Developing and sustaining employee engagement 

To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace. The words of Campbell’s Soup’s retired CEO apply to any business — from local mechanics with six employees to multinational conglomerates with 60,000. 

The importance of a happy workforce that takes pride in its duties is such that there’s a whole body of science surrounding it: employee engagement, which refers to the emotional connection that an employee has to a workplace. 

Get it right, and you’ll enjoy high retention, greater productivity, and more discretionary effort. Neglect it, and you’ll see high attrition, less output and morale decrease throughout your organisation. 

Put learning and development first 

Results for the UK in Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report were alarming: only 9% of employees felt enthused by their work and workplace in 2022 (compared with a European average of 14%). 

Listening to their needs can go a long way in boosting employee engagement. And if LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report is any indication of those needs, then implementing learning and development initiatives is vital: 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if offered such benefits. 

As workplace demographics transform and the Gen Z/Millennial cohorts make up a larger proportion of the workforce, take note: over a quarter of these employees cite a lack of learning and growth opportunities as the number-one reason for leaving a job. 

How you approach this depends on your business – but a good starting point is often to consider eLearning systems or on-the-job training. 

Recognise and reward 

We’ve spoken about the importance of employee recognition previously. That’s because it’s one of the best tried-and-tested methods for enriching company culture and making employees feel valued in their roles. A survey conducted in 2019 revealed that recognition makes 82% of employees feel happier at work, and 63% of respondents felt that it would make them “very unlikely” to seek a new job. 

Effective recognition programmes, much like learning and development, should be tailored to your organisation – but the key pillars of any programme are the encouragement of peer-to-peer recognition, specificity, public praise and a regular cadence. 

® Not sure where to start? Book a call with Innecto’s experts to help you craft a world-class recognition programme 

Keep an eye out for the signs 

Sometimes, an employer’s best efforts aren’t enough to engage 100% of the workforce. While measuring employee engagement, you should know what to look for in disengaged employees so as to reinvigorate them. Signs of disengagement include: 

• Increased PTO and sick leave 
• A decrease in sociability
• A decrease in productivity 
• A lack of interest in personal development or new challenges.

Check out our blog post on reengaging disengaged employees for practical tips on rekindling your peoples’ passion for their work.  

High employee engagement and a strong organisational culture go hand-in-hand. Ultimately, it’s about creating a workplace where employees feel valued and have access to the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. 

Want to learn how to foster an environment where employees can thrive? Get advice from a Personal Group Benefits Expert or subscribe to more of our blogs.