How Employee Engagement Can Contribute To Your Company's Success

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the relationship between an organization and its employees, in terms of the work they do, the teams they work with, and how they interact with the organization.

There is no excuse for insufficient communication in an age where technology is prevalent and every employee has a smartphone. “Engaged employees” does not simply refer to employees who acknowledge new company memos or sign up for team-building activities.

The employee engagement companies refer to is about workers being proactive in raising concerns, issues, problems, and suggestions in hopes of improving workplace systems.

Why is Employee Engagement Important?

Garry Ridge–the CEO of WD-40, a global marketing organization–in a Forbes report emphasized the value of employee engagement. “If you focus on employee engagement, employees will take care of everything else. They will produce the energy, drive, and solutions necessary to delight customers and keep investors happy.”.

Candid feedback and input from your frontline workforce will give you an insight into employee concerns and how they can directly impact a company. This can help validate the management team’s foresight on disrupted parts of a business.

The first key step to engaging employees is your willingness to listen to their suggestions - nothing makes employees feel more valued than being heard. The next step is to actually implement the ideas if they are feasible and beneficial.

Technology: Enabling Employees to take an Active Role in Issue Resolution

The rise of innovative apps like KNOW empowers businesses to reach out and communicate with their desk-less workforce efficiently. It also enables employees to report issues and concerns straight from their mobile phones. KNOW’s polls and survey features allow businesses to get live feedback and reports from their front-line workers, allowing quick resolution. However, how does it really help a business?

1. Apps like KNOW provide both managers and employees with a 24/7 communication platform. By providing an accessible channel for employees to report issues, the gathered information can help shape how business moves forward with issues. It also provides important insight into how an issue can be efficiently resolved by getting feedback from people on the shop floor. For example, hotel staff can better provide insight on how to optimize cleaning schedules and operations than a back-end office worker.
2. Surveying employees also provides insights on how to improve company policies, procedures, and services. Being aware of areas for improvement allows stakeholders to make informed decisions to upgrade their operations. This, therefore, increases the chances of businesses yielding higher revenue in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Improving employee engagement by providing an accessible platform takes effort and time. Allow employees to take an active part in solving issues by encouraging them to report concerns directly. Surveying front-liners also enables companies to resolve issues and identify product-related improvements. Consistent improvement of issue resolution processes, via active employee participation, can lead to increased productivity and profitability.