What is Employee Engagement and What is it Good For?

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is an HR concept that describes the level of dedication an employee has for their job. It is how they know the level of enthusiasm of employees to perform well for the company. Employees with good engagement care about their performance and what they can contribute to the company’s success.

They believe what they do is effective and can help the company. In addition, they know that their interest and well-being can influence the success of the company. Also, they are not performing excellently just to get higher pay.

Levels of Employee Engagement

Engagement is different from one employee to another. To describe it more clearly, here are the various levels of employee engagement.

Highly engaged

Employees with high engagement hold a strong positive opinion about their work and the company. They are employees that enjoy their work, feel connected with their team, and have a sense of loyalty to the company. They are excellent brand advocates and help influence their co-workers to do their best.

Moderately engaged 

They are employees that see the company in a moderately positive way. These employees enjoy their workplace but do not see opportunities for growth. They are likely to underperform and may not ask for more tasks.

Barely engaged 

Employees who are barely engaged have indifferent feelings towards the company. There are times they lack motivation to the best when it comes to their roles. They are the ones with the highest possibility of becoming a turnover risk.

Disengaged  

These are the employees with a bad impression of the company. They lack dedication to their roles and have a sense of disconnection from the company’s mission and goals. Their negative impression can influence other team members.

Key Aspects of Employee Engagement

Aside from learning the levels of employee engagement, it is also best to explore its key aspects.

Commitment

Employees with high engagement have dedication to the company's mission, beliefs, and objectives. They consider their work to be crucial and in line with the goals of the business.

Loyalty 

Engaged employees are more loyal to the company. They are less likely to actively look for other job opportunities.

Motivation 

They have self-motivation and intrinsically driven to perform well. They are enthusiastic about their tasks and exhibit a strong work ethic.

Collaboration 

Collaboration and employee engagement are key components of an enjoyable and effective workplace. By encouraging teamwork, communication, and a sense of belonging, collaboration is vital in boosting employee engagement.

Advocacy 

Employees who support and advocate for their employer, its beliefs, offerings, or activities both internally and outside are engaged in their work. When employees take on the role of advocates, they go beyond the duties of their position to share their good experiences and boost the company's success.

Resilience 

A key element of employee engagement is resilience. It deals with a person's ability to deal with hardships, adjust to changes, and maintain their well-being under pressure and adversity. Building resilience among employees may boost their levels of engagement.

Benefits of Employee Engagement

Companies apply many strategies to facilitate employee engagement for several reasons. Let us look into some of them as follows.

Improve employee productivity. 

Employees with high engagement are more driven to produce excellent results.

Increase employee retention. 

When employees feel satisfaction with their work and the company, they have the tendency to stay longer.

Create a positive work culture. 

Highly engaged employees are also the ones that can help create a positive vibe within the team and the company.

Improve employee satisfaction. 

Aside from creating positive work culture, employees with high engagement are also the happiest with their jobs. This affects the overall satisfaction within the entire workplace.

Contribute to company success. 

An employee’s performance affects that of the entire company, which is why they need to perform well. Companies can expect great results from highly engaged employees that can contribute to their overall success.

Tips to Improve Employee Engagement

If you want to improve employee engagement, here are some tips.

Create recognition programs. 

To engage employees, companies must know how to acknowledge their hard work. This is where recognition programs come in. Employees can receive awards and rewards for the level of performance they give.

Ask for feedback. 

Knowing the workforce’s thoughts and opinions is critical to every business. They can find gaps and areas for improvement through the feedback given by employees.

Schedule one-on-one sessions. 

Employee input is regularly collected by company managers and executives through private meetings.

Offer growth opportunities. 

Having something to look forward to can facilitate engagement. To do this, companies can offer growth opportunities to their employees.

Set clear goals. 

Employees need guidance to ensure they can perform well. Setting clear goals enables them to know what they need to achieve.

Provide employees with the right tools. 

Aside from clear goals, employees also need the proper tools to execute their tasks. Doing this can increase their urge to work harder.

Build trust by being transparent. 

Trust is a significant aspect in the workplace and for engaging employees. Companies can build trust by being honest and transparent with their plans, rules, and directions for the employees.

Organize team activities. 

Most companies organize team activities to improve employee engagement. It can help employees to get to know their peers better. In addition, it helps foster good team spirit and collaboration.

Employees play a vital role in achieving business success. It is why companies invest in employee engagement strategies. In this way, the employees can feel connected, they are motivated, and will strive to perform well.