How companies are improving employee engagement

According to a 2020 study by Gallup, 51% of employees are disengaged, and 14% are actively disengaged. The report also shows a correlating loss of 23% in profitability due to disengagement. All of this translates to an incredibly costly problem for businesses.

So what can you do to improve your employee engagement and avoid wasting valuable resources?

Why companies should focus on improving engagement right now

Today more professionals have quit for other opportunities or left the workforce altogether than in the past 20 years. Ignited by the Covid-19 pandemic, this trend has been dubbed the “Great Resignation.” While losing top talent makes it harder for companies to produce quality work and continue to innovate, it’s also incredibly costly. A 2019 study by USI predicted that each time a company replaces a salaried employee, it costs an additional six to nine months of that person’s salary.

Keeping your employees engaged and satisfied also means keeping your top talent working for you rather than the competition. Plus, it reduces high turnover expenses and the additional time and resources you’d have to spend recruiting, interviewing and onboarding new hires.

How does employee engagement impact the bottom line?

While some people view employee engagement as just an added value, it’s actually a major component of any organization’s overall success. Strong employee engagement impacts everything from profitability to customer experience. How?

Engaged employees tend to be satisfied with their job, the leadership, their teams and coworkers. They feel aligned with the company culture and mission, and strive to carry them out every day, which translates to a higher quantity and quality of work. This boosts revenue, overall morale and customer satisfaction.

How companies improve employee engagement

Many companies use strategic tactics to improve employee engagement:

Conduct employee engagement surveys. One way to identify potential issues with employee engagement is through pulse surveys. Sent weekly or monthly, these quick surveys aim to get a “pulse” on how your employees feel. They inquire about job function, professional development, team dynamics and more. Pulse surveys are valuable because they provide more of a real-time check on engagement than a quarterly or annual survey.

A 2020 study by Achievers revealed that 58% of employees wish they conducted employee engagement surveys more often. Employees want to give feedback, and it’s incredibly helpful for employers. With survey insights, department leads and managers can proactively identify and head off team issues while HR and upper management can look for patterns affecting the organization as a whole.

For example, Shopify sends periodic pulse surveys directly through its Slack workspace with integrated tools like Neko by Culture Amp to identify patterns in employee engagement.

Prioritize collaboration. Giving employees tools that help them communicate and collaborate more effectively is more critical than ever because much of the workforce is working remotely. An Inc. study found that employee productivity can increase by 25% when employees feel connected. Tools like Slack create open lines of communication at every level of your organization, no matter where they’re located.

You can share files, documents, photos and videos from your computer, device or cloud storage provider directly in a Slack direct message or channel, all without having to switch between tabs or windows. Access to this kind of real-time communication makes it easier to brainstorm, collaborate, chat and build rapport. Instead of emailing back and forth or trying to find the most recent version of a document, feedback and approvals can be given in real time.

Plus, you can build on your company culture through social channels like #bookclub, #football or #cutedogpics. Social channels are a great way for employees to connect over common interests, especially for new hires getting to know their team.

Reward employees who go the extra mile. Recognizing employees who give stellar customer service, crush an assignment or model your core values is a great way to boost employee engagement. It makes employees feel noticed and appreciated, encouraging them to continue going the extra mile and incentivizing others to do the same.

Slack makes it super simple to give recognition and reward employees without leaving the platform. You can create dedicated channels for kudos messages, team wins or employee shoutouts. Or integrate with a Bonusly or Disco account to automatically give employees perks when they hit a goal or get a shoutout.