We spend much of our waking lives in the workplace. Some employees actually have fun during this time, bringing smiles to customer and coworker faces, while other employees dread it. As a company leader, you are in a position to create an environment conducive to employees enjoying their work. If you succeed, you not only create a great place to work, but you also impact business outcomes such as higher levels of profitability, customer service, employee retention, customer loyalty, safety, and reduced theft. Achieving a highly engaged workforce takes effort, but for those employers that do, they enjoy a sustainable and difficult to replicate competitive advantage.

Some important research findings include:

  • Highly engaged employees perform 20% better than employees with lower engagement levels (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004).
  • Highly engaged organizations have 2.6 times the growth rate in earnings per share (EPS) compared with organizations with lower engagement in the same industry (Gallup, 2008).
  • 70% of engaged employees have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs as opposed to only 17% of disengaged employees (Right Management, 2006).
  • Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave the organization than their less engaged coworkers (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004).
  • Ritz-Carlton found that at their properties with above-average employee engagement, 50% of customers are fully engaged, whereas only 39% of customers are fully engaged at properties with below-average employee engagement. This translates into significant business impact, as fully engaged customers deliver a 23% premium over average customers in share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth. (Gallup, 2008).

For many business leaders the statistics are not necessary. To them, the relationship between employee engagement and profitable growth is self-evident. When asked which measurements "give the best sense of a company's health" in a recent Business Week advice column, former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch replied: "Employee engagement first. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it. That's why you need to take the measure of employee engagement at least once a year through anonymous surveys in which people feel completely safe to speak their minds." And as Richard Branson says: "We embarked on consciously building Virgin into a brand which stood for quality, value, fun and a sense of challenge. We also developed these ideas in the belief that our first priority should be the people who work for the companies, then the customers, then the shareholders. Because if the staff are motivated then the customers will be happy, and the shareholders will then benefit through the company's success."

Companies with high levels of employee engagement don't necessarily pay their employees more, but they do manage them differently. For example, they care about what their employees think, they help their employees see their jobs as something more meaningful than just a paycheck, they provide feedback and coaching, and they work with those employees who want to develop their careers. EmployeeInsights can provide you with tools to better understand your employees, improve management effectiveness, and build a culture of engagement. We will help you pinpoint key issues, take action, and track progress towards achieving your goals.