dollars being lost worldwide due to low levels of employee engagement in the workforce, it is well worth prioritizing building engagement in your business.