In recent years, even in India, Employee Engagement has become a priority among many companies. In this ever evolving economy, many Indian companies have come to understand that having a high-performing workforce is essential for growth and survival on a global scale. They recognize that a highly engaged workforce can increase innovation, productivity, and bottom-line performance while reducing costs related to hiring and retention in highly competitive talent markets.
According to a recent Times Jobs survey in India (Source) of over 550 employers:
- Nearly 75% of the organizations invested willing to improve engagement levels, and the rest did not.
- Nearly 60% organizations affirmed to have improved employee engagement levels compared to last two years.
- For most (55 per cent) organizations the engagement levels have grown up by 10-15%
- 75% of the organizations say that with an increase in engagement levels, productivity has risen 50%, and job applications have increased 30-50%.
Today, employee engagement isn't just some intangible HR concept; it has a very tangible productivity connection. Non-engaged employees have a tendency to perform the most basic of tasks and call it a day. Meanwhile actively disengaged staff are equally harmful to the company, if not more. Both groups are also far more likely to leave for greener pastures which is a sure fire way of wasting the time and money companies spend on training them.
How Employee Engagement initiatives make a difference in the organisation:
- According to another Gallup study, business units with high engagement scores showed 18% higher productivity and 12% higher profitability on average.
- An engaged employee stays with his/her company, which reduces turnover costs.
- An engaged employee works more and better. He/she also takes fewer sick days than disengaged employees
- Companies with high engagement levels report better revenue than their counterparts
- An engaged employee performs at a higher level by bringing passion and interest to his/her job. That often leads to innovation in the workplace.
- Engaged employees infuse energy and positivity into the workplace.
Benefits of employee engagement:
Employee Satisfaction:
When employees feel engaged they have a desire to perform their best, they're passionate, they believe in the company and their role, and they make the conscious choice to put forth the maximum amount of effort they can. The engaged employee spreads positive energy everywhere they go in your company.
Retention & Recruitment:
Engaging your employees will significantly lower the turnover rate for the company, simply because they’ll be more loyal and more invested in the success of the company. In fact, companies that have higher employee engagement are able to attract the top talent and are more in demand.
Productivity:
Engaged employees are more likely to be top performers and to go the extra mile to provide to the success of the company. The absenteeism will also lower.
Profit:
An engaged employee is more efficient and productive, which decreases operating costs and grows the profit margin.
Innovation:
Engaged employees are more passionate about their work and naturally tend to perform better. It often leads to innovation in the company. They have a higher sense of belonging in their work environment which encourages them to freely express their ideas and unleash their creativity.
For a company, an engaged employee translates to revenue growth, improved operating margins and increased shareholder returns. While many Indian companies have already begun taking the initiative for increasing employee engagement, it is expected that majority of the remaining number will soon follow.
