Employees do their best at work when they feel connected with their employers. When they believe in the vision and the goal of the employer, they strive to do more and go the extra mile. Ultimately, leading to more productivity.
The status quo of the workforce: More than a third of workers are searching actively or casually for a job, Ceridian Report 2019 says.
So forget improving productivity, it’s more important to engage employees first. Thereafter, you can think about productivity. If your aim is to build a successful business, workplace productivity should be on top of your mind. Sadly, most businesses are failing at improving their employee productivity. According to the McKinsey Institute, employee engagement can increase employee productivity by 25 percent.
What is employee engagement?
Table of Contents
Employees are engaged when they are motivated to go to work. To achieve this, employees should be made to feel valuable to the business and appreciated for their contribution.
However, that’s not the state of the workforce today. It’s such that only 15% of the workforce is engaged around the world, according to Gallup’s State of Global Workplace report.
Employee engagement is crucial to organizations today. A good level of employee engagement can do wonders for a business. Employee engagement not only results in increase in productivity, but ultimately in more profit for the business. According to studies —
1. Employee engagement reduces absenteeism by 41%
2.Companies with engaged employees are 22% more profitable
On the other hand, low engagement results in low productivity. Employees tend to slack off often and delay work. Instead of putting their heart& soul in their work, they transgress and stay distracted at work and find distractions to engage. They are unwilling to do their daily work. Job is tiresome and that costs billions of dollar to organizations. Low engagement costs organizations $450 -$500 billion each year.
Engaged workforce is happy to come to work. They fight challenges tooth and nails. But what does it take to bring employees to do so? Recognition and making employees valued at work turns out is an important factor to engage employees. An O.C tanner survey says 37% of employee consider recognition as an important for engagement.
Weekly, monthly, and other periodic performance reviews that recognize employees’ achievements foster a sense of belongingness among them. They feel more close to their organization. An O.C. Tanner survey found that 84% of engaged employees were recognized the last time they went above and beyond at work.
Learning and development opportunities
As long as employees see themselves learning at work, they are motivated to do better in their job. Growth is an intrinsic mental condition and employers should ensure that employees see themselves growing and see a future for themselves at their organization. According to SHRM’s 2017 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement report only 29 percent of employees felt very satisfied with their current employer.
As the new generation of workforce is coming in, employers should consider it is an important factor. According to a Gallup survey, up to 87 percent of millennials consider development in a job important.
Offer employee wellness program
In the past few years, occupational stress has increased. Employees are feeling more stressed about work than ever before. For most employers, it’s just work and no play. Most employees are working on weekends too. People Matters reports 25% of full-time workers in the U.K admitted to working on the weekend.
No doubt employees will feel stressed. Reportedly, occupation stress has been on the rise. For most employers, it’s work and no play. Therefore, it’s important for employers to pay attention to mental and physical wellness of employees.
Stop micromanaging
For some time, flat hierarchy has been a growing phenomenon at workplaces. No managers whatsoever. Letting employees be their own boss improves their productivity. It is a scientifically proven fact that most employees are motivated by autonomy than financial rewards
Higher the autonomy, greater is the job satisfaction, a chronology study depicts.
.Allow flexibility and remote work
Flexibility and work from home policies aren’t just perks to attract talent. They serve a much greater purpose in a successful business strategy. It is a valued perk among employees and millennials demand greater flexibility in their work timings. Contrary to the popular belief, working from home reduces productivity, a flex Jobs 2019 survey found 65% of employees believe they will be more productive if they work from home.
A similar survey by Zenefits titled, the state of flexible Work Arrangements, in 2018 found flexible work options would increase job satisfaction for 73% of employees. 78% of employees said that flexible work options will help them be more productive.
