Employee engagement is key to retaining great employees, now more than ever. As of May 2024, millennials (39.8%) and Gen-Z (6.7%) now make up half of the U.S. labor force and yet also have the highest turnover rate than any other previous generation. A recent Gallup report revealed that 21% of millennials changed jobs in the last year, 3 times more often than non-millennials in that same report. Gallup estimates that millennial turnover costs U.S. businesses over $32 billion a year.
What Is It?
Employee engagement means how emotionally and behaviorally an employee is connected to their job and company. Engaged employees are passionate about their company’s vision and values. They are excited to be a part of their organization and it is reflected in their work. Engaged employees love their jobs, give it their all, and are dedicated because they believe in the company, they believe the work they’re doing has value, and they feel recognized and appreciated for the work they do.
Why Is It Important?
Employees who are engaged at work are more consistently productive. According to recent Gallup data, companies with high levels of engagement reported 22% higher productivity. On the other hand, employees who are highly engaged are also less likely to leave. Unfortunately, Gallup found that only 29% of millennials are engaged at work, 55% were not engaged (leading all other non-millennials), and 16% were actively disengaged.
Clearly, employee engagement is important but it can’t be bought by high salaries alone. Sure, high compensation and benefits are a key part of employee satisfaction and contentment but that alone won’t get you the kind of productivity and excitement that coupled with high employee engagement can. So, what can you do?
How To Do It?
1. Build a strong infrastructure.
According to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends report, an “enabling infrastructure” is listed as the top driver of engagement. Having a strong infrastructure means you have organized, well managed, and efficient teams, your employees have the right tools and equipment to get the work done efficiently, and you provide the right training. A company with a strong infrastructure has a clear and concise workflow from beginning to end and everyone in the company has a clear understanding about their roles and responsibilities.
2. Ask for feedback and input
Allowing employees to provide feedback and input and acting on that feedback empowers them because they feel their opinion matters. It also will provide opportunities for you to provide more individualized opportunities for your employees. For example, some employees will thrive on public speaking and training, others will work better being given more autonomy, and even others prefer more structure. Asking for feedback and input will help managers better understand how to more effectively manage the team they already have.
3. Provide training and coaching
Fostering a culture of growth and development helps employees learn to become better at their jobs but it also communicates to your employees that you believe in their potential and value their personal goals. Employees are more engaged the more they believe their company is investing in their future. Ensuring managers are regularly providing feedback, helping make employee development plans, and coaching their teams is one way Yum! Brands (parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC) reinforces the company’s commitment to their employees.
4. Create social or connection opportunities. training and coaching
Engaged employees are emotionally invested in their jobs and it usually happens because they feel connected to the people they work with. Company parties, charitable events, or even a nice break room are opportunities for employees to gather and build relationships with one another. Even in remote workforces, a variety of interactive and social web activities such as online ice breaker events and communal communication channels go a long way to build connectedness among your team.
5. Serve others
More and more, employees are looking for organizations who also do good in the world and give employees a sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Whether it is a company house-building project, community clean-up day, or even a tree-planting afternoon, employees have the opportunity to interact outside of the normal work environment, strengthen relationships with one another, and contribute to a cause all while spending little to no money as a business to do it.
5. Recognize loudly and publicly
Employee recognition, time and time again, is an obvious part of employee engagement. Employees want to feel valued and appreciated and it gives their work meaning. At Disney, for example, they recognize employees for providing a magical experience. Knowing how essential customer service is to their business, they’ve created two public Disney Twitter accounts specifically for guests to highlight their experiences with staff and compliment the Disney members that served them so well. The Disney recognition program has become a part of their corporate culture. Showing recognition through bonuses and gifts are wonderful but a little fanfare also goes a long way and that public appreciation in front of a group can make a huge difference in the employee feeling valued and thereby more engaged.
Building employee engagement is a process with multiple factors and can be done in a myriad of ways but at the end of the day it boils down to just a few concepts. Employees want to feel like they’re valued and appreciated, they want to be connected to their team, and that their work has value and meaning. If you make those your focus, you’ll have a team willing to give it their all and stick with you through thick and thin.