Generally speaking, the newest of HR professionals know employee engagement is important.  But to answer the question that is at the root of this article, we look to numbers.  The HR Exchange Network surveyed HR professionals across the globe in an effort to quantify the importance of employee engagement.

Overwhelmingly, 79% said it’s very important to the organization.  Now we must answer why is it so?

Employee Engagement Importance

That question is answered by looking at how employee engagement is defined.  From the employer perspective, it’s defined as a workplace approach in which the atmosphere is ripe for all workers to do their best work each day, positive attitudes, drawing on employees’ knowledge and skills for improvement, better communication, and making sure the company’s values are consistent and respected. In short, allowing employees to capitalize on their capabilities and potential. Employee engagement is based on trust, integrity, two-way commitment, and communication between the company and its employees. This leads to increased chances for a company’s success.

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But every coin has two sides.  How is it defined from an employee perspective?

For the employee, engagement is about being fully invested as a team member, focused on clear goals, being trusted and empowered, and receiving regular and constructive feedback, developing new skills, and being thanked and recognized for achievements.

Employee Engagement Technology

Employee engagement isn’t just about talking to workers face-to-face.  In all honestly, it’s about any way in which the company interacts with the employee, even through technology.  Email, social media, and apps are great examples.  And sometimes that engagement isn’t even about communication.  Sometimes, it’s about learning; through gamification, video, and virtual reality.  In short, anyway a company can measure the reach they have with employees counts as engagement.  We asked respondents what technologies they were using to engage with employees.

Top 3 Technologies Used for Engagement

1. Survey
2. Social Platforms
3. Career Pathing

Employee Engagement from Day 1

Engagement begins the moment a potential employee applies for an open position within any given organization. But just getting the jobseeker in the door and engaged can be challenging. According to respondents, it simply takes too long to fill vacant roles. That is being exacerbated by a lack of candidates in the pipeline and the amount of time spent on repetitive tasks like interview scheduling.

When dealing with candidates, communication channels have to stay open. Those can include anything from email to messaging apps. Depending upon the company and the generation of the worker, some are more successful than others. We asked survey respondents to rank the following channels when it comes to quick responses from candidates. As indicated below, email led the pack, followed by a traditional phone call and then text messaging.

Conclusion

Engagement is about more than just having employees work together.  It’s about creating an environment that inspires loyalty, breeds ambition and fosters innovation.  A healthy employee engagement program is paramount to the survival of any company in today’s transformative workplace and the workplaces of tomorrow.

Image courtesy:  Pexels

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