Employee disengagement is a pervasive issue that plagues many organisations. According to Gallup, only 33% of U.S. employees are engaged in their work. This lack of engagement can lead to decreased productivity, higher turnover rates, and lower overall job satisfaction.
By understanding the root causes of disengagement and implementing effective strategies, you can create a thriving workplace where employees are motivated, productive, and committed to your organisation's goals.
In this guide, we leverage Gallup’s research to discuss key factors of employee disengagement and explore actionable strategies to cultivate a more engaged workforce.
We'll give the lowdown on employee engagement, including the causes of low employee engagement and actionable strategies to cultivate a more engaged workforce.
Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to refine your approach, this guide has something for you.
What Is Employee Engagement?
Employee engagement is a workplace metric that reflects the level of enthusiasm your workforce members have toward their role, team, and organisation. This metric tracks a mental state that fluctuates regularly depending on people's relationships and specific workplace events.
Why Is Employee Engagement Important?
Engagement is a critical metric that tells you how satisfied people are at your company and how motivated they are to put their best foot forward—an essential action for delivering quality output and healthy ROI.
The reality is, the cost of low employee engagement is…grim. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, disengaged employees cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity.
Knowing the cost, employee engagement isn’t something to be taken lightly. Team members are ultimately the driving force behind your products and services. Every action and decision they make impacts organisational effectiveness. And how they pursue these steps and choices depends on the emotional connection and commitment they feel.
Top vs. Bottom Quartile Business Units
To better understand the impact of employee engagement, let’s look at some numbers. Gallup surveyed several teams and companies and organised them into quartiles based on their engagement scores, productivity, turnover, and more. The survey discovered the top quartile experienced:
- 78% less absenteeism
- 63% fewer safety incidents by
- 32% fewer quality defects
- 10% More customer loyalty/engagement
- 51% lower turnover for low-turnover businesses (employers with 40% of lower annualised turnover)
ROI of Employee Engagement
The takeaway? Engaged employees drive better business results. Companies with high employee engagement see a 17% boost in productivity and a 21% increase in profitability.
Measuring employee engagement ROI requires:
- Identifying key metrics such as turnover, productivity, and customer satisfaction rates
- Establishing a baseline data to have a comparison value
- Tracking metrics to make the necessary adjustments in your engagement strategy
What Are the Reasons for Low Employee Engagement?
Gallup reports only 33% of U.S. employees are in the “engaged” category. So why aren’t engagement levels higher?
Three things: stress, burnout, and lack of purpose.
- Stress: 60% of employees report significant stress from their job and cite a lack of teamwork as a main cause of this stress.
- Burnout: 53% of people work overtime, and 38% feel overwhelmed at work.
- Lack of purpose: 52% of disengaged employees don’t feel they are contributing to their company in a meaningful way.
Who Is Accountable for Employee Engagement?
Managers are accountable for employee engagement. The impact of managers on team engagement is significant, accounting for 70% of the variance.
After all, managers are responsible for creating a supportive work environment, recognising and rewarding employee contributions, and communicating clear expectations. By doing so, they can help team members feel valued, motivated, and engaged.
What Are the Key Drivers of Employee Engagement?
There are five key drivers of engagement, all of which tie back to the reasons for low employee engagement.
- Purpose: A sense of purpose fuels motivation. When employees feel connected to a larger mission, they're more likely to go the extra mile.
- Development: Contentment is great, but after a while, things start to feel stagnant and boring. Employees seek developmental opportunities that will help them progress in their roles and careers.
- A Caring Manager: As the saying goes, people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers. Team members want a manager who can actively coach them and help them reach their potential.
- Ongoing Conversations: Discussions aren’t just a one-and-done deal. Regular cheque-ins and open communication are essential for maintaining employee engagement.
- Focus on Strengths: Leveraging employees' strengths can boost their confidence and job satisfaction. You can create a more engaged and productive workforce by assigning tasks that align with their skills and interests.
How Can Employers Improve Employee Engagement?
Gallup and Awardco have shared common mistakes organisations make when implementing employee engagement programmes. We highlight them below, along with actionable strategies for making a difference at your workplace.
1. Focus on Simple Metrics
Business leaders often focus on engagement metrics that are too complicated. Focus on predictors that are within a manager’s control and connect with a team member’s core needs at work. Alignment is key.
For example, Gallup’s engagement survey features 12 needs managers can meet to boost motivation and performance. They include indicators such as:
- “How satisfied are you with your company as a place to work?”
- “I know what is expected of me at work.”
- “I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.”
- “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”
- “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.”
- “My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.”
The survey results are then categorised into one of four levels within a hierarchy of development needs. They include:
- Growth
- Teamwork
- Individual contribution
- Basic needs
Depending on which group workforce members fall into, managers can then conduct the most effective discussions with the team and make the right adjustments.
Get more tips on how to measure and improve employee engagement.
2. Take Action Right Away Upon Feedback
We’ve all been there—leaders circulate never-ending surveys, and then…crickets. The more this occurs, the less employees will want to participate in the surveys and share valuable feedback. In other words, engagement will decline.
Take necessary action to increase employee engagement after a survey. This might include continuously sharing survey results, starting a conversation based on the survey data, building new initiatives based on the feedback, and asking team members to contribute. Whatever it is, take swift action with good intentions.
3. Customised Rewards & Recognition
While most organisations have a recognition programme, 81% of HR leaders don’t believe it’s very effective. However, building a truly effective recognition strategy improves engagement by two times.
Think about what matters most to your team members. Based on their interests and needs, you might want to spice things up with a rewards and recognition programme that is:
- Driven by technology: Make recognition a part of your existing communication channels. The right rewards and recognition platform can adapt to your existing workflow to build a true culture of recognition.
- Meaningful: You want to offer a variety of gift options to show that you value your team members. These options should align with their interests, preferences, and needs.
- Timely and frequent: Leaders should express appreciation right after they notice a team member doing something positive. This, along with regular recognition, will strengthen the appreciation culture you’re trying to build.
Get more tips on employee engagement and recognition.
Continuously Learn & Grow with Awardco
We hope these details help mitigate concerns and address the effects of low employee engagement. For more information on how to further elevate employee engagement (for both remote and in-person staff), we encourage you to bookmark our resources library. We could all use some assistance when it comes to building the right work environment, and Awardco is here to lend a helping hand.
