Does Employee Engagement Matter?

Many companies, ours included, take employee engagement very seriously.

Others give it lip service.

According to the latest research, minimizing employee engagement is a mistake. If you want to drive the business forward and your success depends upon the success of others, consider these engagement facts:

1. Direct Business Impact: recent studies show top quartile versus bottom quartile companies on engagement scores had 12% higher profit, 19% higher operating income, 5.75% higher operating margin, 3.44% higher net profit margins, 28% greater earnings per share, 8% greater stock price appreciation, 18% greater productivity, 12% higher customer satisfaction, 62% fewer accidents, 52% lower inventory shrinkage, 51% less voluntary turnover, and 27% less absenteeism. Engagement can and should be a powerful business tool.
   
   
2. Discretionary Effort, Not Satisfaction: Engagement is not the same as “satisfaction.” Extensive research in the last ten years shows that engagement is related to extra effort. This additional effort directly affects productivity, organizational effectiveness, and the litany of metrics listed above. When it comes to people performance, you should aim for more than satisfaction.
   
   
3. Leading Indicator of Management Effectiveness: Engagement is highly driven by management practices. Engagement levels signal the effectiveness of both your management system and your managers. Because managers run your business, engagement helps to predict organizational performance. Are you managers creating an environment that stimulates high performance?