10 Facts Every Manager Should Know About Employee Engagement
The concept of “employee engagement” has been with us for many years but creating a high-performance work environment is still a burning issue for many companies. Many organisations believe it’s enough to select the right people who fit in well with the team and send managers to “sensitivity training” to make the work environment humane and enjoyable. But true employee engagement requires much more than that.
The latest “State of Employee Engagement” survey, conducted across 157 countries and more than 1000 companies, has shown that there are 10 essential things that companies need to keep in mind when trying to improve employee engagement.
- Recognition
- Feedback
- Happiness
- Personal growth
- Satisfaction
- Wellness
- Ambassadorship
- Relationship with managers
- Relationship with colleagues
- Company alignment
#1. Recognition
65%of employees feel like they don’t get enough praise.
72% of employees get praise less than once per week, which makes them feel like their organisations are ungrateful. This is one of the main factors that lowers retention and causes an increase in turnover. At the same time, organisations with effective recognition programs have 31% lower voluntary turnover.
Another great news for managers is that 82% of employees think it’s better to give someone praise than a gift, which means recognising employees for a job well done is one of the easiest (and least expensive) ways to motivate them.
#2. Feedback
35% of employees have to wait more than 3 months to get feedback from their manager.
As surprising as it may sound, employees love receiving feedback as it is one of the most important parts of professional growth. That’s why 96% of employees believe that receiving feedback regularly is a good thing. It’s also a great opportunity for managers to develop their team, and it goes in many formats: daily check-in meetings, weekly planning sessions, monthly face-to-face meeting, etc.
#3. Happiness
33% of employees don’t feel happy at work, and 25% of employees leave work feeling drained or very drained.
Managers should ask themselves what they can do to make employees happier like allowing employees to personalise their workspace, making it more family friendly, offering healthy food choices, honouring employees’ achievements, etc.
#4. Personal growth
57% of employees believe that they don’t have any career advancement opportunities.
Lots of employees feel like they don’t have enough autonomy, they’re not mastering their skills, and they don’t fully feel a sense of purpose. According to the research, 53% of employees say they haven’t improved their skills significantly in the past year.
As a manager, you need to help them learn and grow. And when it comes to autonomy, you need to trust your employees enough to let them run projects.
#5. Satisfaction
15% of employees don’t see themselves working at their company one year from now.
And the main reason is that they don’t feel they’re being fairly compensated for the work they do (33% of employees don’t think they are paid fairly for their work).
#6. Wellness
60% of employees notice that their job is taking a toll on their personal life.
There is a serious crisis going on in terms of employee wellness. Employees are stressed, overworked, and don’t have a good work-life balance. That’s why it’s important for employers to remember that short term, they might get a few more hours of productivity out of an employee, but long term, overworking someone doesn’t help their productivity, and worst case can lead to burnout, higher stress levels, and lower overall wellness.
#7. Ambassadorship
One of the most important questions when it comes to employee engagement is, “would you recommend a friend to work here?”
According to the research, 59% of employees wouldn’t recommend their organisation as a good place to work.
This should be a wake-up call for employers to think about how they can increase employee satisfaction and make their organisations more unique and appealing.
#8. Relationship with managers
35% of employees wish their manager communicated more frequently with them.
What employees really want is transparent communication as it helps them grow and makes them feel more connected to their organisation. And when managers fail to create this transparent environment where employees feel comfortable and everyone gets along well with each other, they are missing out on an incredible opportunity to develop closer relationships with their employees.
#9. Relationship with colleagues
37% of employees don’t think they have enough social interaction with their colleagues.
One of the reasons why employees feel like they don’t have enough social interaction with their colleagues is that they simply might not have the time. For example, 62% of employees eat alone at their desk working.
What managers can do to alleviate this is to encourage their team to get to know each other during team building activities or other events that create those social interactions.
#10. Company Alignment
38 % of employees don’t believe their company’s core values align with their personal values.
Companies need to be doing a better job of preaching the mission and core values of the organisation. Sadly but 22% of employees either don’t understand their core values or simply don’t know them. Employees need to be constantly reminded of why they do what they do.
