The Power of Employee Engagement and Recognition In the Workplace

Employee turnovers are an unexpected problem that companies face, and you can end up losing top talent when you least expect it. This can be a huge problem as the costs associated with replacements are high. 

According to Workest, employers in the US spend $2.9M per day looking for replacements. That’s an itching of $1.1B per year. 

Thus to prevent or reduce turnover rates, employee engagement and recognition are of utmost importance.

If you look at a trend study by Gallup, you’ll see that there is a decline in engaged employees in the past 2 years. 

They found the declining elements as follows:

• Expectations 
• Opportunities to learn and grow
• Feeling cared about at work
• Connection to the mission of the company

These elements are attributes of engagement. But, engagement alone isn’t enough to prevent turnovers, recognition is a crucial factor as well. 

So let's explore engagement and recognition in detail, and the role they play in retaining employees.  

Employee engagement is defined as the level of enthusiasm and dedication an employee feels towards his job.

In other words, employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has toward the organization.  

On the other hand, employee recognition is the acknowledgment and praise of an employee’s behavior or achievement.

It refers to all the ways an organization appreciates its employees.  

• Increased productivity: Engaged employees tend to perform better and even outperform their peers who are not engaged. Plus, companies with high employee engagement are said to be more profitable.  
• Reduces absenteeism: According to a Gallup study, businesses with highly engaged employees experienced an 81% difference in absenteeism and a 14% difference in productivity. Therefore, engaged employees are less likely to be demotivated to commute to work.
• Drives growth: Companies with a highly engaged workforce showed around 22% of higher profitability. This helps foster growth, and in turn, makes way for future hiring processes.‍
• Greater collaboration: Happy employees create a friendly environment. This fosters cross-team collaborations and creativity. A constant exchange of ideas with creative approaches to problems can give your business a competitive edge in the marketplace.‍
• Improved customer service: engaged employees are more passionate about the work they do, leading to positive customer experiences.

I’m not sure I should bore you with all the benefits, so when you get time, you can consider reading the resource below. 🙂

Read more: Drivers of employee engagement

Now that you’re familiar with the benefits, let’s look at the factors affecting employee engagement.

This section will give you an idea about the factors affecting employee engagement. It will help you define or reiterate your employee engagement strategy. 

You could also consider incorporating some activities that will solidify your employees' engagement.

Many factors contribute to employee engagement, but some of the most important ones include:

1. Meaningful and Motivating Work

Employees that find work that aligns with their values engage them and motivate them to do more work. When they see their contributions being recognized, their motivation increases further.  

2. Inspiring Leadership

Leaders that prioritize people first, appreciate their contributions, and address their concerns are more likely to bring about employee engagement. Such leaders are idols and role models who employees want to work with. 

3. Company Culture and Environment

A positive and welcoming work culture allows employees to work with comfort without any stress or pressure.

A company with a good work culture also motivates its employees by recognizing their achievements and rewarding their performance. This stimulates higher employee productivity and engagement.  

The work environment also plays a crucial role. Apart from a great physical workspace, the atmosphere, and behaviors can also impact the employee’s engagement in either a positive or negative fashion.  

4. Career Opportunities

Pay and promotions are what employees look for. The shorter the appraisal cycle, the better. 

But, that’s not the only parameter. If they’re frustrated with a poor appraisal or if they get bored with their current responsibilities, they won't hesitate to find a new job and move on. 

5. Work-Life Balance

Most employees have families and the time they spend with them is already limited. 

A company that offers flexibility to their employees in terms of working from home during emergencies, and giving time allowances to drop kids off at school; makes for less stressed employees which brings about more productivity and engagement.  

6. Pay Structure Clarity

A company's transparency on the pay structure during promotions or open vacancies is something that keeps employees striving for more and giving it their all at work. 

7. Investments in Modern and Reliable Tech

For employees to be fully engaged in their work, they need the right technology. 

If the tech isn’t up to par like automating basic functions, they would get frustrated and impatient, which may alter the desired results of a project.  

So, using modern speedy tech eliminates this problem and allows for a full engagement at the workplace.  

To seal the deal and guarantee their job satisfaction, using an employee engagement platform can help keep them engaged and satisfied. It will help boost their productivity as well as their experience as valued employees.

In a study report conducted by the Society of human resource management, researchers who met with Running Pony, a freelance production company, found that it has had a 100% retention rate since its inception. A supportive and cohesive culture, along with a comfortable workplace were deciding factors that affected the company’s retention.

