Gallup’s surveys indicate that high levels of employee engagement can help organizations lower their attrition from 25-65% – that’s how valuable engagement truly is!
Although engagement was originally associated with another corporate buzzword – productivity – we now know that it goes much deeper than that.
Highly productive employees can report a lack of engagement and connection with their workplace, which can ultimately lead to companies losing their best employees.
Increasing engagement doesn’t have to be an uphill task, however, the first step is recognizing why you should even make engagement a priority.
The following are four reasons why you should be thinking about employee engagement with all your might!
The Millennial Workforce Thinks Differently
By 2020, more than half of the workforce will be made of Millennials. By 2025, they’ll account for 75% of the workforce. Sounds terrifying, right? It doesn’t have to be.
Millennials value experiences over cash rewards and by using employee engagement tactics like offering hedonistic rewards, you’ll be able to ensure that your workforce is always engaged.
Engagement Helps You Strike the Elusive Work-Life Balance
Most employees believe themselves to be severely overworked, particularly those working at larger organizations. By establishing employee engagement programs in the workplace that help people tap into their passions, you can eliminate the problem of work-life balance altogether.
Here’s a relatively simple program that many of the top companies across the world use – reward points that can be redeemed on travel websites to facilitate trips. If a manager is happy with an employee’s performance, all they have to do is award them a set number of points.
Employees can redeem the same to buy plane tickets, pay for accommodations, or anything else that may be standing in the way of a great holiday.
Similar measures can be taken by creating a custom e-commerce portal that employees can redeem points on. Making the awards process public can also go a long way in boosting engagement.
Stronger Bonds Between Colleagues Lead to Lower Attrition
Employee engagement can be used to create a sense of camaraderie among coworkers. Scheduling the occasional team dinner or office party can allow colleagues to see each other as individuals and not feel as though they are nameless cogs in the machine.
Another key reason to create space for bonding is that most Millennials love to share experiences and events. In fact, it’s a crucial part of how they socialize and feel as though they’re living their lives.
With monthly or quarterly shindigs, you can ensure that members of the workforce feel more connected with one another and are less likely to seek employment opportunities elsewhere.
Engagement Helps Shape Employee Identity within the Ecosystem of Your Organization
Having an individual sense of self is very important to the millennial workforce. What if you could find a way to tie this sense of self with your organization? By offering regular and public recognition, you can ensure that they associate themselves with your organization, and never leave!
Employee engagement can drive all your operations, ensuring that you see a smoother workflow, a more committed workforce, and a deeper sense of loyalty!
About the Author
Lisa Samara is the president and COO or Domus, Inc., a marketing communications that provides employee-engagement strategies.
