The Hidden Costs of Poor Employee Engagement (and How to Fix It)

 

If you want a business that grows into a successful, money-making venture, you need to think about the people working behind the scenes. Your employees are the people driving your business forward, ensuring targets are met and customers are happy. But, if you want them to consistently deliver, you need to keep them engaged.

Without good employee engagement, everything from productivity to customer satisfaction are impacted, not to mention innovation, staff retention and company culture. If employees aren’t engaged, they’re going to turn up to work, complete tasks and go home, without putting in too much effort. This can cost the business in more ways than one.

Poor Employee Engagement Impacts a Business in Multiple Ways

• Poor Productivity – If an employee isn’t engaged, they’re probably turning up to work, doing the absolute minimum and heading home. They’re not motivated to try harder and they’re not committed to the business’ goals. This leads to lower productivity, reduced output and delayed projects, especially if efficiency and overall team performance take a hit. Plus, with some employees putting less effort in, others will have to pick up the slack.
• Negative Customer Experience – Disengaged employees rarely provide exceptional service, and they’re not going to go out of their way to impress or keep customers. They’re likely to lack enthusiasm and not think twice about customer needs, even making careless errors. This can lead to lost customers, negative reviews and damage to your business’ reputation.
• Increased Staff Turnover – Poor employee engagement leads to increased staff turnover, and that’s an expensive hurdle to overcome. Replacing an employee isn’t cheap, especially once recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity are taken into account. Disengaged employees are more likely to quit, often without giving much notice, leaving you to cover the cost of hiring someone new.
• Workplace Culture – Poor employee engagement doesn’t just impact the individual, it has a knock on effect on the rest of the team. It can destroy morale, create a workplace shrouded in negativity and reduce collaboration. This contributes to a negative workplace culture that’s difficult to reverse, which can lead to increased employee absenteeism.
• Lack of Innovation – With so many competitor businesses out there, innovation and creativity are key, especially if you want to stand out to customers. Innovation happens in environments where employees feel safe, valued and motivated to contribute ideas, without worrying about what will happen if an idea doesn’t work out. A lack of employee engagement hinders creativity, holding back innovation.

5 Ways to Improve Employee Engagement

Poor employee engagement isn’t the end of the world, not if you put plans in place to improve things. Improving engagement isn’t about offering employees benefits, or bribing them to work harder with promises of bonuses, team bonding activities and early finishes on a Friday.

1. Invest in Individual Employee Development

Though employees are happy working with you for now, they’re always going to be thinking about the long-term trajectory of their career, and where they want to be in five years’ time. If you want them to be engaged, you need to provide appealing growth opportunities, giving them a reason to stick around. Helping with professional development shows that you’re invested in their future, not just how they can benefit your business right now.

2. Create a Positive Company Culture

When you have a positive workplace, employees are more likely to work together and collaborate effectively. They’re more likely to feel respected and part of the team, which reduces tension amongst peers, builds trust in the team and increases engagement. It’s a lot easier to feel engaged at work when you genuinely like the company culture and feel included. There are various ways of creating a positive workplace culture, such as offering flexible working for an improved work-life balance and organising team activities.

3. Recognise and Celebrate Achievements

Employees are more motivated when their efforts are recognised, appreciated and celebrated. You don’t have to go all out and throw a business-wide party, as even small gestures – sending an email, writing a thank you note or being awarded Employee of the Month – go a long way. When achievements are acknowledged, employees are encouraged to continue working for the benefit of the business. It’s important to tailor your approach to individual employees, as some employees value public acknowledgment, but others would rather you praised them quietly.

4. Don’t Try to Micromanage

As a business owner, you might be tempted to oversee what employees are doing, but this can quickly turn into micromanagement. If you want to encourage employee engagement, you need to give employees the freedom to have autonomy over projects, encourage them to make decisions and trust them to handle setbacks.

5. Communicate Openly and Honestly

Employees want to know that they’re working with a purpose, that there’s a reason behind their work. This is why it’s so important to share business goals, challenges and successes, making them feel as though they’re in the loop. This aligns employees and shows that their input is making a difference. You can do this by holding regular meetings to discuss team progress, sharing regular updates on business performance, and letting them know when targets are being hit.

 

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest from Business Advice.