Discover how enterprise social networking drives employee engagement in this webinar.
There are many misconceptions in life.
“Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1881.” In truth, Warren de la Rue did so 40 years earlier.
“I have a black belt and am a karate master.” To be factual, the black belt was introduced for those practicing judo in the 1880s, indicating competence in basic techniques of the sport.
“No one can drink a gallon of milk in 60 minutes.” Actually, this is true. Don’t try this.
And our favorite: “Employee engagement measures employee happiness.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Consider this. Your co-worker Andrew shows up each day, on time, always wearing a smile and never complains about a thing. Other team members describe him as “an extremely cordial person who seems very happy to be here.” In terms of responsibility, he never accepts more than assigned and doesn’t go out of his way to help the team unless asked to do so. When a new job opens up offering a bump in pay, he is out the door.
Strong employee engagement would have prevented this from coming.
Simply stated, employee engagement is the connection an employee has to their job and the commitment the employee has to the team. Any employee may be happy, but their personal satisfaction may have nothing to do with work. Showing up for eight hours of work without true expectation or responsibility can certainly make some people happy. Enjoying the perks of distraction at the office can make an employee happy. But for many, being “happy,” does not equate to being “productive.”
Employee engagement makes that distinction, separating those contributing and taking pride in their work from those who simply enjoy their day (regardless of their contribution to work-related goals). Employee engagement can help determine who is working for their next promotion and who is working on the team’s next promotion. Employee engagement distinguishes the worker staying late to impress the boss from the worker staying late to exceed deadline expectation.
In other words, employee engagement distinguishes the extraordinary employee – the team player – from the average employee – the “me” player.
If you question the importance of that distinction, consider this: research from Towers Perrin suggests companies with engaged employees find over 5% higher net profit margins, while research from Kenexa indicates companies with engaged employees will see shareholder returns five times higher than those without over five years. From there, the chain of benefit is simple to follow…
Engaged employees = better service, improved quality, enhanced production
Improved service, quality, production = rising customer satisfaction
Rising customer satisfaction = rising sales, repeat business and referrals
Rising sales, repeat business and referrals = RISING PROFITS
And much more often than not… rising profits makes everyone happy.
That is employee engagement. It’s time you made that distinction. tibbr with Wayin can help.
End the misconception today.
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