Keeping your employees “engaged” is among the buzziest of buzzwords for companies looking to attract talent and grow their business.
Millennials more than any other generation are seeking engagement with their job, meaning it’s not enough for them to clock in, sit at a desk, and clock back out.
As a result, companies and startups shell out cash on in-house chefs, ping-pong tables, and nap pods to try to convince workers to be engaged with their work.
For entrepreneurs, employee engagement might seem like an area ripe for exploration. No one has really “hacked” the engagement economy.
As recently as last year, Gallup reported that an average of 32% of workers in the US were engaged at their job. There’s an epidemic of disengaged employees in the US, despite all the rewards and incentives companies seem to throw their way.
Some entrepreneurs may be interested in bucking this trend to achieve their own business goals; others might be thinking about solutions for other industries.
Either way, here’s what entrepreneurs need to know about keeping employees engaged.
What does employee engagement actually mean?
There are a few variations of the definition of “employee engagement,” but Forbes sums it up best.
“Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.”
Notably, keeping employees engaged in the workplace is not the same thing as employee satisfaction or happiness.
Instead, it relates directly to discretionary effort, i.e., the difference between working for a paycheck and working because you care about the company achieving its goals.
The difficulty in achieving employee engagement lies in the fact that each employee is different.
Not every member of a team holds the same value set: some employees are working toward retirement, others have a family provide for, and others may be challenging themselves to be leaders in the field.
Generational differences can make it difficult to establish a workplace culture that appeals to workers of all ages.
The Relationship Between Engagement and Productivity
Why is engagement important? Engaged employees care about their work, and as a result, contribute better productivity, better quality work, increased sales, and, inevitably, higher levels of profit.
At one point, Gallup estimated that actively disengaged employees cost the US somewhere between $450 billion – $550 billion in lost productivity each year.
This represents a veritable goldmine for entrepreneurs looking to tackle this problem.
If 87% of US employees are disengaged, there’s a ton of ground to be gained by uncovering new ways to motivate and engage with workers beyond free lunch.
Gallup’s assessment showed that companies with high employee engagement experienced 147% higher earnings per share on average compared with their competition.
Likewise, if you’re getting a venture off the ground, it’s worthwhile to take the time to make sure you’re managing morale and engagement to get the most out of your first hires.
Engagement: What Works?
Do you need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on keeping employees engaged? No. Here’s a breakdown of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to making workers feel valued – and motivated.
Incentives are a short-term boost.
Like a sugar rush, incentives and perks are the equivalent to a quick hit when it comes to keeping employees engaged.
Sure, massages and puppies on Wednesday afternoons are great, but it’s certainly not going to convince someone to work overtime on a weekend to produce better results.
At worst, perks can backfire: the more a perk is introduced, the more it feels like manipulation, and your employees don’t want to feel like they’re being bribed to work.
Focus on the employee experience.
As your building your business from the ground up, you’re probably thinking carefully about customer service and all the ways your brand provides an excellent experience to brand loyalists.
Take that same care and consideration and direct it toward your employees.
Whether that means offering flexible work hours, remote work opportunities, regular recognition, or transparency, figure out what the “work” part of work/life balance means for the type of talent you want to recruit.
Then focus on documenting the time off portion.
Don’t be afraid to promote young leaders.
Millennials get a bad rap, but one study by Harvard Business Review showed that leaders under the age of 30 were “two to three times as likely to be effective at both results and engagement than their older compatriots.”
This is key for two reasons.
First, great managers lead to more engaged employees. Second, millennials seek jobs that offer them growth opportunity and new challenges. Kill two birds with one stone by making some of your first managers hungry, talented young people.
Cracking the code to employee engagement is more straightforward than the media might have you believe.
As an entrepreneur, your passion for your work must be contagious: how can you share your commitment to your vision with the rest of your employees?
This article (The Entrepreneur’s Quick Guide to Employee Engagement) was originally created and published by ClickTime.
Twitter •
