It is proven! The key to building a successful business is – Employee Engagement.

Employee engagement lays the foundation for a flourishing and strong workplace. While the answer to workplace wellness is here, the strategies and measures to be taken to ensure employee engagement is a mystery and quite daunting.

Studies show that only 15% of employees are engaged at the workplace, and these numbers show that driving employee engagement is not easy.

Challenges Faced By Lack of Workplace Engagement

Every field and industry is advancing rapidly, globally. Reducing employee turnover to retain skilled talent is one of the top-most challenges faced by almost every business.

According to a study, around 100,000 – 120,000 employees quit their jobs daily, and the employee turnover rates cost the employers almost 20% of the salary. US employers are annually spending $1.1 billion trying to replace employees. No wonder, 80% of businesses agree that employee turnover is an expensive problem.

In a survey with more than 600 businesses in the US, almost 63.3% of employers said employee retention was much harder than recruiting them.

So, What Does It Take To Reduce Employee Turnover?

First things first! Employee engagement or workplace engagement is not about employee satisfaction. No doubt, workforce happiness is vital and is a connected aspect of employee engagement and workplace wellness, but it is not THE only thing.

For example, employers could be offering the best employee benefits package, assuming it will satisfy their employees. The employees for sure would be happy to have it, but that does not make them engaged at work. So what does it take to engage employees?

To understand this, employers must first understand the definition of employee engagement.

While Quantum Workplace defines employee engagement as – “the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward their places of work”, Gallup says “engaged employees are “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace”.

In a nutshell, employee engagement is the employee’s emotional commitment towards their job and the workplace.

Knowing the statistics and numbers about workplace engagement gives a better understanding of employee engagement strategies and their importance for workplace wellness.

Here are the top 8 employee engagement statistics that prove why it is necessary to have an engaged workforce.

Only 15% Employees Are Engaged At The Workplace

A  State of the Global Workplace study by Gallup showed that almost 85% of employees are not engaged at their workplace. This implies that a majority of the global workforce either has a negative opinion of their workplace, or they are doing their bare minimum to save their job, with no mental attachment to the job or the organization. While the numbers were still better in the US, with 33% of the US employees being engaged well at their workplace, the situation was very alarming in the UK, with only 8% engaged employees.

Employee Turnover Rates Are Almost 81%

A 2017 employee wellness study showed that 81% of employees were ready to leave their jobs, irrespective of whether they have another ready opportunity or not. It was not about employee benefits or income issues, since 74% of employees were ready to take a pay cut to work in an ideal workplace, and 23% did not want a pay increase to join the new company. The key aspect that mattered to these employees was healthy relationships at the workplace, which allows work-life balance. If the employees who quit are doing better at their new workplace, it is bound to create a domino effect in the other workers too.

Companies Lose $450-500 Billion Each Year Due To Poor Workforce Engagement

A Gallup poll reported that US companies annually lose productivity worth $450 – $550 billion owing to disengaged employees. Poorly engaged employees are less responsible for their work and do not take ownership of their attitude and behavior. Their approach towards their job and workplace drain the overall organizational productivity and workplace culture. Studies recommend employers to use modules and tools that can monitor employee engagement and performance. They must appreciate and recognize employee efforts, and motivate them to connect and collaborate. 

Engaged Employees Bring 21% More Profits To Their Companies

By now, it is pretty obvious that employee engagement influences business growth and success, and so, it must be considered as a vital part of the workplace strategy. A Gallup meta-analysis study showed that companies that have a highly engaged workforce had 21% higher profitability and 17% higher employee productivity. Studies show that effective communication is one of the effective employee engagement strategies. According to an Interact/Harris Poll, 91% of the responding employees felt their employers lacked the right communication skills. Another study showed that almost 1 in 3 employees do not trust their employers completely. These alarming concerns show why employee engagement is poor in many companies, and employers must take adequate actions to overcome it. 

A Positive Workplace Culture Boosts Company Revenue by 4X

An old long-term study of around 11 years showed that companies with the best workplace culture grew by almost 682% in their revenue. Such companies appreciated their employees, encouraged leadership skills in them, and made them feel valued. The same 11 year evaluation period showed that companies that did not focus much on employee engagement or workplace culture had their revenue grow by only 166%. This showed that workplace culture and employee engagement are inter-connected, and ultimately impact business growth. 47% of employees said that the main reason for them to quit their jobs was a poor workplace culture. And so, employers must draft employee engagement strategies that also build healthy and positive workplace culture to boost employee retention rates and business growth.

 Studies have shown that employees who feel their voice is heard and valued at the workplace are 4.6 times more likely to engage and perform better. The willingness and ability of employees to do well directly contributes to workplace wellness and organizational productivity. With the industry fighting the ‘war of talent’, it is important for employers to retain skilled employees to reduce employee turnover and to overcome the issues of skills shortage in the market. The answer to overcoming these concerns is by boosting employee engagement.