Employee engagement is often seen as a mere buzzword, or as nothing more than a rephrasing of job satisfaction. Failure to understand employee engagement can have a negative connotation and hinder productivity when perceived as just another box to check. But when employees are engaged, teams thrive, and the business will too.
In fact, high levels of employee engagement improve productivity by increasing discretionary effort, improving retention, and increasing customer satisfaction. It can even reduce the number of workplace injuries and accidents. However, only 33% of American employees self describe themselves as engaged.
Employee engagement is important because engaged employees perform better and when employees are set up for success, the business is set up for success. But what does employee success actually mean?
What is Employee Success?
When considering engagement, we often talk about the employee experience. This ties back into job satisfaction and the basic concept that happy employees are more likely to work hard and stick around. However, an employee may be perfectly happy while doing the bare minimum. They may even describe themselves as engaged when they aren’t really giving any discretionary effort.
Employee success is the intersection between engagement and productivity. The heart of it is not just improving your employees’ experience, but ensuring they have all the support they need that encourages them to go above and beyond for optimal performance.
So, how do you measure employee success? Precise metrics vary, and your idea of success may not be somebody else’s, but consider the following:
- Conduct an engagement survey to get the key drivers for your specific employees and company.
- Compare retention and turnover rates with your industry as a whole. Preventing costly turnover has a huge ROI and engaged employees are much less likely to quit.
- Look at interest in social activities, with the caveat that a lack of interest in happy hours may also indicate introverted tendencies or lack of interest in the specific activities offered. However, a sudden withdrawal can be a red flag.
- Look at interest in professional development. Engaged and successful employees are more willing to attend seminars and training activities and may even proactively suggest things they feel are worth doing. They want to invest in their own careers.
It can be hard to directly link employee engagement with other measures, but it’s still worth comparing things like sales volume and customer satisfaction before and after a specific project. Customer satisfaction in particular can be a good indirect measure. Engaged employees have better conversations with customers and serve as brand ambassadors. Customers can spot the difference between a rep that is just taking them through the motions and an engaged rep that is enthusiastic about their product or service and passionate about helping the customer.
How to Enable Employee Success
So, given that employee success is the foundation of business success, building strategies for employee success is vital. These may vary from company to company, but there are some solid strategies that come from tying engagement to performance management. Consider:
- Switching to continuous performance management. The traditional annual review has a number of shortcomings, including the length of time it can take to spot a problem and the lack of space for two-way feedback. Frequent one-on-ones are more effective in addressing performance issues and give employees the opportunity to bring up any concerns about their training or supervisors.
- Aligning strategic goals. Goals need to be aligned across the organization. The temptation to sequester knowledge of strategic goals should be resisted. All employees should know what the business as a whole is working towards and what the core values are, so they feel invested in the company’s success.
- Enabling employee development. Many younger employees have become convinced that in order to advance their careers they need to keep moving. This generates an attitude that all jobs are temporary and results in low levels of loyalty. Employees who are constantly looking for the next opportunity will never be engaged. The best way to counter this is to invest in your employees and their future. As your company grows, filling positions with strong internal candidates supports this while securing valuable institutional memory. You can demonstrate your concern for employee development by providing plenty of opportunities for professional development, especially for soft, transferable skills. If an employee suggests or asks for training, listen.
- Encouraging employee wellbeing. This includes offering benefits, but it’s also much more than that. Flexible work options and a good employee assistance program really help. Beware of the hours trap. Avoid sending a message that working long (but unproductive) hours is the way to get ahead. Employees who constantly stay late to get stuff done may be performatively engaged (they stay late because it looks good, but aren’t actually being productive). Set a positive example by taking breaks and setting boundaries. Simple things like healthier snacks in the break room and walking meetings are low-cost ways to prioritize health. Remember, engaged employees work smarter, not longer.
- Improving management training. Too often good employees are promoted into management positions but aren’t prepared for the role. You should not expect your managers to learn on the job. Just as with all of your employees, invest in the professional development they need. Also, find alternative career routes for good employees who may not be suited to be managers because they’re more valuable where they are.
- Enabling good collaboration. Provide the tools for good communication within and between teams, especially if you have people working remotely. Choose collaboration software everyone is comfortable using, not just IT.
- Showing employee recognition. This goes beyond just “Employee of the Month.” Using gamification to award points for everything from actually reading the employee newsletter to meeting quota goals to finishing training can make employee recognition more granular and less subjective. You should also encourage peer recognition. Set a good example by sending regular thank-yous and kudos.
Another key to employee success is gathering feedback from your employees to figure out what’s working and what’s not. A good program is specific to your company culture and demographics.
Benefits of Focusing on Employee Success
The potential benefits of employee success range from lower turnover to higher customer satisfaction. In more detail, employee success impacts the business in the following ways:
- Lower turnover, which reduces HR costs and preserves institutional memory. Employees are far more likely to stick around if they receive (and are able to give) regular feedback.
- Higher ability to compete for talent. Shortages in various areas are combined with differing employee expectations to create a buyers’ market for employees. Competing in this environment means having a solid employer brand and showing a willingness to invest in and demonstrate loyalty towards your employees.
- Increased innovation. Siloing stifles innovation. Measures to improve engagement by increasing communication and collaboration also work well to prevent internal segregation and allow the free flow of ideas.
- Improved morale. Employees notice your efforts. Prioritizing morale increases productivity and encourages employee contribution. When morale is high, employees work smarter.
- Reduced overtime costs. It might seem paradoxical, but engaged employees get more done in less time. This lowers the amount both exempt and non-exempt employees have to stay late, reducing labor costs.
- Improved customer satisfaction, particularly in areas where customers form relationships. Engaged employees provide better service and form long-term relationships. Lower turnover helps support strong connections to clients.
- Improved safety. Bluntly, engaged employees pay more attention to their job. They are less likely to let their focus drift at work. This reduces the number of accidents on the job, lowering workers’ comp premiums and reducing injury-related accidents. This also reduces expensive damage to vehicles and equipment.
- Lower absenteeism. As improved employee wellness is a key element of employee success, a pleasant side effect is lower absenteeism. While employees should not be encouraged to come in while sick, employees who stay fit, get preventive medical care, and avoid burnout are less likely to get sick. Engaged employees are also less likely to call in when not actually sick.
Focus on Employee Success for a Stronger Team
Employee success can be hard to define and harder to measure. In many ways, we know it when we see it. However, simple measures such as continuous performance management, showing and encouraging employee recognition, and supporting wellness can result in improved productivity and profit, while keeping employees feeling appreciated.
Refresh is an app-based platform that allows HR to support employee engagement with personalized programs that include everything from fitness challenges to peer kudos to streamlined onboarding. All your HR solutions live in one place, so you don’t have to rely on multiple platforms.
Contact Refresh Today to learn more or schedule a demo.