I recommend you check out the report because the former HR manager of American Home Shield reduced the company’s turnover from 90% to 35% in just one year.  

There are a lot of research-backed statistics that will help you make informed decisions for your recognition programs as well.  

Other key insights included the following:

• Provide incentives that weren’t available anywhere else (sabbaticals).
• Developing career paths that did not require relocation.
• Transparency while proving job and company details during recruitment. 
• Fostering team cohesiveness
• Encouraging employee referrals.

• Retention rate has a strong relationship with employee recognition. Recognized employees feel valued and engaged, leading to increased job satisfaction and a stronger commitment to the organization.

• Recognition helps your employees and their contributions feel more valued. Hence, they feel more welcome and tend to stick around for longer durations.

• Effective feedback and recognition help improve employee engagement and retention. Feedback and recognition are essential aspects because they show your employees that you care about their performance, development, and well-being. It also helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and improve their skills.

• 81.9% of employees say recognition for their contributions improves their engagement at the workplace. A good deal of recognition motivates employees to be more productive and engaged.

• Recognition increases employee engagement, productivity, and performance by 14%. [Nectar]
  
  Therefore, a well-recognized and appreciated employee will want to stay and work for your organization for as long as possible.

So you must consider taking the time to provide recognition to your team consistently.

In the previous sections, I’ve shared links to employee engagement strategies, benefits, as well as the factors of employee engagement.  

So now let’s delve into the measuring aspect. 

But why measure?

1. Measuring engagement allows employees' voices to be heard.
2. Surveys are a part of measuring engagement. With employee engagement surveys, you can stay up to date with your employees’ needs and concerns, and make suitable preparations.
3. Great surveys need to be data-based and statistical. Data-based measurement allows you to effectively create strategies that boost morale and workplace culture, ultimately leading to positive business outcomes.
   Thus, employee success platforms must be used to accurately measure onboarded and current employee satisfaction levels.

Measuring Employee Engagement

1. Conduct regular surveys where you gather feedback on various aspects of the workplace such as work-life balance, commuting, atmosphere, diversity inclusion, and growth opportunities. 
2. Gather feedback through one-on-one meetings, as well as, focus groups and open forums to provide opportunities for employees to voice their concerns without fear or worry. When all your employees are participating in feedback, they feel more comfortable and secure in stating their concerns. 
3. Analyze key metrics such as productivity, attendance, quality work, and project completion times. They can give you a well-rounded perspective of an employee’s performance.
4. Collect feedback during exit interviews to gain insights into the reasons for leaving. Also, monitor employee turnover rates over time to see if you’re strategy is working or needs reiteration. 

Reduce the amount of measuring and feedback work you do with ThriveSparrow. It can help with all of the above plus the points below. 

• It can give you both qualitative and quantitative insights.
• Give personalized surveys by making them conversational. 
• Save precious time by automating data collection, reporting, and presenting with report-savvy dashboards.
• Embed your survey forms anywhere you like, and collect new data from visitors. 
• Track and filter out responses with the help of tags.
• Set a logic trail to your questions.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, it's important to measure how engaged your employees are and how much they feel appreciated. This will help you keep your best workers, save money on turnover, and make your workplace a more positive place.

You can gather feedback from your employees through surveys, look at key metrics, and pay attention to the little things they do. 

When you show your employees that you value them, they'll be more motivated to do their best work. 

This will lead to increased productivity and long-term success for your organization.

1. Why Is Employee Engagement and Employee Recognition Important?

Both employee engagement and employee recognition are important because they can lead to many benefits for businesses, such as:

1. Increased productivity
2. Improved customer service
3. Reduced turnover
4. Increased innovation
5. Enhanced workplace morale

2. What has the Biggest Impact on Employee Engagement?

1. Meaningful and motivating work: Employees who find their work meaningful and can make a difference are more likely to be engaged.
2. Inspiring leadership: Employees who feel supported by their leaders and have a clear sense of direction are more likely to be engaged.
3. Career opportunities: Employees who have opportunities to learn and grow are more likely to be engaged.
4. Company culture and environment: Employees who feel valued and respected in their workplace are more likely to be engaged.

3. How Does Employee Recognition Affect Employee Motivation?

Employees feel respected and appreciated when their efforts are acknowledged. 

This might result in more motivation, which might result in better output and performance.