Companies are quick to develop technology-focussed solutions to please their clients, improve products or to improve the overall bottom line. But all too often, we find that the most neglected factor can be the employees.
Yes, the cogs that churn away at the heart of your company can often experience wear and tear. And unlike metal that can become weak and brittle, employees can become disengaged in their objectives, goals and overall, their jobs.More specifically, we find that engagement, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest factors driving down productivity and job satisfaction. But just what is engagement though?
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For starters, engagement isn’t the same as productivity, but the two are closely linked. An engaged employee is merely an employee that actually cares about their job and the company, not quite seeing their work as a purely transactional affair.
Studies prove this as well.
A paper published in 2006 cited a US mortgage banking company Century Financial Corporation’s study. It found that actively disengaged account executives produced “28% less revenue than their colleagues who were engaged”. A decade later, very little has changed.
“Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organisation and its goals,” reads a more succinct explanation on Forbes. “This means the engaged computer programmer works overtime when needed, without being asked. This means the engaged retail clerk picks up the trash on the store floor, even if the boss isn’t watching.”
Naturally, a team of engaged employees will be more driven to produce quality work than those who aren’t as invested in the company.
Employee performance is also essential to improve the company’s bottom line. As the aforementioned cogs of the greater business machine, employees’ overall performance is linked to the company’s performance. A disengaged workforce will affect company performance, regardless of the size of the corporation. One stone can make ripples across an entire body of water.
Beyond simply drive, keeping employees engaged has a greater emphasis on retention. If a worker isn’t driven to remain at a company, said worker wouldn’t think twice about finding a competitor that reignites that drive. For businesses, this means an exodus of selectively skilled workers, notable especially for companies in the marketing, technology and manufacturing spaces.
For start-ups, this is even more important.
As a budding, fragile company hinged on the decision making of a handful of staff, having an integral member of the company second guess his or her position or attitude towards the final goal will only end in failure.
Although the possible rewards are clear — just look at Facebook’s rise to success as a college-dorm start-up, to welcoming close to two-billion people to its network every day — cultivating a love for the business early on is the most critical period in a young company’s life.
Each employee should be made to feel that their contributions — be it large or seemingly small — is appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded. That’s not to say you should be handing out lollipops after each successful sale, or after every client pitch, but verbal recognition can often be just as good. Nay, better.
This in turn will cultivate a culture of motivation. Employees will be happy to work at your organisation, because it’s a safe, welcoming and highly-rewarding workplace. And notably, if your employees are motivated and encouraged to perform at their best, the company as a whole will benefit.
“Organizations that create a culture defined by meaningful work, deep employee engagement, job and organizational fit, and strong leadership are outperforming their peers and will likely beat their competition in attracting top talent,” notes a 2015 Deloitte study into work culture and engagement.
Are you engaging your employees? Before you answer that, give this some thought: are you engaged?
