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Driving employee engagement increases earnings
August 18, 2011
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 Have you noticed lately that your employees seem to be disinterested in their work? They are careless, dropping equipment, wasting food and beverage supplies, and often not accepting any responsibility for their work. If so, don’t feel bad … you are not alone.
A study by Towers Perrin1 shows that less than 20 per cent of respondents are highly engaged and an equal percentage is disengaged meaning they have probably “checked out” from their work. The remaining employees, who make up roughly two-thirds, are moderately engaged at best. These moderately engaged employees represent a huge opportunity cost to the employer with regard to productivity, morale and financial results.
Companies with the highest percentage of engaged workers, the study reports, make more money. In a 12-month study across 50 companies, companies with the highest percentage of engaged workers had a 19 per cent increase in operating incomes and a 28 per cent increase in earnings per share. On the other hand, over the same year period, companies with the lowest employee engagement rates showed a 33 per cent decline in operating incomes and an 11 per cent decline in earnings per share.
Studies have shown that engaged employees contribute fully to the success of the organization and have a high level of job satisfaction. For these employees, personal and organizational interests are aligned. In addition, they have a clear vision of their own future and on the organization’s mission and goals.
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An engaged employee
It has been said that engaged employees plan to stay with their employer for what they give, while the disengaged stay for what they get. The characteristics an engaged employee include:
- Looks for and is given opportunities to improve organizational performance
- Is positive about the job and the organization
- Believes in the organization
- Works actively to make things better
- Treats others with respect and helps colleagues to perform more effectively
- Can be relied upon and goes beyond the requirements of the job
- Sees the bigger picture
- Identifies with the organization
- Keeps up-to-date with developments in his/her field
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Drivers for employee engagement
- A positive on-boarding experience
- Trust and integrity
- Nature of the job they are asked to perform
- Correlation between individual performance and company performance
- Career growth opportunities within the organization
- Pride about the company they work for
- Employee development
- Personal relationship with one’s manager
- Receiving regular feedback from one’s manager
- Relationships with peers
- Company image
The benefits of an engaged workforce are increased job satisfaction, job performance, sales and revenue as well as decreased employee turnover.
As difficult as culture change can be, organizations should make the effort to build a culture that stimulates engagement by maximizing employee contributions and employee satisfaction. Managers must define employees’ objectives (for example, what is expected of employees on a day-to-day basis to meet organizational goals).
At the end of the day it’s the daily dynamic at play in your team that matters. Just keep in mind that employee engagement is the responsibility of the entire workforce: individuals, managers and executives.
1The Global Workforce Study, Towers Perrin, 2007.
About the author
Jocelyne Cossar is an Associate with fsSTRATEGY Inc., consultants to the foodservice industry. Visit us at www.fsSTRATEGY.com for more information or call 905.582.4379.
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